In the 2009 Humanitarian Bowl, former Idaho head coach Robb Akey opted out of a game-tying extra point that would have sent the game to overtime. Instead, he went for two and the win.
Many thought he was crazy, but when the gamble paid off, Akey was praised for his gutsy call.
In six seasons at Idaho, Akey ran the football program in similar fashion — a gamble. He was charismatic and fans loved him, but the team was in disarray.
With myriad problems including, among other things, disciplinary issues, poor grades and a 3-17 record in his last 20 games, Akey was fired during the 2012 season.
“Unfortunately we didn’t build a sustainable program in the past,” Idaho Athletic Director Rob Spear said. “We’ve moved beyond that. If there’s something that I could have changed, it would have been to influence the transition earlier than it happened, because then I don’t think we’d be in such a significant rebuilding process.”
Paul Petrino was the man Spear hired to bring glory back to the Idaho football program. He compared the rebuilding process to renovating a house.
“I’ve always said that this project coach Petrino undertook is not simply renovating a few rooms in a house, it’s tearing it down to the foundation and rebuilding it from the ground up,” he said.
Building a house doesn’t happen over night, and neither does rebuilding a college football program.
Spear said Petrino has had obstacles other coaches usually don’t have.
He said Petrino established brand new core values and worked through the conference uncertainty in his first year. Then, this year, he dealt with the APR penalties that cost the team four hours of practice time.
With all the obstacles, Spear said the rebuilding process was delayed and patients will be key moving forward. He added Petrino has laid a great foundation of discipline and accountability.
“A wise man once told me that what comes easy won’t last, and what lasts won’t come easy,” Spear said. “My role is to hire the right person to embrace that challenge and I think we have done that, no question about it.”
When it comes to rebuilding a college football program, the level of difficulty and time it will take depends on what the coach inherits from the previous regime.
Idaho wide receiver coach Charley Molnar said it’s important for coaches to avoid the quick fix, which all starts with recruiting.
He said when coaches take over a poor team, they will often try to recruit talented players who might have academic or personality issues and will often leave before playing.
“Go recruit your brand of player that fits your mold, fits your philosophy and fits into your culture,” he said. “It’s not easy to go get 25 of those guys a year. You have to take your time, go get them and train them the way you want. Then after four to five years the proof will be in the pudding.”
Petrino said the majority of skilled players on offense are guys he and his staff recruited. He added it’s always been easy to recruit offensive players because of their offensive style.
“I think if you can get them on campus here, especially with the parents, it’s a great safe community that you would want to send your kids to go play at,” he said.
Petrino wants to recruit more players from the northwest, but said right now the goal is to get the best players for their program, wherever they might be from.
“It seems to me that at the time when coach (Petrino) was hired, the program was trending downwards,” Molnar said. “The first thing he had to do was stop the bleeding, which obviously he’s done. Now we need to start building and moving forward.”
While the team has yet to win a game this season, there is evidence the program is moving in the right direction.
Matt Linehan is one of the reasons people are optimistic about the future.
The 6-foot-3-freshman quarterback from Orchard Lake, Michigan, currently leads the Sun Belt Conference in passing yards (1,874), passing yards per game (312.2) and completions per game (27.33).
His go to receiver, senior Joshua McCain, also leads the conference in receiving yards per game and is tied for 11th in the nation for touchdown catches with six.
“This football team could have easily won three games so far this year and it’s a credit to them — they’ve competed to the very end,” said Spear of the close losses Idaho’s suffered this season. “It’s been very frustrating to see because of the great effort that our players and coaches have put forth. As long as they continue with that effort the wins will come.”
Molnar said it would be easy to blame the losses on the team’s youth, but added it’s sometimes the upperclassmen, too. He said the team is still learning how to win and finish games.
“It’s not going to happen overnight,” Petrino said. “I’m working with every fiber of my body to get this program to where it needs to be and I’m going to get it there. Sorry it’s not there yet, but we’re going to get there.”
Petrino said he’s received all kinds of advice from coaches, but said the best so far has been to stick to what you believe and try to stay positive.
“A couple of my biggest mentors always talk about with the kids you got to keep building on the private victories,” he said. “If we can keep building on the private victories, then the public victories will come.”
While wins on the field are important, Petrino takes pride in coaching players off the field, too.
“Wins are great, but coach is always preaching that he wants those and a great young man,” senior tight end Justin Podrabsky said. “That’s a big goal for us, too — leave here with a degree.”
Petrino said half of being a college coach is to teach players how to be winners when they’re done playing.
He put together a book called “Operation XL” which teaches players how to be on time, how to dress, how to act and how to be successful in life — among other things.
In his time as Idaho’s athletic director, Spear hasn’t had too much success in football. Including Petrino, he’s hired four coaches who combine for a 30-97 record.
“It’s key,” said Spear of having success in football. “Lets not kid ourselves, we won eight championships last year, we won the WAC Commissioners Cup, we just received an excellence in management award as the most efficient and effective program in the nation, but at the end of the day it doesn’t mean a lot because we’re not wining in the sport that counts — football.”
Spear said he’s learned over the years to never sacrifice having a coach that requires discipline and accountability of his players. He said he has that with Petrino.
“The one thing I don’t have to worry about anymore is I hardly have any disciplinary issues in that program,” he said. “The academics have improved greatly and I know every time we take that football field we are as prepared as we could possibly be. It is refreshing because I don’t have to worry about discipline issues anymore — and that wasn’t true in the past.”