Philadelphia, Pa. - In his 17th season as the head coach at Appalachian State, Jerry Moore took his sqaud to the promised land. The Mountaineers defeated Northern Iowa, 21-16, on December 16 to win the school's first national. Since that time, Moore was named the AFCA Coach of the Year, coached in the Hula Bowl, and recently opened the defense of the Mountaineers' title with spring practice. This week, I caught up with Moore to talk about the title run and a storied career that has spanned 45 seasons as an assistant or head coach, including the last 41 at the collegiate level. Sports Network: You really received some great fan support this year right from the beginning. What was it like as you moved through your championship run? Jerry Moore: There's no question about our support. We actually went to Chattanooga a day earlier than we had planned. We had to be in Chattanooga by noon on Wednesday, so we decided to go out on Tuesday night. Now, there was not a lot of time to prepare this, but they had a great sendoff for us. We needed a police escort to get from the fieldhouse to River Street, which is about 200 yards, and there were just people lining the streets. When we came back, we got within about 7 or 8 miles from Boone and thought there was a traffic accident. There were police cars all over, and kids and all fans waving to us as we made our way to campus. And it continues to this day, where we've had several autograph sessions at basketball games and throughout the community.
TSN: In the national title victory against Northern Iowa, quarterback Richie Williams played the entire second half after sitting out the first. Did you just feel he could give it a half on his ankle, and what did his performance mean for the team?
Moore: When Richie was a sophomore, he played at Wofford after being hurt in the first half. It was a similar circumstance (to the championship game) where he couldn't run but he could throw. We took him out there that morning of the title game at about 10 or 10:30. We knew he couldn't run the option effectively, but he could throw the ball effectively. As a staff we made up our mind at halftime that we would go with him in the second half. It wasn't like Trey (quarterback Trey Elder) wasn't doing a good job, but we needed a boost. We told the offensive line that Richie couldn't get hit, and he only got hit once. The one time he did, he motioned for Trey to come in and Trey couldn't find his helmet. Richie had to limp down the middle of the field after a big play, and players, fans and coaches saw that and it caused even more enthusiasm to see this guy playing hurt. I think we played off of him an awful lot after he got hit. But don't forget, the last two games no one scored on our defense in second half. We made two big plays against Furman and the big play where Marques (defensive end Marques Murrell) knocked it loose and Jason (defensive end Jason Hunter) scored in the title game.
TSN: What did Richie mean to your program as a three-year starter?
Moore: Richie's a hard worker. He was selected as a captain as a sophomore, and stayed that way as a junior and a senior. It's not a popularity deal. The team saw him as a hard worker and he's always been a hard worker. And it's not just our players, but the people in the town and students respect him. I heard he got a huge ovation when he had to walk across stage for graduation right after the Furman playoff game.
TSN: How did winning the national title help in your recruiting process for this season's class?
Moore: There's no question that it helped our recruiting. Our phone still rings with people talking about those TV games. ESPN and the media, particularly the TV deal for the last two games, were awesome. I still get letters today from people that tell me about watching the last two games. The same thing is true at Furman, Bobby (head coach Bobby Lamb) was telling me that the other day. The coverage was great and we have a great place to play. The original schedule was only four home games, and there was a lot of jawing going on about that. I hurt for our seniors and it makes a difference in our economy up here. A ball game is worth about a million and a half dollars when we play at home. Once we got into the course of things, the fans were out.
TSN: Your team didn't have high preseason expectations nationally or even within the Southern Conference. When did you get the sense that this could be a special team?
Moore: We always thought we were going to be pretty good. I'm not going to sit here and say we thought we were going to win a national championship; I'm not going to lie to you. We felt like we beat a good ball team up at Eastern Kentucky in the first game. That was a tough ball game, tougher than the score indicated. The next week we went to Kansas. I thought those guys were really good, and have a lot of speed. They went on to do well and won a bowl game. In the locker room after the Kansas game, there was a sense that we had lost a Southern Conference game. The players were hurt, and they were disappointed. The next week against Coastal Carolina, we went up 30-0 at the half. Later in the year, we got a sense of confidence at LSU when we were only down 14-0 three or four minutes into the fourth quarter. When we had the huge crowd the next week against Western Carolina, we played extremely well. From that point on, I got a sense that these guys are for real and could pull this thing off.
TSN: With winning marks in 16 of your 17 seasons at Appalachian State, what has the key been to consistent success in such a competitive conference?
Moore: Players have had a great work ethic here and we haven't had a lot of turnover in staff. I don't have coaches come in here and stay a year and leave somewhere else. The coaches have stayed four, five, six, seven years. It's a fun league to play in, and you know you have to prepare. We also have a good strength and conditioning program, and a lot of players stay and work over the summer.
TSN: There are five coaches with eight or more years at Appalachian State on your staff. With all the coaching changes that occur all over the country, how have you been able to stay together?
Moore: I think it's kind of a neat place to live. It's a family environment up here. We get a paper three days a week, it's a small town atmosphere and it's just a neat place to raise a family. Several wives work around here and the coaches make a home here.
TSN: You just signed a contract extension and have completed 17 years at Appalachian State. Are there any thoughts to how much longer you want to stay as head coach of the Mountaineers?
Moore: I'll go as long as I still have the drive and enthusiasm for it. I have that zeal for wanting to learn and do things for our program to improve. If I hadn't coached here, I would have gone somewhere and coached as long as I can make a difference. In 17 years, I've coached well over 2,000 players. When we won the title in Chattanooga, about 1,000 ex-players were on the field. The first guy to pick me up and lift me up to his waist was D.J. Campbell, who was my first quarterback in 1989. I say all that because, as a coach, you like to think you make a difference in these kids' lives. We talk to them about being real men. I love football, xs and 0s, and I would love to practice as much as play, but I just think maybe we have a little bit to do with what the players become when they leave us.
