Murray State University Athletics
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Putting The Mmmm In Murray State
8/21/2006 5:00:00 AM | Football
The following article appeared in the August 17, 2006 edition of the Murray Ledger & Times
By Scott Nanney
Sports Editor
Photos By Michael Dann
www.murrayledger.com
The 2006 season will cap the first full season of the
Following a disastrous 2-9 campaign in 2005, the MSU athletics department decided to part ways with former coach Joe Pannunzio. That paved the way for the school's administration to make a move that sent shockwaves throughout the Ohio Valley Conference.
After a nearly month-long search process, Griffin ? then the head coach at OVC rival Tennessee-Martin ? was hired as MSU's 16th head football coach on Dec. 12, 2005.
Since taking over the post, the former New Hampshire quarterback (1987-91) and veteran assistant coach has presided over several changes in the Murray program in hopes of returning the Racers to their former glory.
The Ledger & Times recently sat down with Griffin to discuss his move to Murray and his early efforts to rebuild MSU football.
Q ? How has the transition been to Murray?
It hasn't been bad. Bringing the whole (coaching) staff to
Q ? Talk about your experiences as a young head coach. What are the differences in being an assistant and a head coach for the last three years?
You learn fast that you don't get to coach as much. There is a lot of fund-raising and a lot more administrative things that you have to do.
The neatest thing about Murray, and the thing I've enjoyed the most, is that with all of the fund-raising you have to do as a coach at this level how receptive and helpful all the alums and boosters are. And it's because they love this place. That's been very gratifying. We've done things to our offices and our locker room. I didn't do that. All of these alums and boosters did that.
There's a lot more duties that you don't see as an assistant. I know this: All those duties, if done well, make it a better situation for our coaches to coach in and our players to play in. When those things go well, you'll win a bunch of games. And that's what we're here for.
Q ? What has impressed you most about the
Probably our athletic administration. I'll start with (athletics director) Allen Ward. He's supportive. Those who don't know him need to get to know him. When they do, they will certainly understand what good hands our athletics program are in and where we're going. I think the same of (men's basketball coach) Billy Kennedy. We have a great setup right here, and it's great to work with these people.
Q ? Did you know a lot about the history and tradition of the Murray State program when you agreed to become the head coach?
I did, because I was an assistant at Martin in 1997 and 1998. That's when I first learned about it. I thought years ago ? after
Q ? Have you thought much about the future of Racer football under your leadership?
We don't talk about that right now. We told the kids that we have 12 one-game seasons. Right now, the only game we've got is preseason camp. It's a different animal. It's hard mentally and physically on the players, as well as on our staff. We can't talk about anything past that. We're one day at a time and one play at a time. That's how we have to take things.
Q ? Off the field, has your family adjusted well to
They really have. They really enjoy it. My wife (Lisa) likes it. We have a great neighborhood. I've got three wonderful kids (Molly, 13; Cullen, 11; and Garrett, 5). They've just started school. Our youngest, the 5-year-old, is in kindergarten, so my wife is going through a little empty nest (syndrome) right now.
Q ? Do you have any hobbies outside of coaching football?
I try to spend as much time with my family as possible. My career takes up so much time, and any thing you love doing is going to do that. But I try to take as much time to be with my wife as I can. We're getting to a point now that our kids are getting a little bit older and we can get away for a day or two here and there, which we really enjoy.
I really like spending time with my kids. My daughter, she's 13, and it seems like she was three just two seconds ago. And then I have two boys who love the game of baseball, just like their dad. In the next couple of summers, we're going to do some traveling and go to some ballparks.
