Coles reverse roles, look to reverse fortunes at Lane
Roscoe Nance
BCSP Correspondent
Cole-blooded football, the coaching tandem of brothers L.C. and Johnnie Cole, produced outstanding results at Tennessee State and Alabama State. Now it's coming to Lane College with a twist, as the brothers have switched roles. This time Johnnie, 42, is head coach and L.C., 47, is his top assistant.
"It's pretty much the same as before,'' says Johnnie, who was his
brother's offensive coordinator at Tennessee State and Alabama State and was
receivers coach at Arizona Western last season. "Administrative roles have changed.
I'm dealing more with administration and he's doing more of the internal stuff
like handling travel and the equipment room and overseeing things when I'm
not around, things that I did in the past.''
The brothers' coaching responsibilities will be the same as they were when they were at Tennessee State and Alabama State. Johnnie, who played quarterback at Texas Southern in the 1980s, will run the Dragons' offense. L.C., who played defensive end at Nebraska, will coordinate their defense.
L.C. left Concordia College (Minn.), where he was defensive coordinator, to be on the Dragons' staff and help Johnnie in his first head coaching job.
"We're family,'' L.C. says. "I felt obligated to come and work with him. He left Cincinnati to come work with me (at Tennessee State). He sacrificed to come from a Division IA program to help me.''
The Coles hope to duplicate the successes they had at Tennessee
State and Alabama State where they produced a 48-33 record in seven seasons.
They fashioned a 28-18 record in five seasons (1996-1999) at Tennessee State,
won two Ohio Valley Conference championships and produced the
top-ranked team in Division IAA in 1999.
They were 20-15 in two seasons (2000-02) at Alabama State and won the SWAC Eastern Division championship in 2001.
The Coles have a gargantuan challenge in front of them. Lane is a small school in Jackson, Tennessee that has 700 full-time students. The Dragons are a Division II program that competes in the Southern Intercollegiate Conference and haven't had a winning since going 9-1 in 1991. The Coles won't have the resources that were available to them at Tennessee State and Alabama State even though Johnny was allowed to hire eight assistant coaches..
"The biggest thing is changing attitudes,'' Johnnie Cole says. "When you come into a program like this, your expectations are high. Theirs are low.''
Johnnie Cole has gone to great lengths to change attitudes, including painting the locker room, refurbishing the coaches' offices, cleaning up the equipment room, re-sodding the field, changing the color of the team's helmets from blue to white and replacing the Dragon logo on the side with L-A-N-E. The Dragons open Saturday (2:00 p.m.) at home vs. St. Augustine's.
"We've changed the face of the program,'' Johnnie Coles says. "We want to make sure we cleaned up everything within the program. We laid the law down to them. This is the way it's going to be.'' The Coles got a late start on their rebuilding job. They weren't hired until mid-May, and the coaching staff didn't meet any of the players until the start of preseason practice.
"We're having our spring practice now,'' Johnnie Cole says. "I'm getting to know them and they're getting to know me. We're finding out who can play, and we're getting ready to play a game.''
The Coles are accustomed to rebuilding programs. Johnnie was a member of Pete Richardson's coaching staff that rejuvenated Southern University. Tennessee State and Alabama State were both 2-9 the year before Cole-blooded football arrived.
Ironically, Lane was 2-9 last season.
"That's our lucky number,'' L.C. Cole says, adding that "this is the third program that needed a facelift. I'm getting a little old for this.''
Johnnie Cole's goal for this season is a modest one. He just wants the Dragons to win more games than they did a year ago.
"We want to be respectable,'' he says. "We want to look classy, professional. We want to put a quality team on the field.''
Cole says that with a solid core of returning players and some quality recruits, the Dragons "have something to build on and will surprise some people.''
Middle linebacker Larry Brown, the No.1 tackler in the SIAC last season, outside linebacker Lamar Allman, cornerbacks Michael Pleasant and Reggie Ingle, who led Division II in pass break-ups, and safeties Harvey Scott and Brad Campbell will anchor the Dragons' defense.
The offense features a pair of big wide receivers in 6-3 Jacoby Jones and 6-5 JUCO transfer Edward Williams, quarterback Dion Pickett, another JUCO transfer, and former Tusculum College tailback Reginald Thomas. Veteran center LaCourtney Kaiser and tackle Eric Martinear, a 6-6, 280-pound freshman who originally signed with Alabama-Birmingham anchor the offensive line.
Cole says the kicking game is in capable hands with place-kicker Chester Miranda, a California JUCO transfer, and veteran punter Ja'Wesley Porter.
Lane is picked to finish eighth in the 10-member SIAC, and given its history of football futility, it wouldn't seem to be the best place for a first-time head coach. But Johnnie Cole is confident that better days are ahead.
"My firm belief is I'm a winner,'' he says. "Put me in Baghdad and I'll win. I welcome this challenge.''
Despite their successes, the Cole's reputations have been tainted by NCAA rules violations at Tennessee State and Alabama State during their tenure. Tennessee State placed the brothers on probation, and the NCAA placed the football program on probation for three years, reduced its scholarships for three years and reduced the number of paid visits for recruits for two years.
An internal investigation at Alabama State led to the Coles' being fired, but the NCAA has not handed down any penalties. L.C. Cole says the NCAA hasn't named him in any of the charges and that the problems at Alabama State stemmed from a lack of institutional control and a power struggle between top school officials, one of whom wanted to get rid of him.
If the Coles are able to transform Lane into a winning program, it could catapult L.C. and linebacker coach Richard Freeman, who was also implicated in the investigation at Alabama State and was with the brothers at Tennessee State, into a head coaching job, which he says is his goal.
"I'm looking for it (a head coaching job),'' L.C. Cole says, adding that he interviewed for three positions last year, including the opening at Clark-Atlanta. "But I want to make sure this situation here is done okay. I've had success. If they're looking for someone to turn a program around and who knows how to win, I'm the man.''
Says Johnnie Cole: "Coach Cole is an outstanding coach. I'm fortunate to have him. He should be a head coach. I know what the naysayers say about the NCAA. The stuff that went on in those programs was minor. When you look at NCAA (violations) you can find stuff in any program.''
Johnnie Cole expects his brother and Freeman to both get head coaching jobs sooner rather later, especially if they can help build a winner at Lane. It could also serve as a stepping stone for him to move on to a more prestigious job. However, he says that's not part of his plan. "I've been coaching a long time,'' he says. "All I'm looking for is some security so I can eat. Things are in place for us to be successful. I'm making sure they stay in place.''
© 2005 Azeez Communications, Inc.