As Turner Gill emptied his office and packed the U-Haul trucks for Kansas, new head coach Jeff Quinn got comfortable in his new position at the University at Buffalo. Immediately following his final game as interim head coach of Cincinnati, Quinn got right to work as a member of the blue and white.
First stop on the road to the 2010 season: assemble a coaching staff.
Just 14 days after being named the 24th head coach in the football program's history, Quinn announced nine men that would accompany him on the sideline next season. Quinn wasted no time recruiting an experienced staff that will help him ease into his new position. Surrounding himself with familiar faces from recent years, Quinn is confident in the staff he has put together.
'You're always looking for guys that are loyal, trustworthy guys that you're familiar with, you've developed relationships with,' Quinn said. 'This is a group of coaches that are great teachers, great recruiters and great motivators. And that's what you're looking for. These guys know how to develop their players and that's what we're expecting here at Buffalo.'
Buffalo's new coaching staff has combined for over 25 bowl game appearances, been apart of multiple national championship teams and have claimed Mid-American and Big East conference championships.
With former Bearcat head coach Brian Kelly off to Notre Dame, Quinn targeted the Cincinnati staff to lure them to Buffalo.
Taking over the offense will be Greg Forest. In addition to offensive coordinator, Forest will serve as quarterbacks coach – a position he held at Cincinnati for the past three seasons.
Forest was the key component to the development and success of Bearcat quarterback Tony Pike. The two-time All-Big East gunslinger threw for 2,520 yards and 29 touchdowns in leading Cincinnati to the 2010 Allstate Sugar Bowl. Forest was also instrumental in grooming quarterback Zach Collaros this past season. The mobile quarterback stepped in for the oft-injured Pike and finished the year with 1,434 passing yards, a 75 percent completion percentage and 371 rushing yards.
The Bearcat offense finished first in the Big East in total offensive averaging 447.5 yards per game. Cincinnati averaged a Big East-leading 38.6 points per game en route to scoring 502 points, a single-season school record.
After finishing 2009 ranked eighth in the MAC in total offense, the Bulls hope Forest can fix the kinks in their inconsistent unit. Junior quarterback Zach Maynard will look to top his 2,694 yard passing performance next season with junior Marcus Rivers and redshirt junior Terrell Jackson at the receiver positions.
'Greg and I have been coaching for over 20 years so we're very familiar with each other. We've crafted up the offenses at Cincinnati, Central Michigan and Grand Valley and this will be our fourth stop together,' Quinn said. 'We really know what we like. We know what works and we know what doesn't work. We'll have a great system of offense that's going to be high, high energy - fast paced and very efficient in the way we move the ball.'
Forest spent three seasons at Central Michigan prior to joining Cincinnati. Spending single seasons instructing the receivers, running back and tight ends, Forest has enough experience with each of the skilled positions to implement a high octane offensive system. The Columbus, Ohio native also coached wide receivers at Grand Valley State for 11 years.
Joining Forest on the offensive side of the football will be running backs coach Mike Daniels.
The Bulls' backfield will be mentored by a man with an impressive football background. Daniels was a four-year letter winner as a wide receiver, running back and return man at Cincinnati. He served as team captain in 2007 and was awarded the Jim Kelly Spirit Award.
After spending last season as an assistant coach on the offensive staff at Cincinnati, Daniels inherits his own unit for the first time in his coaching career. Luckily, Daniels is walking into a rushing attack that finished fourth in the MAC with 1,962 yards.
Another familiar face coming from the Bearcats will be defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, William Inge.
Prior to arriving at Cincinnati, Inge spent two years as the linebackers coach at San Diego State. In addition, Inge spent one season as defensive line coach at Colorado and four years with Northern Iowa as a linebacker, defensive line, safeties and special teams coach, before being elevated to co-defensive coordinator. He was also a recruiting coordinator with Iowa for three years.
One man with a lot on his plate in 2010 will be new defensive backs coach Ernest Jones. In addition to overseeing the Buffalo secondary, Jones has been named associate head coach, recruiting coordinator, and will also oversee the 'Bulls in the Community.'
'Earnest and I go all the way back to when we were together at Central Michigan. The reason why Earnest is in the associate head coaching position is because of his strength in leadership and developing players and commanding the level of excellence that is so important on anybody's staff,' Quinn said. 'He's a guy that knows how to engage in the community. We did over 80 events at Cincinnati... We're going to have a presence in the community. Our student athlete football players are going to be a source of pride on this campus and in the Buffalo community.'
Jones will make the transition to the defensive side of the field after serving as the Cincinnati running backs coach last year. He held the same position in coaching stints with Alcorn State and Central Michigan.
Juan Taylor returns to the Bulls after spending the last three years with Gill. The wide receivers coach was a key factor to the most successful receiver in program history, Naaman Roosevelt.
'I've always said that if you want to know what type of coach a guy is to just watch his players play,' Quinn said. 'I've had an opportunity to watch our wide receivers play at Buffalo over the last couple of years, and I was very impressed with the efforts in the way they not only caught the ball, but in blocking. I really like Juan's style and I like his personality. He wanted to stay and be a part of the transition and it's an awesome thing to have Juan on this staff.'
Rounding out Quinn's staff will be tight ends coach Marty Spieler, defensive line coach Jerome 'Jappy' Oliver and offensive line coach Adam Shorter. One defensive coaching position remains vacant and two graduate positions have yet to be announced.
For Quinn and company, it has been a long road to get to where they stand today. They have all experienced their fair share of ups and downs but have come out better men in each situation. On April 17, a new chapter of their lives will begin as the Bulls will play their annual Spring Game at UB Stadium. While there is much work to be done, first and foremost, it's time to get to know the team.
'We want to get to know our student athlete football players,' Quinn said. 'They don't know us and we don't know them, but everyday we're going to grow closer together. They're going to get to know a lot of my philosophies, who I am, and my intensity and passion for the game.'
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