Full Q&A with Daren Wilkinson
Daren Wilkinson, the second of three finalists for the Augustana head football coach position to visit campus this week, has never been a head coach.
David Brown, the first finalist to visit Augustana, and Jerry Olszewski, the third finalist, are both head coaches right now — Brown at Missouri S&T and Olszewski at St. Olaf.
That could put Wilkinson at a disadvantage, but the 40-year-old former Colorado State quarterback and quarterbacks coach is confident that he’s ready to take charge of a program. Plus, as the former offensive coordinator at South Dakota State, he has in-state familiarity and experience that the other candidates do not.
Wilkinson made his case for the job Thursday.
Q: What made Augustana an attractive job to you?
A: Well there’s a few things. For one there’s a football tradition here. They were in the NCC when that was far and away the best Division II conference in the country. Moving to the NSIC they’ve continued that, and raised the level of that conference and tried to bring it to what the NCC was. That’s exciting because when I got to SDSU I heard an awful lot about the NCC. Another equally important reason was that my four years at South Dakota State were the most fun years I’ve had in coaching. Working with the people there and being exposed to the South Dakota way of life — people who work hard and treat each other well — that’s what I learned there.
Q: SDSU and Colorado State are both big public schools. This is a small, private school. Can you make that adjustment?
A: I’ve never coached at a private school. I did play at a small, private junior college before I went to CSU. Having been there I saw the ins and outs that a private school has. I like that the size allows me to get out and be on campus and in the community.
Q: Being at a smaller school with high academic standards does mean you may have to be able to recruit a different kind of kid than you’re used to. Are you comfortable with that?
A: You bet. It’s different, no question. At the Division I level to keep up with the Joneses you have to do what the Joneses do. Colorado State is a good academic institution, but to keep up sometimes you get caught up in taking a kid that’s a minimum qualifier. Something I learned from John Stiegelmeier at SDSU is that there’s a big correlation between what a kid does in the classroom and on the football field. If he’s a hard worker and does his assignments and puts in the work, that carries over. We want to have people of character, because that leads to success and, being selfish, it makes my job easier because those kind of kids hold themselves accountable.
Q: You were out of coaching in 2012. What did you do?
A: It’s kind of a long story but I was paid through the summer by Colorado State (after the head coach had been let go after the 2011 season), and this time last year I was in the position the (current Augustana assistants) are in right now, with some uncertainty. I had a shot to stay but they ended up going in another direction. I was out on the street, but because I knew I was getting paid I knew I didn’t have to jump at the first job out there. I could have — there were some offers — but I have a family and I didn’t want to make them move somewhere just to have a job right away.
Q: That would indicate then that this is a job you want, since you’ve turned down other opportunities.
A: You bet. Love the area, love the people, really want to be a head coach in this conference. There’s a lot of good reasons to want to be here.
Q: You’ve never been a head coach. How do you overcome that to get this job?
A: I’ve worked with some tremendous head coaches, and when I was meeting with the athletic staff, one thing we talked about is that everybody steals. No matter what sport it is, you steal plays, schemes and other things. And in this profession, year-round you’re around good people, and bad people for that matter, and you learn from the good and bad. I’ve learned from some great coaches. Sonny Lubick, John Stiegelmeier, Steve Fairchild — I feel like I’ve taken something from all of them. I’m prepared for this.
Q: You were a pretty good college player. Is that something that resonates with kids or helps you in dealing with them?
A: The fact that I’ve been there is something that carries some weight. Something I still do is throw the football around with the team in practice. I get in and throw routes and take turns with the QBs and sometimes I even find myself talking trash to the DBs. That creates a fun atmosphere I think.
Q: Do you have a coaching style you’re loyal to or do you look to adjust to the personnel?
A: You do have to adjust to the personnel in terms of Xs and Os no doubt. I do have a vision of what I want to do, if I can stay as close to that as possible while still branching out to meet their talents, that’s how I’d like to be. As far as working with the kids, it’ll be a fun environment, but it’ll be competitive. They’ll see excitement and a love to compete from me.
