Sunday Conversation: Bob Stitt not afraid to gamble
Editor's Note: Bob Stitt, who was introduced Friday as the new head football coach at Montana, is considered an innovative offensive coach known for his invention of the fly sweep and his disdain of the punt on fourth down. The 50-year-old native Nebraskan had a highly successful 15-year coach coaching career at NCAA Division II Colorado Mines and now becomes the 36th head coach in Grizzly history. Bob and his wife, Joan, were house hunting on Saturday in Missoula, where Sports Editor Scott Mansch caught up with the coach for our Sunday Conversation.
Question: I know you have two sons, Bob. How old are they and what do they think of the move?
Answer: They're very, very excited. It was a great day for them (Friday) to be able to see that stadium and how important football is to this state. They're pretty dang excited. They're 15 (Joe) and 10 (Sam). Both have birthdays here pretty quick.
Q: So they're young quarterbacks, I assume.
A: Joe's a defensive back and Sam kind of does it all.
Q: Had you not been to Missoula before this week, Bob?
A: I had never been to Montana. My wife's brother actually graduated from Montana State. She's been here a couple times but I'd never been to the state.
Q: Welcome to the Treasure State. I know I'm not the first one to say that. Missoula is a beautiful place.
A: We love it so far. It's quite a place.
Q: We talked to Mike Van Diest the other day and he pretty much said any friend of Joe Glenn is a friend of his. So I guess you've got some friends out here, coach.
A: Exactly (laughs). Joe's one of a kind.
Q: Now I have to ask you: Did Mr. (Kent) Haslam let you know before you took the job that your first game as Grizzly coach is against North Dakota State (next year in Missoula)?
A: (laughs) He did. I put him in a headlock for that one (laughs).
Q: Many fans might be cynical or critical and think 'Gosh, Division II is a lot different than the FCS level.' What you say to them?
A: What I would say is, the team (Colorado State-Pueblo) that we tied for the conference championship in our league (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) beat Sam Houston State by 26 points (47-21 on Sept. 13 in Huntsville, Texas). And Sam Houston was playing (Friday night in an FCS semifinal against North Dakota State). The difference in the level of football, as far as the front-line guys, is not that much different. It's just that (FCS) has more scholarships and more depth than we do. Division II football is pretty darn good.
Q: Many of us in Montana are real familiar with the type of athletes they have at Sam Houston State. So that says a lot.
A: Yes. Pueblo was ahead 41 to nothing at halftime. We lost to Pueblo by 8, but they kicked the tar out of Sam Houston. It's comparable, but it's really going to be nice to have full scholarships to be able to get some really good kids.
Q: Will this put you behind the 8-ball in recruiting because of the late start?
A: The staff here has done a great job. We've only got a few spots left (for recruits). We've got to solidify the 13 commitments that we have and there's a few guys that we really want. We'll get out and see them on the 4th (of January) and see if we can't get some more commitments.
Q: What about all this going for it on fourth down I've been hearing about? (Mines went for it on 4th down 51 times last year, more than any other Division II team, and made it 33 times). You're kind of a gambler, aren't you?
A: It just makes sense, because when you go for it on fourth down you're manufacturing turnovers. They give you four downs, and you might as well use them. I don't like giving the ball back. If we can convert, it is a manufactured turnover. We went for it 51 times this year and converted 65 percent of them. It won us a couple of games. I truly believe in it. The defense has to buy in also, and bail you out when it doesn't work out.
Q: I didn't realize there were any riverboats in Nebraska.
A: (laughs) I've just always been that kind of guy. I'm not afraid of that. I'm not going to be silly with it, but if it's going to help our football team we're definitely going to always think about going for it on fourth down.
Q: How big is your hometown, Tecumseh, Nebraska?
A: Tecumseh was 2,000 people when I lived there. I graduated with a class of 36.
Q: You played all the sports, I understand.
A: You just went from one to the next. Didn't even get a day off.
Q: Joe Glenn is from Lincoln, of course, and so is my old friend Bob Green, the former head coach at Montana Tech. Do you know coach Green, too?
A: I love Bob Green. One of my most favorite guys in coaching.
Q: Well, you maybe had never been to Montana but you sure had some connections to our state, didn't you?
A: Yes. Like I told everybody (Friday when he was introduced at a press conference), I haven't met anybody from Montana that I really didn't enjoy. I really look forward to getting ingrained in this community, getting to know people, and all the Griz alums.
Q: Well, everybody in our state is either a Grizzly or a Bobcat. I'm sure you're familiar with this great rivalry we've got here.
A: Oh yes. It's going to be a lot of fun to be involved in something like that. There's not that many great rivalries left. When I was a kid it was Nebraska-Oklahoma. With a change of conferences that was wiped out. This one here is great. Can't wait for it.
