MCC football passes torch to new coach
Matt Wilhalme
In a press conference on Nov. 20, the MCC Athletic department introduced new head football coach Carl Hargrave.”I am excited to be here number one because of the vision I have seen going through the hiring process here at MCC,” said Hargrave, mentioning the rigorous vetting procedure that took place to determine the next head football coach.
The Athletic department had been conducting a search for a new head coach since last year.
The process brought in a number of candidates who were narrowed down by the Athletic department and Athletic Director Jeff Fore.
The candidates were reduced to four finalists and Hargrave was selected as the best fit for MCC’s athletic program, according to Sports Information Director Todd Bolser.
Hargrave said he intends on building stronger unity within MCC’s athletic and the academic communities on campus.
“Success is the number one goal. I guarantee we will be successful on the field, and that they will be successful in the classroom,” Hargrave said.
Hesitant to guarantee a national championship right away, Hargrave instead discussed winning games at home first with a few victories on the road MCC will have a greater chance of returning to the Valley of the Sun Bowl.
The first step Hargrave took as new head coach was to address his current players in the locker room to lay down the level of commitment and dedication they will be required to maintain in order to be a part of his program, where he expects to have a great deal of success.
“I think the players are looking for fire and we’re going give them some by lighting up the scoreboard with offense,” Hargrave said.
The Western States Football League, which MCC is a part of, has a number of teams who have already established dominance and Hargrave’s goal is to elevate MCC to the same level.
“This is a tough conferenece, I recruited out of this conference when I was at Iowa, University of Houston and Northwestern,” he added.
Mike Jacobs, the interim head coach for the 2008 season, has not been retained as a part of the coaching staff.
Jacobs was involved in controversy early in the season regarding the eligibility of players and finished with a season record (3-7).
Currently, Hargrave is working on developing his coaching staff and is in talks with Richard Soloman, a former defensive back coach with the Arizona Cardinals and teammate, to be his assistant coach, according to Bolser.
Most recently, Hargrave has been a member of the South Mountain High School football coaching staff. He was also a member of Dennis Green’s staff with the Minnesota Vikings, and tight end coach with Green for the Arizona Cardinals.
Hargrave played football at Upper Iowa University and went on to work in their recruitment department prior to becoming a coach.
