Central Michigan University Athletics
Press Conference Quotes
12/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Statement from Central Michigan University Athletics Director Dave Heeke:
“I want to thank everyone for coming here today. We are here today because Brian Kelly is no longer our football coach at Central Michigan University. He has accepted the head coaching position at the University of Cincinnati.
I want to thank Brian for his effort and his dedication in turning our program around and getting it headed in a positive direction. The championships tradition of CMU football has been restored, and a great deal of that credit goes to Coach Kelly, his staff, the players he brought in, as well as the seniors in this program with the effort and dedication they put forth. I wanted to publicly thank Brian and his staff for the job that they did.
I also want to wish Brian and his family well as they go to the University of Cincinnati. They are great people, and we wish them well.
I was informed late yesterday afternoon, by Brian, that he had accepted the head coaching position at the University of Cincinnati. While I was aware of the interest by the University of Cincinnati, it was a complete surprise to me when he told me he had accepted the position. It’s been well-documented that Brian and I, along with President (Michael) Rao, had been in extensive discussions and conversations about a contract extension for Brian that would make him one of the, if not the, highest paid football coach in the Mid-American Conference. It was also designed to address several needs inside of our football program and our football budget to continue to grow and continue to move this program forward.
At the point I learned that Brian would leave Central Michigan, our attention immediately changed and our focus centered on our football players and remaining staff. As many of you have heard me say, this is a student-athlete centered program, and we really turned our attention to focus on serving their needs and making sure their experience is very positive. CMU athletics, and particularly our football program, is larger than any one individual or any one coaching staff. We’re about a program, and we’ll move forward together making that experience positive for the young people, the players on this team, that have contributed so greatly to the success of the program. This has been a magical season for our football program, and it’s not over, and that’s what we’re focused on today.
With that in mind, I’ve appointed our associate head coach and offensive coordinator Jeff Quinn to be our interim head football coach to run us in the Motor City Bowl, take leadership of our program, and move forward. Coach Quinn has assumed this position wholeheartedly. He’s committed to focusing on the efforts of our football team through the Motor City Bowl, and I’m very pleased to have him here along with other members of our staff. It’s a very fluid situation, but we do have a staff in place, and we’re very focused on moving forward.
Our program is about people, and I’m confident that with the solid leadership of Jeff that we are going to have a terrific bowl experience, and we’re going to represent Central Michigan University, our fans, and our alumni, very well. I know these players want to finish what they’ve started. I’ve talked with many of them, I’ve been around this football program a lot this season, and I know these young men are focused on finishing what they’ve started. It’s a special season for all of us, and I’m excited to see what happens as we move forward. I know we will play very, very well at the Motor City Bowl and represent this university proudly.
At this time, I’d like to introduce our interim head football coach at Central Michigan University, Jeff Quinn.”
Statement from Interim Head Football Coach Jeff Quinn
“I want to thank everyone for being here today. It’s quite an honor for me, and I certainly appreciate Dave Heeke’s support and President Rao’s support as we continue building this football program. I also want to thank my lovely wife Shannon, and my family, for their support, and the players as well.
We met today, and the most important thing that we keep our attention on as we move ahead is our players. These are the young men that I came here to coach, and they are the reason why I am in the this position today, and I’m very proud of that.
The future is very bright, as Dave said, for CMU football. Who wouldn’t want to coach the 2006 MAC Championship football team? I’m very pleased to have that responsibility. We’re going to work our way through the process with our student-athletes in terms of getting ready for this bowl game. That is our focus, and we will keep ourselves on task. We have a ‘next man in’ mentality – Coach Kelly left, and it’s next man in. One guy goes down, next man in. That’s proven to be successful, and I’m not going to change anything. I’m going to continue to do the things that have brought success to this program and gotten it where it is today, and we plan to accomplish something that hasn’t been achieved yet in this program, and that’s to win a Division I-A bowl game against Middle Tennessee State in the Motor City Bowl on December 26.
Quotes from Coach Quinn:
On when he became aware that Brian Kelly was leaving CMU: “I got a call yesterday during the afternoon. I think most of us were out getting our Christmas trees and decorating them. I didn’t get my tree yet – I had my trailer attached my van ready to go get a Christmas tree, and I got a phone call. From there, we called a meeting yesterday evening and Brian came in and told us of his plans.”
On if he was surprised with Brian’s departure: “I’ve been in this business 24 years, and we’ve seen this happen many times. With success comes opportunity, and opportunity for one man presents opportunity for another man. This is my opportunity with these young men, and it’s a very proud moment in my life. I wouldn’t say it was a surprise. Coach Kelly is very well thought of as a coach in this business, and he has been able to prove through both his time at Grand Valley State, winning two national championships, and here at Central Michigan, that he is a winner. Coach Kelly laid the groundwork for these young men – we just presented it to them, and they followed it. They’re the reason why we are where we are.”
On dealing with the uncertainty regarding the coaching staff: “As we met today, we talked about staying together. The good Lord blessed me with today, and today is what we have. We have to manage it one day at a time. Our goal, and our only focus is to get ready for this bowl game. To do anything else would be contrary to what got us this far and allowed us to have the success that we’ve had.”
On if he is interested in being the next head coach for CMU: “Yes.”
On if he sees being interim coach as an interview: “I see every day as an interview. I see each of the next 22 days as an opportunity for people to see me lead this football program, and I will not disappoint them.”
