ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 25, 1996 TAG: 9601250022
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
One thing you'll never hear Phil Elmassian do - not publicly, at least - is criticize a former employer.
And he's had a few of them.
``You don't ever go from the East Coast to the West Coast planning to leave in a year,'' Elmassian said Wednesday. ``You never go to the University of Washington and say, `OK, I'll go see what it's like.'''
Elmassian was speaking from Chestnut Hill, Mass., where he was in his first day as Boston College's defensive coordinator. He submitted his resignation Tuesday at Washington, where he coached the secondary for one season.
Elmassian, 44, previously had served as defensive coordinator at Virginia Tech from 1993-94, and the opportunity to become a coordinator was at least one of the considerations in his latest move. The biggest influence, however, was Boston College head coach Dan Henning.
``My best five years of coaching defense was when I was with Gary Tranquill,'' said Elmassian, referring to coaching stints at Virginia and Virginia Tech, where Tranquill was the offensive coordinator. ``I became a better defensive coach. Those were my best years in terms of learning.
``Now, here's Dan Henning. This guy can give me what Gary gave me. I don't know if this can be measured in terms of wins and losses, but I'm going to lean on him in terms of, `Talk to me about this offense. Coach me on offense. I'm your quarterback.' That, to me, is priceless.''
Elmassian and Henning both went to William and Mary and both coached at Virginia, though not at the same time. Indeed, Elmassian said he should have been fired as Tech's defensive coordinator after the Hokies fell to Boston College 48-34 in 1993.
``Tom Coughlin was the BC coach at the time,'' Elmassian said. ``I remember telling [Tech coach] Frank [Beamer] after the second series, `I have a real bad game plan and we're not executing it real well.' But you know what? That one game turned the program around.''
Elmassian, who was the Hokies' secondary coach from 1986-87, said the abbreviated stint at Washington did not mean he regretted his decision to leave Tech.
``No,'' he said. ``Never. I wouldn't trade that one year at the University of Washington. I knew why I was going there and it lived up to expectations. It was coaching against UCLA, seeing Notre Dame and Ohio State, being with [head coach] Jim Lambright and having the opportunity to coach [All-America safety] Lawyer Milloy.''
Elmassian, who took a $20,000 pay cut to go to Washington, will be making close to the $85,000 that Tech was paying him. BC will be his third Big East stop, counting two seasons he spent at Syracuse.
``I've never gone into a job with the intention of staying one year,'' Elmassian said. ``But what changed my perspective was, when I left Minnesota [in 1985] to go to Virginia Tech with Bill Dooley, I wanted to be there the rest of my life.
``I was there two years, we won nine games and went to a bowl [in 1987] and we were out of a job [after Dooley was fired]. That gave me a whole new outlook. I'll carry it with me for the rest of my life.''
IN DEMAND: Tech insiders say assistant coach Todd Grantham turned down a job offer from Boston College for what would have been a substantial pay increase. Grantham, a Pulaski County alumnus who coaches the Hokies' defensive linemen, also was approached about a coordinator's position at Cincinnati.
END OF AN ERA? Jim Cavanaugh had spent 19 years in the ACC as an assistant football coach, working for four programs, before he was informed by North Carolina coach Mack Brown that his contract would not be renewed.
Cavanaugh has spent the past 15 years in the conference, which is longer than any of the ACC's head coaches, not counting Bobby Bowden's tenure at Florida State when the Seminoles were an independent. Cavanaugh, who went to William and Mary and coached at VMI, was UNC's principal recruiter in Virginia.
``I told Mack Brown to his face one night that Jim Cavanaugh is the best thing to happen to North Carolina in this part of the state,'' said Richard McFee, the coach at Huguenot High School in Richmond. ``My kids who went to North Carolina [Corey Holliday, William Henderson and Toney Coles] went there because of Cavanaugh.''
Coach Bo Henson at E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg said, ``My question is, `Why?' He busted his butt in this area. Jim's one of the best guys to come through this school and a gentleman all the way. I hope they don't think somebody else is going to come in here and do better.''
RECRUITING: Group A player of the year Thomas Jones has received calls from North Carolina and Notre Dame to say their scholarship offers stand, but he remains firm in his commitment to Virginia, Jones' father said. The calls coincided with the announcement UVa running backs coach Ken Mack had left for Carolina.
North Carolina has received an oral commitment from Deon Dyer, a 6-foot, 240-pound fullback from Chesapeake who was rated the No.16 prospect in Virginia by The Roanoke Times. As expected, Top 25 choices Tramayne Simmons and Dorean Kass have committed to N.C. State and Stanford, respectively.
The fact Virginia Tech is in the same conference as Miami did not hurt the Hokies with Corey Storr, an all-state defensive lineman from Dade County, Fla. Storr visited Tech, N.C. State and Iowa State and canceled trips to South Carolina and Kentucky.
``Anybody who can beat U of M has had a serious season,'' Storr said. ``I was born a U of M fan and I might die a U of M fan. It's one of the most well-known programs in America, [but] I knew I wasn't going to play there. It's why you see Florida kids all over the country.''
LENGTH: Long : 102 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Elmassian.by CNB