Coach Leavitt, please interview Willie Tillman !

[E.T.]

Willie Tillman

Defensive Coordinator at Bethel College(TN) remember Leavitt coached at Morningside in Des Moines  

Played WR & DB at Purdue ... helps run the Alstott Camp (Coach Grothe knows him well).

COACH LEAVITT !!!

731-352-4212

tillmanw@bethel-college.edu

Tillman following Tiller's coaching lead

Ex-Boiler takes winning attitude to Tennessee college

By Ken Thompson, Journal and Courier

Willie Tillman received his first lesson in Coaching 101 moments after Purdue suffered an embarrassing loss at Toledo in Joe Tiller's 1997 debut as head coach.

Tillman, now the defensive backs coach at Bethel College in McKenzie, Tenn., was a wide receiver for three seasons under Jim Colletto, whose voice when not hoarse was frequently raised in anger after disappointing performances.

"I expected coach Tiller to be pretty upset, but he was so calm," Tillman said. "He said we're just going to forget about it and get ready for Notre Dame. That was the end of that. Coach Colletto would have came in and thrown chairs and thrown a big fuss."

It's no coincidence in Tillman's mind that Tiller's attitude set the tone for the following week's landmark victory over Notre Dame in Ross-Ade Stadium.

"The main thing I took from coach Tiller was the attitude of expecting to win," he said. "How things can be turned around so quickly with a change of attitude. That's all it was. We didn't have any different players going from my junior to senior year. We ran a little different offense but the main thing was attitude.

"His motto was 'expect to win on every play.' I still use those things today. Coach Tiller was a big influence on the way I coach now."

Tillman points out with pride that the 1997 team still owns the best record under Tiller, 9-3. That season's pivotal moment was the Notre Dame game.

"I talked to coach Tiller last summer and one of the games we talked about was the Notre Dame game," Tillman said. "Coach Tiller said things just came together and it was a turning point for the season. He also mentioned how the senior class had some good leaders and we were fortunate to have just one major injury, Kendall Matthews.

"Our schedule played in our favor. It was our year to make things happen."

While Tiller was a major influence on Tillman, the Satellite Beach, Fla. native almost followed the career path of another Purdue coach. Gene Keady played football at Kansas State but the lack of available football jobs after graduation led him to a career in basketball.

Tillman was better known at Satellite High School for his basketball skills, earning a McDonald's All-America nomination as a senior.

"Football just happened to come first, scholarship-wise," he said. "My plans were to go to Purdue and try to do both. Once I got there, I was overwhelmed with football. It's hard to concentrate on academics and also compete on the football field."

So Tillman settled for the next best thing, working summer basketball camps with Keady, which he continued to do until taking the Bethel job last summer. When Tillman would ask about basketball jobs, Keady would suggest a different career path.

"He would always joke around, saying 'there's a football coaching job opening somewhere.' Don't be a basketball coach, be a football coach," Tillman said.

Tillman decided to try both after graduating in 1998, in between stints in the Arena Football League with the Albany (now Indiana) Firebirds and the Roanoke (Va.) Storm.

First came a football stop at Maine Maritime Academy, where he was reunited with former Purdue teammate and future boss Dino Kaklis. After a year at Anderson University, Tillman's high school basketball coach, Tony Longa, asked him to join his staff at Florida Southern.

"It was something I always wanted to do," Tillman said. "I had to jump on that opportunity."

It didn't take long for Tillman to learn that Keady was right: he is a football coach.

"I believe everything happens for a reason," Tillman said. "In the long run, I believe that two-year stint at Florida Southern is going to help me out as far as being organized and understanding what a head coach has to do."

Florida Southern went 20-10 and 26-5 in Tillman's brief stay but being the No. 2 assistant at a Division II basketball school wasn't satisfying.

"Moving up wasn't looking very good, and I was missing football," he said. "There's a big difference, not as far as coaching but the intensity. My first-hand knowledge of football is so much greater than basketball because I played at the highest level. It used to frustrate me a little bit, not knowing some of the terminology."

Re-enter Kaklis, who was promoted last year from interim head coach to the permanent job at Bethel, an NAIA school. Kaklis brought in one former Purdue teammate, Chris Hill, and sought out Tillman.

"When the opportunity to bring him onto my staff became available, it was a no-brainer," Kaklis said.

The timing was perfect.

"When Dino called and offered the job, I told him if he could pay me a decent amount that I would definitely come up," Tillman said. "Plus, here, I've got a chance to be a defensive coordinator after a few years here."

But basketball still plays a role in Tillman's job.

"I learned recruiting," he said. "In basketball, you don't have as many guys to choose from and you have to be careful who you pick. I really got a chance to look for athletes in Florida and make home visits. That's something we've instituted at Bethel, home visits. You can sell the program better looking them eye to eye than with a letter or a phone call."

[crambone]

blah I can't spell...

[E.T.]

NFL MINORITY COACHING FELLOWSHIP ATTRACTS 78 PARTICIPANTS

http://www.jointheteam.com/press/press_release.asp?id=39

[flsportsfan83]

this would be a down grade

[E.T.]

this would be a down grade

:

Think you have your bag on backwards.

[Mag Pie]

this would be a down grade

I agree.

[E.T.]

this would be a down grade

I agree.

Like when Snyder hired a DC from D3 Morningside to be his LB coach ?