Todd Graham
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| Todd Graham | ||
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| Title | Head Coach | |
| College | Tulsa | |
| Sport | Football | |
| Conference | C-USA | |
| Team record | 10–4 | |
| Born | December 5, 1964 | |
| Place of birth | Mesquite, TX | |
| Annual salary | $1,100,000 | |
| Career highlights | ||
| Overall | 17–10 | |
| Bowls | 1–1 | |
| Coaching stats | ||
| College Football DataWarehouse | ||
| Playing career | ||
| 1983-1986 | East Central | |
| Position | DB | |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | ||
| 1988-1990 1991-1993 1994 1995-2000 2001 2002 2003-2005 2006 2007-present |
Poteet HS (Assistant) East Central (DC) Carl Albert HS Allen HS West Virginia (LBs coach) West Virginia (Co-DC) Tulsa (DC) Rice Tulsa |
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Todd Graham (born December 5, 1964 in Mesquite, Texas) is the head football coach at the University of Tulsa. He was previously the head coach at Rice University in Houston, Texas.
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[edit] Playing career
Graham was an all-state defensive back at North Mesquite High School, from which he graduated in 1983. He then went on to play at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, where he was a two-time All-NAIA defensive back. After graduation from East Central, Graham had a brief stint with the St. Louis Cardinals of the NFL.
[edit] Coaching career
Graham began his coaching career in 1988 as an assistant at Poteet High School in his hometown of Mesquite. He later held head coaching positions at Carl Albert High School in Midwest City, Oklahoma, and Allen High School in Allen, Texas before becoming linebackers coach under Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia University in 2001.[1] The following season Graham was assigned to defensive co-coordinator.
In 2003, he was hired by Steve Kragthorpe as the defensive coordinator at Tulsa, where he helped guide the Golden Hurricane to two bowl games in three seasons. Graham built one of the best defensive units in Conference USA and the nation before leaving the position following his third year at Tulsa for his first head coaching stint.
[edit] Rice
Graham was hired as the head coach at Rice on January 1, 2006, following the resignation of long-time coach Ken Hatfield after the Owls had finished 1-11 in 2005. At Rice, Graham raised $5.5 million for renovating Rice Stadium and replacing the dated AstroTurf with FieldTurf. He hired former University of Texas quarterback Major Applewhite as his offensive coordinator,[2] replacing the triple option offense Hatfield had been running with a more balanced attack. Behind quarterback Chase Clement and All-American receiver Jarett Dillard, Rice pulled off the biggest turnaround of the 2006 season, finishing 7-5 and earning an invitation to the New Orleans Bowl, the school's first bowl game since 1960. Graham was named Conference USA Coach of the Year, and was rewarded by the Rice administration with a significant pay raise and contract extension.[3] Within days of accepting the extension and declaring his desire to coach at Rice for years to come, Graham left Rice to accept the head coaching position at the University of Tulsa. This controverisal move did not sit well with many in the Rice community.[4] On November 24, 2007, when Tulsa played Rice at Rice Stadium, the Rice University Marching Owl Band presented a halftime show named "Todd Graham's Inferno"[5] (based on Dante's "The Divine Comedy") which implied that Graham had entered a special circle of Hell when he abandoned Rice for Tulsa. The use of the word "douchebag" in reference to Graham resulted in a formal protest to Conference USA by Tulsa's athletic department. Chuck Throckmorton, the marching band's director, later apologized for the show.[6][7]
[edit] Tulsa
When the Tulsa head coaching position was vacant following the 2002 season, Todd Graham sent in his application. But it was not until five years later that Graham would take over the reins as the Golden Hurricane head coach. After serving three years as Tulsa defensive coordinator and one year as Rice head coach, Graham was introduced as Tulsa's new head football coach on January 12, 2007.[8] He is the 27th head football coach in Golden Hurricane history. For his offensive coordinators, Graham turned to his good friend Gus Malzahn, then offensive coordinator at the University of Arkansas,[9] as well as then WVU tight ends coach Herb Hand.[10] He also hired former Tulsa quarterback and Tulsa Union HS coach Bill Blankenship as wide receivers coach.
With an annual salary of $1,100,000 Graham is the second-highest-paid football coach in the Conference USA, behind SMU's June Jones.
[edit] Record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rice Owls (Conference USA) (2006) | |||||||||
| 2006 | Rice | 7–6 | 6–2 | 2nd (West) | L New Orleans | — | — | ||
| Rice: | 7–6 | 6–2 | |||||||
| Tulsa Golden Hurricane (Conference USA) (2007 — present) | |||||||||
| 2007 | Tulsa | 10–4 | 6–3 | 1st (West) | W GMAC | — | — | ||
| Tulsa: | 10–4 | 6–3 | |||||||
| Total: | 17–10 | ||||||||
| National Championship Conference Title Conference Division Title | |||||||||
| #Rankings from final Coaches Poll of the season. °Rankings from final AP Poll of the season. |
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[edit] References
- ^ Head Football Coach Todd Graham Happy to be at TU
- ^ Applewhite named offensive coordinator at Rice
- ^ Graham strikes deal in contract extension
- ^ Coach stings Owls with deception
- ^ Todd Graham's Inferno
- ^ Rice band's 'Todd Graham's Inferno' not a hit with Tulsa,
- ^ Rice band director apologizes for Graham routine
- ^ Graham leaving Rice for Tulsa job
- ^ Gus Malzahn Leaves Arkansas
- ^ Hand Leaves West Virginia For Tulsa
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Ken Hatfield |
Rice Owls Head Coach 2006 |
Succeeded by David Bailiff |
| Preceded by Steve Kragthorpe |
University of Tulsa Head Football Coach 2007– |
Succeeded by Current |
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