Question & Answer with Head Coach Steve Kragthorpe
8/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
What is your first recollection of college football?
My first recollection of college football was in 1969 when my dad was the head coach at South Dakota State. I remember sitting in snow up to my ankles watching football.
My fondest memories of growing up as a coaches son was at BYU and watching them get that program turned around, going to the 1974 Fiesta Bowl, 1976 Tangerine Bowl, then in 1978 and '79 going to the Holiday Bowl.
During that time, I had the chance to grow up around guys like Marc Wilson, Gif Nielson and Jim McMahon - all of whom played in the NFL. I was able to go to practice and play catch with those guys every day.
When did you know you wanted to be a coach?
I always entertained thoughts of coaching, but I received my degree in business at West Texas A&M. I went to Oregon State and was going to ween myself from football and use my business degree. I was going to go into business. I was 25 at the time, and I thought, I really don't want to do that. I want to give coaching a chance for five years, and after five years if I'm where I can comfortably make a living for my family then I would continue coaching. I could always go back and get into business. I always looked at my MBA as an insurance policy.
I never found anything outside of football that challenges me the way that football does. There is nothing like game day. As Dan Henning would say -- there's no feeling like coming down the tunnel on game day. You can't fabricate it. There's nothing like that feeling.
Who has been most influential to you in the game of football?
The two of the best years for me in coaching was when I was a graduate assistant coach for my dad. During his coaching career, he was always around and he always made time for his family, but for two years I was able to be around my dad for 14 hours a day.
Growing up around BYU was great. I learned a lot from LaVell Edwards. I saw that you can be successful as a football coach and successful as a family man. I thought he did the best job of combining football and family. He had a lot of success on the football field, but he also raised a doctor, a lawyer and an author.
For me, going to Boston College to tutor under Dan Henning was like going to football graduate school. He's probably the guy who really shaped me in terms of my offensive thinking, in terms of handling a program and in terms of integrity.
Dan Henning told me during the gambling scandal at Boston College, that they can take away our jobs, but they can't take away our name. And that's more important than anything.
I learned a lot from R.C. Slocum about professionalism and the way you treat people. R.C. is a man who has received numerous accolades in coaching and he's still just a good old guy from Orange, Texas. He has no ego. He was a great guy to work for, and he never lost site of where he came from.
I'm really appreciative about the opportunity to coach in the National Football league. It's a business, but Gregg Williams was very gracious with our families. He really created an environment in that everyone is equal, and no one was more important than any one else. He did a great job in the leadership role, but he never put himself on an egotistical pedestal. He also taught me a lot about perseverance.
What is your football philosophy?
My general football philosophy is to be wide-open, aggressive and try to dictate the tempo of the game whether it's on offense, defense or special teams. There is only two things we can control -- attitude and effort. We can't control the weather, what our opponent does or the crowd, so we don't use energies to control those things. We focus our energies on our attitude and effort.
I'm a big believer in that confidence is a by-product of preparation. A prepared individual, whether it's a player in a football game or a student taking a math test. If' they're prepared, then they've studied and worked, and they can walk into that stadium or class room with confidence.
What is your recruiting philosophy?
One of the great things about The University of Tulsa is the proximity to a number of quality football players starting right here in the state of Oklahoma and branching into a five-state area that includes Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri. We'll start recruiting in the city of Tulsa and branch out from there. Outside the five-state area we'll target specific areas where we have ties to The University of Tulsa.
We'll recruit players with character first. We want players with character, not characters. We want players committed to earning a degree from The University of Tulsa. I would be doing a great disservice to a student-athlete if all I do is help them prepare on the field and I don't help them prepare to obtain a degree from The University of Tulsa.
What makes Steve Kragthorpe tick?
I'm a very competitive person. I'm a hard worker. Loyalty is very important to me. I subscribe to the three "F's" -- Faith, Family and Football, and in that order. Football is very, very important to me. It's how I make my living, but yet I've found that every time I put football ahead of either of those two, myself or the programs I've been involved with have not had success.
One thing people would say about me is that I care about people. I want to see the best and get the best out of young people. I not only want to prepare them to compete on the playing field, but to compete in the game of life.
How has having a sportswriter for a brother helped you deal with the media? It has helped me look at things from the media's perspective. I'm appreciative of the job they do, and I'm understanding of the job they have to do. It's been good for both of us. He bounces things off of me in regards to story lines, and I bounce things off of him in terms of coverage of teams or situations I've been involved with.
Why can Tulsa football be successful?
Tulsa football can be successful because of the people associated with the program. My dad has a saying -- the place doesn't make the place, it's the people that make the place. TU is a people-oriented place. The University of Tulsa cares about young people and helping them develop through the educational opportunities that they have here.
I think that is combined with a real enthusiasm and an understanding for what athletics does in terms of the educational process. We have tremendous support from our administration, starting right at the top with Dr. Lawless. I know he is committed to building the program and getting back to the storied successes that we've had here at The University of Tulsa.
How can your experience as an assistant coach in the National Football League help you at Tulsa?
I had a chance to learn from some great coaches and players. I've also learned how important your education is. There are guys that come into the National Football League, that think they're going to play for 10 years and they're cut after 10 days. So, hopefully through my experiences in the NFL, I can help our players understand that football after college is the icing on the cake. The cake is the education you receive at The University of Tulsa.
Most all of our players will want an opportunity to play in the National Football League, and I sincerely hope that they get that opportunity. But, if they walk out of here without a degree I think they're really limiting themselves in terms of being able to realize the goals they have in life.
The National Football League was a very educational experience for me in validating just how important is one's education.
