Verducci Keeps a Family Tradition Alive; Ready for Latest Challenge with Gators
Thursday, March 31, 2011 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Frank Verducci wasn't born with a whistle around his neck, but there was probably one on a table nearby. In the years since, Verducci's 31-year coaching career has taken him around the block a few times and at least once to an industrial town in Finland.
The son of a late legendary high school football coach in New Jersey and nephew to an equally renowned prep coach in his home state, Verducci's path into coaching was well lit.
“I went into it with my eyes open,'' Verducci said. “I can't say my dad and my uncle were thrilled with the fact I was going to do it, but that's just always been in my mind my calling. I have never thought about going in another direction even during some of the hard times.
“I was very fortunate. I grew up in a situation where I wanted to grow up and be just like my dad.''
Verducci, 54, still has his freshman high school yearbook with all those plays and drills diagrammed across its worn pages that serves as sort of a starting map. That map has led him to some unusual and surprising places, including his latest job as the Gators' offensive line coach/running game coordinator.
Verducci likes to tell how he got here because as his career has proven, you never know where you might end up. After spending last year with the Rams in an off-the-field capacity, Verducci knew he wanted to return to a field role one day but wasn't sure when that time would come.
The day after Christmas, Verducci was in Tampa at Raymond James Stadium scouting in his role as consultant for the St. Louis Rams. His cell phone rang. A number popped up that Verducci didn't recognize.
He considered letting the call go to voice mail, but since the game had not started between the Bucs and Seahawks, he decided to pick up.
“Hey, this is Will Muschamp,'' the caller said.
At first, Verducci wasn't sure since he had never met Muschamp, but soon he learned why Muschamp was calling.
They talked briefly, and shortly afterward Verducci met Muschamp for an interview in Austin, Texas. The two hit it off quickly – Muschamp also grew up the son of a coach – and a few days later Verducci joined Muschamp's inaugural Florida staff. The job also gave Verducci another opportunity to work with Gators offensive coordinator Charlie Weis. He served as Notre Dame's offensive line coach in Weis' final season in 2009.
“The interesting thing is that I didn't know Charlie was involved at that point,'' Verducci said. “So I couldn't figure out how [Will] came up with me. I could tell he saw the game the same way I did. His standards for what he expected out of a football team were very compatible with mine.
“I went home that afternoon and told my wife, 'This is a really sharp guy. I think this is something I want to pursue.' ”
*****
When you have as much experience as Verducci does, those chance calls that lead to a prominent job are the good times. Verducci also knows of those hard times when the phone never rings.
In 1984 he had his first full-time job as an assistant on Lee Corso's staff at Northern Illinois. Life was treating him well. All the sacrifices were finally paying off. And then, Corso decided to leave to become head coach of the USFL's Orlando Renegades. Verducci was out of work.
“I can't get another job because I didn't have the experience,'' he said.
After five years working his way up the coaching ladder, Verducci decided to take a break and headed to Europe, eventually landing in Helsinki, Finland. He took a job as coach of a semi-pro team made up of guys who mostly worked at a local glass factory by day, and came out at night to practice.
“We were sponsored by a bank,'' he said. “They would supply the transportation to the games and the food.''
In one of the games, the opposing nose guard was hammering his team's offensive line. The owner of Verducci's team stormed into the locker room at halftime and demanded that Verducci suit up and play, adding that the other team's nose guard was also the coach.
That wasn't part of the deal. Still, Verducci played the second half.
“He had to give me medical coverage and he had to give me an extra meal a day,'' Verducci said. “I restructured my contract at halftime of that game. I ended up playing the rest of the year.
“It was a lot of fun, but you knew you had to go back [home] and do something else.''
*****
The bulk of Verducci's college coaching career came at the University of Iowa under Hayden Fry. Verducci spent two seasons as a graduate assistant there after returning home from nearly a year in Finland, and after a two-year stint at Northwestern, Verducci returned to Iowa for the next 10 seasons (1989-98).
While there, he helped the Hawkeyes develop a rushing attack that produced three of the top four rushing seasons in the last 40 years of Iowa football: 1990 (224.9 yards per game), '94 (221.0 ypg) and '97 (217.0 ypg). He left for the NFL in 1999, spending time with Cincinnati, Dallas – serving as the Cowboys offensive line coach in 2002 when former Gator Emmitt Smith broke the NFL's all-time rushing record – Buffalo and Cleveland.