TSN: You have coached so many big games over the years. Is there one that stands out in your mind, other than the title game?
Moore: It seems like every one of them is a big game. We had great ball games with Marshall and Furman and Georgia Southern. The Furman games especially come down to the end. I hope we haven't had that game yet. We want to enjoy last year, we have a good many players coming back and hope we can do it again. TSN: You had success out of the spread offense in the past two seasons. What led you to make that switch in 2004? Moore: Two years ago, I got the feeling that I wanted to change the tempo. We might start no-huddle, or go no-huddle throughout the first or second quarter. We spent a lot of time at West Virginia that offseason looking at it, and that spring we never huddled. The players bought in to it, and we did as coaches. In the second week of the season, we played really well against Eastern Kentucky. From that point, the players have a lot of confidence in it and we do to as coaches. It has just evolved from there.
TSN: What was the experience of coaching the Hula Bowl in Hawaii like for you?
Moore: Well it was a nice trip for my wife Margaret and I. It was just a little bit tough because it was during recruiting. It would have been neat to take coaches. It was a great honor and a neat privilege, but the guys that did 99 percent of the work are recruiting and working and I'm over there having a great time coaching premier players in the country
TSN: Was that the best part of being named AFCA Coach of the Year?
Moore: The fact that it's your peers voting for you really means a lot. I've been coaching over 40 years and have a great respect for coaches of all levels. I've done a little of all of it except for the professional part. We have committed coaches, and when those guys select you for an honor it means a lot.
TSN: What did you learn coaching with legends like Hayden Fry and Tom Osborne?
Moore: I've actually been with three really special head coaches. Hayden was an innovator. He had a terrific mind, and was kind of a visionary guy. We ran something (at Southern Methodist) called the flying wishbone, where we have these wing kind of guys. Oklahoma was the best traditional wishbone, but we would take those two backs outside of ends or tackles. I left there and went to Nebraska. Contrary to what a lot of people say about the athletes there, they were just really coached well, too. The team was highly organized, and Tom was the epitome of work ethic. He never wasted any time and never got tired. He was very organized, and his mood never changed. At Arkansas I worked with Ken Hatfield, and he was a guy that probably helped me as much as anything else at appreciating your staff. He showed me the things that you needed to do year- round with your family. I couldn't have picked three better coaches to be around.
TSN: You were the head coach at Texas Tech from 1981-85. What was the transition like from that position to becoming the head coach at Appalachian State in 1989?
Moore: Well, it was a tough time to be at Texas Tech. I was the third head coach in a five-year span and it was not a real solid recruiting base. That's when all the problems happened in the Southwest Conference (at SMU and TCU). I never looked back at it, and I try to think that I learned from it. After that, I was out of coaching for 14 months, and it was probably one of the best things that ever happened to me. I realized I missed coaching. I think the biggest thing was the hunger. One thing that happened when I was living in Atlanta during that time was that I spent time at practices and games at Clemson (about a 2-hour drive from Atlanta). Danny Ford was Clemson's head coach and is a real good friend, and I would go watch Clemson practice once in a while. The practice would be different during the season than in the spring. I'd listen to the coaches and players, and Danny would let me do what I wanted to do. I just got to be in the ball game, and in the locker room after the game. That was a great thing for me with that hunger for the game. It helped to make things right, and I realized I did some things that weren't sound at Tech, I just didn't know it at the time. Then I went to Arkansas as a volunteer coach. To myself I almost just laughed, I was in Atlanta at that time, and my wife said I wasn't happy. I got in the car to drive to Fayetteville and spend a weekend with Ken (Hatfield) and his wife Sandy. Margaret taught the 5th grade there, we had a $200 apartment and we got half-price pizza on Wednesday night. When the Appalachian people called me, I couldn't pronounce it, couldn't spell it, and I didn't know where it was. But I was excited for the job, and I've enjoyed my entire time at Appalachian since.
TSN: You have coached a lot of good players, from Dexter Coakley to Richie Williams. Is there any one that stands out as the best player you've ever coached?
Moore: I don't think I have any best in particular, but I have great admiration for the kids that walk on. A kid knows he can walk on here and have a chance to make it. I don't ever cut a guy, they just may eliminate themselves. Then, I at least feel like they have a chance at college football. That's the most important thing to me. Matt Stevens was a kid that walked on here and played for New England and got a Super Bowl ring. The other ones that I have great admiration for, whether a scholarship player or walk-on kid, are the ones that leave here being every bit the football player they can.
TSN: James Madison visits Boone on September 9. How did that come about, and do you like playing a game like that so early?
Moore: Mickey (James Madison head coach Mickey Matthews) and I wouldn't want to play that early. But both of us, and a lot of the top 25 teams in I-AA, have trouble getting schedules. None of the I-As want to play and the middle of the run I-AAs are tough to get because they are trying to get in the playoffs too. We play NC State in the first game, and then we have James Madison. It tells you that you better have a great summer. It will be a rocking ball game.
TSN: Spring practice just got underway, but what is your early evaluation of next year's team. Do you think the large nucleus back gives you a strong chance to repeat?
Moore: Like everyone else, we have some positions that have to get shored up. We've recruited some really good freshmen. We have four or five guys, maybe more than that, able to come right in and play. We need to finish off well in the spring and then have a great summer.