Roof Likes Sidelines Better

Oct. 21, 2003

by John Roth
Blue Devil Weekly

DURHAM, N.C. - When he was George O'Leary's defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech, Ted Roof always spent game day coaching the Yellow Jackets from the sideline.

Except once.

For the annual battle with Florida State one year, O'Leary wondered if it would be more effective for Roof to make his calls from the coaches' booth in the press box. When the defense picked up a few penalties for too many men on the field, O'Leary had his answer and summoned Roof back to the sideline for the second half.

"I love that environment," Roof said. "I think it's important to be there when times are bad to refocus them."

Times became sufficiently bad last week for Duke to dismiss head coach Carl Franks after his reign produced just seven wins in 52 games. Summoned to refocus the Blue Devils for the final five games of the 2003 campaign was Roof, in his second year as Duke's defensive coordinator.

Director of athletics Joe Alleva asked Roof to take over as interim coach at 8:45 on Sunday morning, less than two hours after firing Franks. Alleva said he'd like nothing better than to see the Blue Devils win some games down the stretch so he could consider Roof a candidate for filling the job permanently.

But Roof took over thinking less about a permanent job, less about a five-game season and more about what Duke could do to beat N.C. State in his first contest.

"This may sound like coach-talk, but all we're worried about right now is 1-0. We're not worried about 2-3, 3-2, 4-1. All we want to do is be 1-0," Roof said at an introductory media conference.

The 39-year-old Georgia native has spent much of his football life immersed in the ACC, beginning with his playing days as a All-ACC linebacker for Georgia Tech's "Black Watch" defense of the mid-1980s. He spent four years coaching Duke's outside linebackers under Barry Wilson from 1990-93 and another four at Georgia Tech from 1998-2001 before returning to Duke as defensive coordinator.

Had a resume controversy not ended O'Leary's career at Notre Dame before it began, Roof would be there with him coaching the defense at South Bend right now. But Franks was able to pick up Roof after the Blue Devils finished 113th in the country in defense in 2001, and he made an immediate impact. He changed the defense's base alignment from a 3-4 to a 4-3, emphasized pursuit to the ball by all 11 players and focused completely on trying to stop the run, which Duke did last year.

Just as important, he brought a new attitude to a downtrodded defensive unit -- and everyone will be watching to see if he can do the same for the entire Blue Devil squad as head coach.

"Coach Roof has taught us a lot about emotion, intensity and playing with your heart," said two-time team captain Ryan Fowler, a senior linebacker. "I think that's what he's going to bring to the whole team now. Now that he's in a position to do that, I think it will emanate throughout the entire team. We'll feel that and it should be a good thing.

"Emotion is a big part of this game and Coach Roof does a good job with that. He pumps us up before games, before practices. Guys really respect him and look to him for that type of motivation, so hopefully he'll be able to do that."

"Coach Roof is a fiery individual. He's in your face," added junior cornerback Kenneth Stanford. "Great dude, a great guy. You can tell he cares about us not only as football players but as individuals, as people, as men. I think that's why our defense, since we work directly with him, we buy into what he's saying. We think that what he's saying is there to help us."

As the defensive backs' position coach, Roof works directly with Stanford and the rest of the corners and safeties. Pass defense has not been a team strength, but not for lack of effort or preparation. While watching film recently with a visitor, senior safety Terrell Smith was asked about the playbook that lay open on the desk before him. Smith picked up the blue binder, thicker than the local telephone directory, and laughed when it was suggested that it contained notes on every game. "This is just for this week. Just for this week," he said.

Smith said that under Roof, the reserves and scout team freshmen have to know as much about what's in the playbook and on film as the regulars, so they can provide a more realistic look in practice. "That's something about Coach Roof that's different than any other coach I've had," Smith said.

Whether Roof can make a difference for a team that is 2-5 and has lost 29 straight ACC games remains to be seen. He has never been a head coach at any level, joking at another press conference on Monday that the closest he'd been before came last summer when he was first assistant on his 4-year-old twin sons' baseball team.

But he has a wealth of contacts and confidants willing to offer advice on how to handle the situation. He's already spoken with Bill Curry, his college coach; previous bosses Barry Wilson and George O'Leary; new ECU coach John Thompson; and former colleague Mac McWhorter, whom Roof saw go 1-0 as an interim head coach at Georgia Tech.

Oh yes, he's also spoken with Duke's Hall of Fame basketball coach, Mike Krzyzewski.

The best advice he's gotten so far? "Be yourself and do it your way."

Too new to the position to espouse a head coaching style, Roof says he concentrates most on forging genuine relationships with the players, "trying to be honest with them, telling them the truth and trying to push them, so we can all go home and look in the mirror and say we gave ourselves the best chance to compete."

His players say they appreciate that approach.

"We get along real well and have a great relationship," said Smith, a team captain. "I talk to him a lot, I respect him a lot and he respects me. He looks to me as a leader to take control of the secondary. Whenever I need something I go to him. When he needs me to talk to other players, I do that for him. So we have a great relationship and I'm enjoying working with him."

"He's an intense coach," said senior running back Chris Douglas. "He has that quiet but aggressive demeanor about him, like if your mom gives you 'that look.' It's real subtle but it means a whole lot. That's pretty much the presence I get from Coach Roof because the defense really respects him and loves him. I look forward to playing for him and seeing what kind of changes are made and what kind of direction he leads this program in."

Roof says he has no secret formula, that players can't be fooled into believing in themselves, that false confidence is like poison because truth is exposed on the game field.

"There is no magic dust," he said. "The magic dust is under our third rib. We need to play with our hearts

Roof Likes Sidelines Better

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