He returned to the college game in 2009 at Notre Dame, and after Weis' dismissal, decided to spend 2010 back home in Iowa to watch his son Jack – an incoming quarterback at Princeton – play his senior season. His job with the Rams allowed him to attend games on Friday nights.
“The deal was always to get back on the field,'' Verducci said. “I had always looked at it as a short-time deal. It just worked out great, getting to see my son's track, baseball and his senior year of football. I can understand what Urban [Meyer] has been through here, wanting to see more family events. It was a perfect pit stop for me.
“It also re-energizes you.''
Verducci takes over a Florida offensive line that lost four starters from last season but has some experience in returnees Xavier Nixon and Jon Halapio. Verducci's biggest challenge is rebuilding the line and developing depth.
His experience and past relationship with Weis prompted Muschamp to make that call in December.
“It is really important when you are building an offensive coaching staff that the offensive line coach and the offensive coordinator be on the same page,'' Muschamp said. “He has an impressive resume and is as good as there is in coaching his position in all of football.''
Verducci joined Weis at Notre Dame after two seasons as an offensive assistant in Cleveland under Browns head coach Romeo Crennel, New England's defensive coordinator when Weis was with the Patriots.
“The experience of working with Charlie at Notre Dame was really exceptional,'' Verducci said. “There are perceptions and then there are realities. Charlie is not a guy to put himself out there pubicly. He does so many things that are unknown to the general public. His values were so compatible with mine, that not only did I benefit from a football standpoint, but it just made for an enjoyable experience.''
Verducci hopes one day that he'll be able to say the same about the latest stop on his coaching journey.
A VERDUCCI Q & A
Q: Who has had the most influence on you as a coach?
A: First of all, I'd have to say my dad [Tony] because he taught me to have higher standards for myself than any coach or boss could ever have. And outside of my dad, Hayden Fry. I've always had a great respect for the profession. It just fit me.
Q: You've been around the game your whole life. What was your impression of Florida football over the years?
A: I've told the offensive linemen here, we've talked about it. When I was at Maryland – back in [1981] – we came down here and played and got handled pretty good. It wasn't even The Swamp back then, but it was a special environment. You get a glimpse of the SEC and you realize it's a whole another level. Looking at this program from the outside, I just always felt like it was one of the special places in college football.
Q: What has been your message to the players so far?
A: I think there is something special to being a Gator, and I'm trying to make sure the players know that and that they understand I feel that way so that we can do something extraordinary in the time we're here, because none of us are going to be here forever. The whole goal is to do something extraordinary. It's like I've tried to tell every kid I've ever coached, 'Use the game, don't let the game use you.'
Q: I've asked your fellow New Jersey natives – Weis and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn – this same question, so now it's your turn: Yankees or Mets?
A: Yankees. Here is an interesting sidebar. When we were kids, my uncle was the manager of the Mets when they won the '69 World Series. Gil Hodges was my uncle. So when we were little kids, they had a family area right off the clubhouse and we would talk to [Tom] Seaver and [Jerry] Koosman and all those guys. So we grew up Mets fans, and then my uncle died in spring training of '72 and then the Mets really dropped off. I was a Mets fan growing up, but when I moved away, it just gravitated toward the Yankees and it's been the Yankees ever since.
Q: What skills does an ideal offensive lineman possess?
A: Great feet, explosive and power through his core; great football instincts.
Q: What's your perfect meal?
A: I'm pretty simple. It's probably a great steak and garlic mashed potatoes.
Q: How about your favorite vacation spot?
A: Florida. We go to West Palm every year.
Q: Who is a favorite player you have coached?
A: Emmitt Smith, a former Gator. He was a consummate pro. He was the most prepared guy that I had ever seen. Every day he was completely prepared for whatever we were doing. He made you a better coach because you had to have the answers. He was going to ask you the most detailed questions of any guy I have every coached. He made me a better coach, but he did it in a way that you just enjoyed being around him.
Q: What's something about New Jersey that most people don't know?
A: Hard shell but soft interior. You've got to get past the hard shell.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “Love of the Game.” Kevin Costner, a baseball movie.
Q: Favorite music?
A: Springsteen. Typical Jersey [laughs]. Way to fall right into the typical stereotype.
