Full Quotes Transcript

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

Grant Teaff is known for being a passionate, unyielding champion for Baylor University. So, when the Hall of Fame coach reached out to Jim Grobe with a request to take over the Baylor football program and help it get through a difficult time, Grobe understood the sincerity of the request.

The 64-year-old Grobe, out of coaching for the last two seasons, was officially named Baylor's acting head coach on Monday and was formally introduced at Friday's press conference at McLane Stadium.

"After I talked with Coach Teaff, I knew there was a lot of hurting going on here," Grobe said Friday morning in a sit-down session with in-house media. "I missed football, I missed coaching, I missed the kids. But in this situation, I really felt like it was coming from the heart. I felt that we could help a coaching staff and a group of kids that obviously were upset and needed some direction. Aside from missing football, I felt like I could help."

After first meeting with the coaching staff, a group that he felt was "critical" to keep intact, Grobe ensured the players that he wanted to keep things status quo as much as possible with a football program that has won 50 games and two Big 12 championships over the last five years.

"We're going to try to keep the same schemes, the same offense, the same defense, keep the staff intact," he said, "and hopefully go forward with these guys. I think it was a sense of relief for the players to know that we're going to try to be as steady as we possibly can."

Grobe said his No. 1 priority is to "restore confidence" in the football program, "not in terms of wins and losses, but in our integrity and our respect."

"That's the thing we've lost," he said. "It's really sad when the behavior of a few affects so many people. The collateral damage that comes from bad behavior of just a few kids can be overwhelming.

"I want everybody to know that we have great kids. I'm sure I'll have a few guys that I've got to dust off once in a while, but that's on every football team. I'm OK with guys that are a little edgy, if it's missing class or getting parking tickets, things like that. But we have to have a no-tolerance policy right now with bad behavior. Winning is very important, being good students is very important, but nothing is more important than character."

While a handful of the 2016 freshman class did not report for the start of the first summer session, Grobe said he plans to meet with the recruits and their families "before we make any decisions."

"I think a cooling-down period is probably good for everybody," he said. "I want to try and get in to see the kids and their parents. But my real focus, to be honest with you, is the kids who are here."

The response from the current players has been positive, Grobe said, "because they understand I'm here to help."

"I'm not here to replace Art (Briles), I'm really here to try to help these kids get through this tough time," he said. "And I think that's echoed in the willingness to keep the staff together, not bring in my own people, and not try to make a bunch of changes. . . . Basically, everything I'm doing right now is geared toward helping our players. And I think they understand that."

Grobe was 77-82 in 13 seasons at Wake Forest, leading the Demon Deacons to five of their eight all-time bowl appearances and winning the ACC championship in 2006, when he was named the AP National Coach of the Year. Before Wake, he compiled a 33-33-1 record in six seasons at Ohio University, which had won just 17 games combined in the previous 10 years.

Even as he walked away following the 2013 season, Grobe knew he wanted to eventually get back into coaching.

"One thing that I think would be great for coaches everywhere would be to take a year off," he said. "It gives you a year to reflect. The best thing that happened to me was I looked back on my time at Wake Forest and thought of so many ways I could have been a better football coach. Last year, some of the things that opened, I either didn't get in on or the situation just didn't seem as good for me to get involved. But I missed football, I missed coaching, I missed the kids. And I really am excited to be back around football."

And while his title might be "acting" or "interim," he says that's no different than any coaching job at the highest level.

"Every coach is on an interim basis," Grobe said. "Whether you like to admit it or not, football coaches are an endangered species. And I think administrators are an endangered species. A football gig, a basketball gig, today at the highest level is interim whether you say it or not. For me personally, I have only one focus, and that's 2016, to coach these kids as good as I can and to help our coaches be the best they can be, and win a bunch of football games."

Ultimately, though, Grobe places character above all else, including winning football games.

"The bottom line is they have to understand that it's a privilege to play football and not a right," he said. "As important as winning is, you can't ever sacrifice character for playing football. So, kids need to understand that bad behavior is going to get them off the field in a hurry. . . . We want our kids graduating, we want our kids winning on the field, but more importantly we want them to be great fathers, great husbands, and we want them to go forward and be great people in society. And if they're not doing that at Baylor, they won't be on the football field."

Grobe and the Bears will open the 2016 season with a home game at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2, against Northwestern (La.) State.