Q: You alluded in your comments (Friday) about Kent Haslam thinking outside the box with this hire. It's on the mind of a lot of folks that you really didn't have a connection to the Grizzly program.
A: I do now. I wasn't a Mines guy, either. But I'll be a Mines guy for life now. And that's the same way I feel about Montana now.
Q: I know you were once the offensive coordinator at Harvard and we have a football history with that school here in Great Falls. Tony Hinz was a great running back there about 25 years ago and my friend Anders Blewett kicked for the Crimson. Did you know them?
A: I helped recruit Anders Blewett. When he was on his official visit at Harvard I was the offensive coordinator then. I don't know if he remembers me. I was only at Harvard a short time and I got the Mines job shortly after that.
Q: I'm sure you feel good about recruiting intelligent young men. That had to be the case at Colorado Mines.
A: I think it really carries over if you can get kids who care about academics. That will carry over to what they put into football. Book smart and football smart aren't always the same, but I want to recruit kids who care about school. Who want to get a degree and do things the right way.
Q: Your team won't have a returning starter at quarterback next season. It that your first recruiting priority? Could there be some transfers?
A: You know, I've heard there's a couple possible transfers coming in. I think there's a high school kid coming in. We can't talk about any of them specifically. And I think there's a couple guys who might be able to do it on the team now. I'm open. I'm going to get in there and take a look at those guys. There may be somebody that nobody thought about who is able to rise to the top and do what I want them to do, as far as the athletic part, the physical part and the mental part.
Q: What will be the most important thing for you during offseason workouts and spring ball?
A: The thing that I want to establish is the team chemistry, the coach getting to know the players and also the players getting to know each other as much as possible. I don't think that happens enough at programs. It's something we stressed at Mines and we need to continue to do things where people get to know each other. I don't think you can build trust on a football team if you really don't know each other.
Q: Many of us know all about Chad Germer (the former Griz star who will coach the offensive line for Stitt). He's highly regarded as a coach, isn't he?
A: I've known Chad for a long time. He was with Joe for a number of years and I was so excited to get him on board because he means so much to this program. His ability to get those O-Linemen to play really hard and his ability to evaluate high school talent is huge for us.
Q: Ty Gregorak will remain on the staff as defensive coordinator. Have you known him a long time, too?
A: I met Ty for the first time the other day. I'd never met him. But I did my research, talked to a lot of people about him. There's nobody saying anything bad about Ty Gregorak.
Q: Do you feel like the Rocky Mountain area will be your main emphasis in recruiting?
A: You've got to start in Montana, and then we're going to work Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho. And I'd like to get into Denver. I think it's a natural.
Q: Do you know any of the other coaches in the Big Sky, Bob? Rob Ash in Bozeman, perhaps?
A: I know coach Ash. We used to recruit against each other quite a bit when he was at Drake. He's done a fantastic job at Montana State.
Q: You mentioned on Friday that you're embracing the pressure and passion of the job. Is that accurate?
A: Yes. I grew up with that. I always wanted to coach in an environment like that. Yes, it is tough when things don't go great. But when they go good, it's awesome. I'm so excited to get this program to where it can get back to the glory days and what these fans deserve.
Q: I noticed you thanked your father in your opening remarks at the press conference. Is he doing well and was he a football coach, also?
A: He was not. Both my mom and dad are going great and living in Tecumseh. He was a small-town banker in northern Kansas. He drove down there every day. So he had nothing to do with coaching football. When I was 6 years old I stumbled across football practice at the high school. They took me in and I became their student manager. So I've been going to practice since 1970.
Q: You were a quarterback, Bob?
A: I played running back.
Q: And also played other sports at Doane (Neb.) College, right?
A: I was on the baseball team and ran track at Doane. I was a running back, punt returner and kick returner. A little bit of everything.
Q: You know, I messed this up earlier in a story when I said was Colorado Mines was in Arvada. Of course it's in Golden, Colo., home of Coors Beer.
A: Arvada is where we played this year, because our stadium was under construction. So we played at a county stadium in Arvada. We played in Arvada and I lived in Arvada, but the campus is in Golden.
Q: So I suppose you're a Coors Beer guy?
A: (laughs) When you live in Golden, you've got to drink Coors products (laughs). I would drink Coors Light and Joe Coors would give me a hard time, because I wasn't drinking the banquet beer.
Q: Thank you so much, coach. I'll bet this has been a whirlwind few weeks for you.
A: It's been crazy ever since I got the first call December First. It's all so exciting. I can't wait to get my family here and then hopefully things will slow down a little and I can focus entirely on football.
Q: This is a big old state but the Grizzlies also get their coaches out to meet fans in different cities. I'm sure you've been in Great Falls in the near future, Bob.
A: They're talking about all kinds of stuff this spring. And I cannot wait to get out and meet everybody around the state.
Q: Thank you for the time, sir.
A: You're welcome, Scott.