Addazio showing off head-coaching chops at helm of surprising Temple

"Addazio's end in Gainesville may not have ended with the embarrassing firing or demotion that we all expected, but gone is gone. Really though, it is quite the commentary on some of the people in high places that a guy THIS bad at his job actually ends up with what some may view as a promotion." -- Some anonymous dude calling himself SAVETHEGATORS on his site, FireSteveAddazio.com.

For the past year, this has been the prevailing view of Steve Addazio. If the average college football fan knows Addazio at all, it's as the architect of an inept offense at Florida -- a place where playmakers grow on palm trees. Addazio's post-Tebow offense at Florida did falter in 2010, but a man's entire career shouldn't be judged by three lousy months. So maybe it's for the best that Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw doesn't write on the Internet for a living, because his technique of evaluating the totality of Addazio's achievements before deciding to hire him for the Owls' head-coaching vacancy wouldn't generate many clicks. It will, however, generate more wins.

Last week, the Fighting Owldazios went into College Park and steamrolled Maryland, 38-7. Temple hogged the ball for 41 minutes, 1 second. Tailback Bernard Pierce carried 32 times for 149 yards and five touchdowns. Temple's defense, run by fellow Florida refugee Chuck Heater, didn't allow a play longer than 27 yards. The win boosted the Owls to 3-1, but everyone in the locker room believes Temple should be 4-0. A week earlier, the Owls led for most of the second half before allowing a late touchdown to let Penn State escape Lincoln Financial Field with a 14-10 win.

"We should have beaten Penn State," Addazio said this week in a phone interview.

No, Temple shouldn't beat Penn State. The Nittany Lions have so many more advantages than the Owls that the teams probably shouldn't even be playing the same sport. But the fact that Addazio believes in his heart that the Owls should win that game -- every time -- should explain the man's ambition. He believes he can build something at Temple. Given some of the outside factors aiding the Owls, he might be correct.

Eight years ago, fewer than 1,000 students lived on Temple's campus. It was a commuter school, and that 13th-grade spirit showed in the paltry attendance at sagging Veterans Stadium. That has changed as Temple has pumped in money to improve its campus -- specifically its residence halls -- and the neighborhood around the school has slowly gentrified. When Temple faced Penn State on Sept. 17, more than 11,000 students, many of them on-campus residents, came to the Linc to cheer on the Owls against Penn State. Addazio estimates most in the crowd were Temple fans at a game Penn State only schedules so its Philly-area fans can see the Nittany Lions without making the drive to State College. "When we played Penn State, there were 40,000 Temple fans there," Addazio said. "Of those, 11,000 were Temple students. People say the overall number was down in the stadium. That's because Penn State's numbers were down. There was a time when that stadium was filled with Penn State people only."

Addazio, a Farmington, Conn., native who has recruited the northeast his entire career, refuses to believe that Philadelphia won't support a hometown college football team. He points to the love affair with college basketball to defy the myth that the City of Brotherly Love only boos its professional teams. The difference between the North and the South, Addazio said, is that Southern fans will pack a stadium even if they aren't pleased with the results. "In the Northeast, that's kind of the way it is. ... The ebb and flow goes with the quality of the team on the field," Addazio said. "They might be pissed off down at The Swamp, but they're still going to fill The Swamp."

They were fairly ticked at The Swamp last season, usually when Addazio's offense was on the field. After three years of watching Tim Tebow-led offenses carve up everyone, Florida fans couldn't stomach the painful rebuilding with Addazio at the helm of the offense in Urban Meyer's final season as head coach. The Gators had a mediocre running game and an almost non-existent passing game. By season's end, opposing defenses could figure out Florida's intentions by which quarterback was in the game. John Brantley meant a short- or medium-range pass. Trey Burton meant a run. Jordan Reed meant a deep ball.

Addazio refuses to make excuses for the lack of production, but he could if he wanted to. Back Chris Rainey, who through four games leads the Gators in rushing and receiving and averages 8.4 yards per offensive touch, was suspended for six weeks after getting himself arrested for sending a stupid/creepy/violent text message to his ex-girlfriend. Tailback Jeff Demps injured his ankle early in the season and barely practiced again. A few minutes before the Mississippi State game, Florida coaches didn't believe they had anyone healthy enough or good enough to carry the ball. Despite that, Addazio has no problem taking the blame.

"As the offensive coordinator, whether it's right or wrong, I'm going to shoulder that," Addazio said. "I always felt that was my job to do that. You got paid well. I wasn't going to [a less friendly word for complain] or complain. That wasn't where I was at. I had a love for that university and for my players. ... I gave everything I had to that place in every capacity. I was a vital part of two national championships. I was there for the head coach when he needed me and for the university when they needed me."

That's the part people forget. When Meyer resigned and quickly unresigned following the 2009 season, it was Addazio who held the nation's top-ranked recruiting class together while Meyer took a leave of absence. When Rainey got arrested, it was Addazio who first had to face questions from the media about the back's stupidity while Addazio's multimillionaire boss -- who ultimately would decide whether Rainey would remain on the team -- got to wait until after the initial maelstrom passed.

If anything, Addazio's experience at Florida prepared him to be a better head coach at Temple. He has already endured with the toughest parts of the job.

"It was just easy to say, 'That's the guy. It's his fault.' But I can look you in the eye and tell you right now that I can walk away from all of that and say to you that I am so grateful to the University of Florida," Addazio said. "I had five and a half -- I'll call it six -- six unprecedented great years.

"If the sum total of my six years came down to a few hard months, then you know what? I'm good with that. I'm real good with that. I root for them, and I always follow it close. I want nothing but the best for that place. In the big scheme of things, a little bit of rain fell on me for three months."

Now, Addazio is standing in bright sunshine on the corner of 10th and Diamond.