JMU secondary changes hands
Football staff makes changes including new hire for defense
Posted on August 30, 2007
After yet another winning season for the JMU football team, who finished with a 9-3 record in 2006, the team has lost two coaches to other programs.
“When you’re winning like we are winning, people are going to look at your coaches. There is an old saying that says that you really can’t hide good coaches,” coach Mickey Matthews said after Monday night’s practice at Bridgeforth Stadium.
That “old saying” held true as there was turnover within the coaching staff this offseason. Chip West was the recruiting coordinator and defensive backs coach for the previous three seasons before taking an assistant head-coaching job at Old Dominion. Madison hired Joe Danna as the defensive backs replacement and added Isai Bradshaw, a former player under Matthews, as a defensive line assistant.
Joe Danna joins JMU after a one-year stint with Georgia Southern, where he coached the defensive backs and also recruited the Atlanta area. Danna was a four-time letterman and wide receiver for Central Michigan, and worked there for four years as a wide receiver and special teams coach from 2002-2005. He arrived at JMU when spring practice began, and didn’t have much time to get his feet wet.
“Coach Danna arrived at ten one night, and was coaching the next morning,” Matthews said.
Danna feels the transition has gone smoothly due to the fact that there are a lot of older players who have played a decent amount atdefensive back.
“These are some self-driven kids that understand that at a place like this, expectations are high,” Danna said.
Junior defensive back Evan McCollough thinks that Danna has done a good job, but admits that it hasn’t been all easy.
“The adjustment has been difficult,” McCollough said. “It is new, and Coach Danna is really demanding when it comes to technique.”
Isai Bradshaw is also adapting to a new position. Bradshaw, who was a member of the 2004 championship team under Matthews and is a current graduate assistant for the university, is thrilled to be back on the football field. He hopes that his playing experience will help him as a coach.
“I don’t know them that well yet, but I know I can relate to them as a player,” he said.
But don’t think Bradshaw will go easy on his players just because he used to be in their shoes.
“You got to be tough on these kids,” he said. “You got to coach them hard and get them to grow up.”
The team not only made additions, but also shuffled the staff around a little bit. Josh Haymore, who was the assistant defensive line coach last year, is now the tight ends coach. Chris Malone, who worked with the tight ends and the offensive tackles last year, took over full offensive line responsibilities.
With a highly ranked, talented team that is undoubtedly looking to capture another national title, the new coaching staff certainly has some pressure on it. However, with the attitude and dedication shown by everyone on the staff, it doesn’t appear as though the team will miss a beat.