On Monday morning at the Alumni Center on the campus of USF, Brian Hartline was officially introduced as the seventh head football coach in program history.
CEO of Athetics Rob Higgins, Will Weatherford, and USF president Rhea Law were all on hand to introduce Brian Hartline to the USF alumni and media. Hartline replaces Alex Golesh, who left at the end of the regular season to accept the head football coaching duties at Auburn.
Higgins introduced Hartline to the large gathering of alums and media members and talked about what USF is getting with Hartline as head coach.
“Well, I think we get a variety of different things”, Higgins said. “One is he certainly knows how to win. He knows how to be a champion. He proved that last year; he’s proved that throughout his career. The more that you’re around that, the more that you’re a part of that, the more that you help lead that, the better off we’re going to be positioned as a program.”
“The guy is an absolute winner, and he’s the right person at the right time to lead our football program.”
Rumors were floating around that Higgins had a list of potential coaches he would like to bring to South Florida should Golesh leave, and Hartline was at the top of that list.
“We had a list,” Higgins said. “He was at the top of that list, and when we went into execution mode, he was our 1st call, and we wanted to make sure we did anything and everything we could do to land our dream candidate. So it was a process. It took 60 hours. But like I said, at the end of the day, we’ve got the absolute perfect person to lead our football program.”
Hartline, who was born and raised in Ohio, said that Florida has always felt like his second home.
“I think, you know, for me, I’ve been born, raised, and spent a lot of time in Ohio, but when I did leave the state, I felt like Florida’s always been our second home. We wanted to be somewhere we had envisioned ourselves. My wife and my family are a big part of that,” he said.
Hartline added that he always had an eye on USF as a coaching possibility.
“So, when you’re looking for programs in the state of Florida, I always have USF as the very top of that list. I mean, the trajectory that we are on, the vision with Rob, I have a lot of respect for where we currently are and where we want to go. And I think that that was a huge part for me and my family. And yeah, frankly, I’m really, really excited.”
Hartline said he has learned a lot from the best coaches in the business, Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer, as he transitions from OC/play-caller to head coach.
“You know, I think, from playing with Jim Tressel, seeing how very different it was to be there with Coach Urban Meyer and see how he operated completely different than how Coach [Ryan] Day is operating.”
“I think the experience of calling plays is important, but the day-to-day, in and out, seeing these guys operate, how to deal with staff, how to set a schedule, how to communicate with recruits, is way more important than maybe the true, you know, of calling plays.”
“I’m just also making sure people understand that I spent day in and day out with those elite men. It’s ultimately why I feel like I’m very confident that I’m going to do an elite job here.”
Hartline said that his first and primary focus is to make sure the program stabilizes, and for him, it is all about the players.
“First thing I want to do is just make sure we stabilize. I think, for me, it’s all about the players. I’m fairly removed from being a player, but I just remember that experience and the understanding: I’m chasing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And these guys are living it right now. We owe everything to the players to make sure we’re doing right by them, and we are putting them in the position to ultimately be the best person themselves.”
“If we can get a bunch of guys on the team being the best versions of themselves, USF football is gonna be all right.”
Hartline said that the most important thing he will do over the next few days will be to get in front of the players and connect with them.
“You can’t get in front of the guys enough. I’ve done some texts, tons of phone calls, but I love being in person. I think that you can look in someone’s eyes, you can tell if they’re full of it or not. And ultimately, that’s where the connection comes from.”
”I want to get connected with the players and let them see the vision that I have.”
The biggest question on everyone’s mind is if star quarterback Byrum Brown will stay with the Bulls. Hartline has already been in contact with him.
“Yeah, I think that communication with him has been great,” Hartline said. “I look forward to spending more time with him in person through this week. But no, I think he’s a great player. I like his mentality. That’s probably the most impressive part that I’ve seen. And I think that’s a big factor in an athlete’s success. I look forward to spending more time with him in person through this week.”
Hartline said that the goal is to win championships at USF.
“Well, ultimately, we’re chasing championships, right? And we want to win Conference championships. And so that’s the ultimate focus.
To get there, Hartline said it’s going to take consistency.
“Consistency as an individual, ultimately reflects the consistency of the team, and I think that’s what separates people. Consistency is everything. Consistency ultimately defines what kind of player you are.”
If you’re a USF alum or USF fan, you left the Alumni Center full of hope and optimism that Brian Hartline is the right man to take this USF football program to the next level of success.