Stan Drayton took a long pause and got emotional while delivering his opening statement in the Fox-Gittis Room of the Liacouras Center as he was announced as Temple’s next head football coach Thursday morning.
“Men, it has been a long journey for me to chase something I’ve always wanted to do,” Drayton said as he addressed a group of players who attended the press conference. “I’ve always wanted to lead men on a large scale. Just a football positional coach wasn’t good enough for me. ... I am going to try to instill the same fire that I had to get to this point in you.”
Drayton was officially announced as the team’s head coach Wednesday night after a more than two-week search was conducted following the firing of former head coach Rod Carey on Nov. 29.
This isn’t the first time Drayton interviewed for Temple’s head coaching position. He interviewed in 2012, but the job was given to former coach Matt Rhule, who went 28-23 in four seasons and led the Owls to the 2016 American Athletic Conference championship before moving along to Baylor and eventually his current position as the head coach of the Carolina Panthers. Drayton mentioned he was interviewed during a two-day period by Temple’s hiring committee.
Drayton comes to Temple with more than 27 years of coaching experience, with his most recent stint coming as Texas’ running backs coach. His other stops include Penn, Villanova, Florida, Ohio State and two in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers (2001-2003) and the Chicago Bears (2015-2016.)
He has an extensive history of coaching NFL running backs, including Brian Westbrook, Ezekiel Elliott, Carlos Hyde, Jordan Howard, and future NFL player Bijan Robinson, who was the top running back recruit in the 2020 class.
Temple’s President Jason Wingard and Athletic Director Arthur Johnson also spoke at Thursday's press conference.
You can listen to the full audio from Thursday morning's main press conference here:
Here are a few excerpts from the rest of the press conference.
Drayton’s message to the current players:
“We talked last night over Zoom. I am super excited to work with you. I will earn your trust. You will know I care, and I promise to give you everything I got as we go chase greatness. We are chasing greatness, nothing less than that.”
Drayton on what his staff could look like:
“I won’t give you any names, specifically right now. Some of the guys that are attracted to Temple and this opportunity are under contract right now. I will tell you this, I will build a staff that has ties to the region, first. I will build a staff around men, who love developing young men that are not afraid to step outside the game of football and tap into the real life of these young men. We’re going to build our program around that mindset, and we’re going to build our staff around that same accord.”
Drayton on the biggest challenge of going from a position coach to a head coach:
“Now you take on the whole brunt of the program. You change your mindset from being positoinal to CEO. There is a lot for me to learn along the way in this process and seeing the big picture of it all. The one thing I can say having been in programs with strong leaders, they’ve always put me in a position to really learn the ins and outs of being a head football coach. I’ve seen some of the best. I’ve seen the wrong way to do it. I’ve seen the right way to do it. I wouldn’t have taken this position if I didn’t feel like I was prepared to take over a program and take it to high levels.”
Drayton on building culture with local ties:
“We will build our own culture, right here, with the talent around us. We are going to hit the greater Philadelphia area. Get into South Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Maryland. There is enough talent in those areas to build the culture of this program, and that is where we’re going to start.”
Drayton on some of the core ideas he will build Temple’s program on:
“The standard is clear. This program will be built on discipline and toughness. Not just any kind of toughness, I’m talking about Temple TUFF. I learned about Temple TUFF 20 years ago. You turn on the film, and Temple TUFF shows up in your actions. You look at grade reports, and Temple TUFF shows up in the execution of getting degrees. Temple TUFF shows up in a lot of different ways, and we’re going to get it back to the level of national notoriety. When they see the Cherry and White, they are going to understand what Temple is all about. We got to get that back.”
Drayton’s message to former players:
“There is an open door policy. I need you. The brotherhood that we’re creating now, it is a brotherhood already in existence. You’ve created that. There is an open-door policy for you to come back and help me raise these young men, help them transition into life as you did leaving Temple.”
Drayton on Wingard’s vision for athletics:
“[Wingard] is in the process of creating an environment around here of competitive excellence. Both on and off the field of play. Student-athletes will thrive under this leadership. We just have to go take advantage of it. He’s given us every resource, and we’re going to get aligned right with his vision.”
Drayton on when he really became aware of Temple:
“It was just something about being at Penn and Villanova, and me being from the inner city. I just felt like the ruggedness was right here at Temple. This is kind of me, right here. I’ve always felt that level of respect for Temple. I’ve always wanted this job. I’ve always wanted this position. To have it right now is an unbelievable blessing.”
Drayton on the influence of his coaches when he played at Allegheny College:
“People like Ken O’Keefe and Joe Philbin. They taught me that love is the one component that can get you to reach high limits in your life. If you learn how to share that love and inspire others, through the game of football, you can achieve amazing things together. That is a lesson that I am going to build this program on.”
Drayton on his connection to the Philadelphia community:
“Twenty years ago, I was heavily involved in this community. This community is very very personal to my wife and I. We got married here. We started our careers here. We were immersed into the North Philly community, big brother, little brother. It really left an impression on us as a couple… I am looking forward to pouring into this community. This program will pay forward, and we will be visible. We want this community to be a part of the process.”
Johnson on the impact of input from former Temple coaches had in the hiring process:
“It was extremely important. It was important to learn about how they built successful programs. Fortunately, I had a long relationship with Phil Snow [former Temple defensive coordinator] because we worked together before. For all of the others who reached out because I don’t have ties to this region and don’t know as much about it. I had to take everything in. It was very important to reach out to them and figure out what was the profile? How did you do it? How do we have 28 guys on NFL rosters right now? So they were extremely helpful.”
Johnson on the impact current player’s voices had in the hiring process:
“Back in the team meeting we had in [Edberg Olson Hall], I heard you. The feedback you provided was used to help build the profile of the candidates. Now, I will ask [the players] to give coach Drayton and his staff the opportunity to pour into you like they have so many other student-athletes.”