With Buddy Teevens hospitalized in Florida and secondary coach Sammy McCorkle switching over from associate head coach to interim head coach for the 2023 season, the Big Green staff is down one person. That being the case, the search is on for a new assistant. From FootballScoop (LINK):
Dartmouth (FCS - CT): Dartmouth College is hiring an Assistant Coach – Secondary. This is a full-time, salaried position. Qualified candidates will have several years of college experience coaching their own position group and running meetings.
Editor's Note: That "FCS - CT" piece should read "FCS-NH." ;-)
The full job listing is HERE.
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Old friend Dave Bailey, who worked for years as a layout editor at our local daily, draws on his background as a University of Maine graduate and as someone who was involved in coverage of Dartmouth football to pull together a nice retrospective of Buddy Teevens' coaching career. A few outtakes from the story, posted on the centralmaine.com site (LINK):
Bobby Wilder remembers his first encounter with Buddy Teevens like it was yesterday, rather than 38 years ago.
“I come into the first team meeting, and he just captures the room,” the Madison native and former University of Maine quarterback said of the winter day in 1985 when he met the Black Bears’ new head coach. “You’re talking 110 guys, first team meeting, ready to run through the wall for this guy. He had us excited, fired up.”
And . . .
Teevens is currently recovering from a March bicycle crash in Florida that resulted in the loss of his right leg. The chances of his returning to the Big Green sideline are unknown, but Teevens has conquered long odds before — such as when he arrived at Maine in ’85 as a 28-year-old rookie head coach, not that much older than some of his players. And it was at Maine where Teevens not just launched his coaching career, but revived a program whose glory days had been in the past.
And . . .
“We were misfits, we were just a bunch of people from different places, who were probably angry that we couldn’t play at BU or BC, so we all went to Maine together,” said (Duane) Brooks, who despite being a self-described “pain in the ass” eventually became a favorite of Teevens and has been his defensive line coach at Dartmouth since 2014.
And . . .
(T)he new coach put his money where his mouth was, according to Brooks. If he told the players to run two miles, he’d run with them. When the players hit the weights, Teevens was right there lifting with them.
The article discusses the impact of Buddy Teevens, a football coach, on the University of Maine football program in the 1980s. Teevens, who recently lost his right leg in a cycling accident, started his head coaching career at Maine and successfully revived a struggling program. When Teevens arrived at Maine in 1985, the team had been underperforming for years, with only three winning seasons since 1966. Despite facing challenges such as limited scholarships and outdated facilities, Teevens brought a new energy and ambition to the team.Teevens introduced a modern pro-style offense, departing from Maine's traditional ground-based wing-T offense. He motivated his players with his organization, attention to detail, and a comprehensive 12-month plan. Teevens led by example, participating in workouts and running alongside the players. His approach paid off as the team experienced immediate success, achieving consecutive winning seasons for the first time since the 1960s. Bobby Wilder, a former Maine quarterback, set numerous passing records under Teevens' guidance.Teevens also made efforts to improve the overall atmosphere and resources of the program. The players gained physical strength through new training facilities, and Teevens secured support from donors. In 1985, the team ended the season with notable victories against strong opponents, which boosted morale and marked a turning point for the program. Teevens eventually left Maine to coach at his alma mater, but his impact was felt long after his departure, with subsequent coaches winning conference titles.Former players, such as Duane Brooks, who initially considered Maine as their last chance for a Division I career, credit Teevens for turning the program around and instilling a winning mentality. Teevens' coaching style focused not only on football but also on life lessons, encouraging his players to become successful individuals on and off the field. Despite Teevens' reluctance to discuss his time at Maine, former players recognize his emotional connection to that team and acknowledge the profound influence he had on their lives.Overall, Buddy Teevens' tenure as the head coach of the University of Maine football program in the 1980s brought about significant improvements, revitalizing a struggling program and leaving a lasting impact on the players and the university.
Green Alert Take: ChatGPT did a pretty good job summarizing the facts of the story, although it totally misses the humanity that comes through in the well-written piece.
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EXTRA POINT
Artificial intelligence algorithms can do some amazing things. They can also make some hilarious connections.
Although I freely admit he's kind of the Mr. Rogers of European travel, I happen to enjoy watching Rick Steves' programs on PBS. Doing a little channel surfing yesterday I stumbled across one of his shows midway through, and clicked on a link to try to find out when it was first broadcast. That info was missing but the link did point to "Similar" programming. When I clicked on "Similar," here's what showed up:
