Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 12, 1994 TAG: 9411170025
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
That was 1983, Gutekunst's last season as the Hokies' defensive coordinator. Tech (9-2) led the nation in scoring and rushing defense. It probably was the best Hokies team that never went to a bowl. It was then that Gutekunst began a coaching voyage to the unknown that returns him to Tech today as a conference rival.
There is a coaching axiom that says you have to move if you want to have another chance to move. Someone who sticks with the program too long may be stuck. Gutekunst packed, but left a load behind.
``I do know I was a lot better coach when I had Bruce Smith than when I didn't,'' Gutekunst remembered.
He not only had one job for a couple of hours, he became a head coach in the Big Ten. In the last four years, he's had five coaching jobs in five states. Gutekunst has gone from Rand McNally to Rutgers, where as Doug Graber's new defensive coordinator, he's changed the Scarlet Knights from a 3-4 set to a 4-3.
Now, he doesn't even need a road map to recruit. He's 45 minutes from his Pennsylvania roots. And as he reflects on his nearly 30 years in coaching, he realizes he spent most of those on three campuses, including 13 at his alma mater, Duke, before five years at Tech and eight at Minnesota.
``Most people who are in this business for 30 years, if they've managed to last that long, have been at a lot more places,'' said Gutekunst, 50. ``If you move too much, it's almost like rent-a-coach, and you don't want that. Some guys' goal is to be a head coach. Mine never was. It just happened.''
Rutgers did well to unpack Gutekunst's suitcase. His integrity, candor, humor and thoughtfulness have been refreshing in a business too consumed by a scoreboard mentality. Maybe it's the glasses. He seems to view things differently than most football coaches. Perhaps that's why he and bespectacled Illinois head coach Lou Tepper blended so well as Tech aides in the early '80s.
When you sit in Gutekunst's office, you might discuss the designated hitter as well as the blitzing strong safety. Gutekunst certainly isn't out in left field talking baseball - he played center field for Duke.
``What I remember about coach Goody is that he was very knowledgeable about defense and he worked us hard, but he made it fun,'' said Carter, the former cornerback who has returned to Tech as the director of student life for athletics. ``He and Tepper were unbelievable.''
Gutekunst had to wonder what he'd gotten himself into when he left Tech to take the coordinator's job at Arkansas with Lou Holtz. As Gutekunst returned to Tech after accepting the job, Holtz quit after he and Razorbacks athletic director Frank Broyles got into a bout of screaming egos.
Gutekunst already had told Bill Dooley he was leaving Tech. Holtz went to Minnesota, and Gutekunst followed. When Holtz took the Notre Dame job two years later, Gutekunst became the Gophers' head coach. He had four winning seasons in his first five years, then refused to sign one contract renewal because his assistants weren't getting raises.
He went 2-9, was canned and went to Arena Football for a summer. He rejoined Dooley at Wake Forest in '92, then Dooley retired from coaching. He headed to South Carolina last season, and Sparky Woods became history. Duke talked to Gutekunst about its vacancy, but Fred Goldsmith filled it and has steered the Devils to an 8-1 start.
``Do I want to be head coach again?'' Gutekunst said. ``I don't think it matters right now. I'm in a great situation with a solid boss like Doug, a defensive coach. It's a chance to sell a program, a chance to teach kids how to win. ... You're hired to do a job, and if you're doing it and it gets you to another level, great. Just to say you want to be this or that, that's not how it works.''
Until this season, Tech's defense hasn't been as good since Gutekunst left. Defensive coordinator Phil Elmassian's attacking scheme has put the Hokies back in the Top 10 hit parade. So, what happens if today's Big East Football Conference game is 50-49 or 49-42, like the last two Tech-Rutgers end-zone tailgate parties?
``If it's a game like those,'' Gutekunst said, laughing, ``Phil and I will probably be found lying dead together at the 50-yard line.''
At least Gutekunst is familiar with the territory.
by CNB