Frank Spaziani
| Frank Spaziani | |
|---|---|
| Sport(s) | Football |
| Current position | |
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Boston College |
| Conference | ACC |
| Record | 20–19 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | April 1, 1947 |
| Playing career | |
| 1965–1968 | Penn State |
| Position(s) | Linebacker, quarterback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1969 1975–1977 1977–1981 1982–1985 1985–1991 1992–1993 1994–1996 1997–1998 1999–2008 2009–present |
Penn State (GA) Navy (TE/OT) Navy (DB) Virginia (DB) Virginia (DB/DC) Winnipeg Blue Bombers (DC) Calgary Stampeders (DC) Boston College (RB) Boston College (DC) Boston College |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 20–19 |
| Bowls | 1–2 |
| Statistics College Football Data Warehouse |
|
Frank Spaziani (born April 1, 1947) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the Boston College Eagles football team. Prior to becoming head coach, Spaziani served on BC's coaching staff for 12 years, the last 10 as defensive coordinator.
Contents |
[edit] Early life and playing career
Spaziani is a native of Clark, New Jersey and a graduate of Arthur L. Johnson High School.[1] Spaziani played quarterback and linebacker for the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1965 to 1968. He was a member of the team that went to the 1967 Gator Bowl and also played on the team that went to the 1969 Orange Bowl.[2] He was the subject of one of Joe Paterno's notable early quotes: the Nittany Lions' coach said of Spaziani, "Don't get the idea that I like him because he's Italian. I like him because I'm Italian."[3]
Spaziani was also a starting pitcher for the Penn State baseball team.[4]
[edit] Personal
Spaziani is married to Laura Spaziani (maiden name of Heikel), and the couple has two sons and one daughter.[2] They reside in Hingham, Massachusetts. He is also a brother of Sigma Pi Fraternity International.
[edit] Coaching career
[edit] Canadian Football League
Spaziani coached in the Canadian Football League as a defensive coordinator for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (two seasons) and Calgary Stampeders (three years).[2] He helped lead the Blue Bombers to the 1992 and 1993 Grey Cups and the Stampeders to the 83rd Grey Cup in 1995.
[edit] Boston College
In 1997, Spaziani left the Calgary Stampeders for a position as running backs coach for the Boston College Eagles.[5] Coached by Spaziani, Boston College's Mike Cloud was a consensus first-team All-America selection and a finalist for the 1998 Doak Walker Award. Cloud also set a Big East and school single-season rushing record with 1,726 yards in 1998.
In 1999, he replaced Tim Rose as defensive coordinator, becoming BC's seventh defensive coordinator in the 1990s.[6]
In 2001, the Boston College defense ranked 12th nationally in passing defense, 10th in pass efficiency defense, 19th in scoring defense and 25th in total defense. In 2002, the BC defense ranked 13th nationally in passing defense, 25th in pass efficiency defense, 23rd in scoring defense and 37th in total defense. In 2003, the BC defense ranked second in the Big East in total defense and second in rushing defense. In 2004, Boston College's rush defense ranked first in the Big East. The Eagles ranked second in the Big East and 31st in the country in total defense and first in the Big East and 12th in the country in scoring defense. Mathias Kiwanuka was the 2004 Big East Defensive Player of the Year.
He has been named interim head coach for Boston College twice. In December 2006, after the departure of Tom O'Brien, he coached Boston College to a win versus Navy on December 30, 2006 in the Meineke Car Care Bowl;[2] however, Jeff Jagodzinski was hired as the permanent head coach. He was also named interim coach after Jagodzinski was fired on January 7, 2009 for interviewing for the open head coaching position with the New York Jets. On January 13, 2009, Spaziani was officially hired as the Eagles' permanent head coach.[7]
Spaziani has been referred to in the past as a "mad scientist" who "cooks up plays" by ESPN's Chris Spielman.[8] Spaziani has recently come under criticism for declining results in recruiting and a rapid decline in production on the field during his coaching tenure.
[edit] Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston College Eagles (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2006) | |||||||||
| 2006 | Boston College | 1–0[n 1] | 0–0[n 1] | W Meineke Car Care | 20 | 20 | |||
| Boston College Eagles (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2009–present) | |||||||||
| 2009 | Boston College | 8–5 | 5–3 | 2nd (Atlantic) | L Emerald | ||||
| 2010 | Boston College | 7–6 | 4–4 | T–4th (Atlantic) | L Fight Hunger | ||||
| 2011 | Boston College | 4–8 | 3–5 | 5th (Atlantic) | |||||
| Boston College: | 20–19 | 12–12 | |||||||
| Total: | 20–19 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title | |||||||||
| †Indicates BCS bowl game. #Rankings from final Coaches' Poll. °Rankings from final AP Poll. |
|||||||||
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Tom O'Brien coached the first 12 games of the season before resigning.
[edit] References
- ^ Armstrong, Kevin (2009-05-06). "Spaziani ready to make most of chance as BC's new head coach". CNN Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/kevin_armstrong/05/04/frank.spaziani/index.html. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
- ^ a b c d "Profile: Frank Spaziani". Boston College. http://bceagles.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/spaziani_frank01.html. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
- ^ "Joe Paterno: Quickest Quipster In Sports". The Tuscaloosa News. 1969-06-28. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qI80AAAAIBAJ&sjid=B5wEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4651,5583801&dq=frank+spaziani+joe+paterno&hl=en. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
- ^ http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Skins/BasicArch/Client.asp?Skin=BasicArch&&AppName=2&enter=true&BaseHref=DCG/1967/05/04&EntityId=Ar00701
- ^ Ryan, Bob (2009-11-05). "Spaziani is handling things like an old pro". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/football/articles/2009/11/05/spaziani_is_handling_things_like_an_old_pro. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
- ^ http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BG&p_theme=bg&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADDE105F75DCF1&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
- ^ Boston College Names Frank Spaziani New Head Coach SI.com, January 13, 2009.
- ^ Blaudschun, Mark (2008-10-24). "Spaziani stops at nothing". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/football/articles/2008/10/24/spaziani_stops_at_nothing/?page=full. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
[edit] External links
|
|||||
|
||||||||
- 1947 births
- Living people
- American football linebackers
- American football quarterbacks
- Baseball pitchers
- Boston College Eagles football coaches
- Calgary Stampeders coaches
- Penn State Nittany Lions baseball players
- Penn State Nittany Lions football coaches
- Penn State Nittany Lions football players
- Pennsylvania State University alumni
- Winnipeg Blue Bombers coaches
- High school football coaches in the United States
- People from Clark, New Jersey
- Players of American football from New Jersey
- American people of Italian descent
