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Tim Polasek: University of Iowa Football Media Conference
Tim Polasek: University of Iowa Football Media Conference
Media Conference
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Tim Polasek
TIM POLASEK: I'm super excited, it's a word you'll And how important is it to have a strength and
hear me use quite often. To be bringing my wife, Jill, to
conditioning coach like that specially on the
Iowa City. This was something that came up on the
offense and defensive line?
radar here early January. To coach in the Big Ten is
TIM POLASEK: You can't say enough about the job
one thing, it's a phenomenal conference, but to be at a
any strength coach does in the upper midwest.
place with the people that are here at Iowa, always
Especially when you're valuing education and all those
striving to do it the right way all the time is a heck of an
things that go into recruiting, it's huge. Because we're
honor, and I'm super excited to be here.
always going to be a developmental program here the
way I understand it.
I do want to give special thanks to former players at
North Dakota State who laid on the line every day and
At North Dakota State, they will always be a
did everything we ever asked of them. Without their
developmental program. So when you bring a six foot
effort level and the things that they executed on the
kid, and he's 242 pounds and you ask that strength
field over the last 11 years or 10, 11 years, I wouldn't
coach, we need this guy to be 290 by the time we get
be here, and I really want to thank them.
to spring ball, is it doable? Heck, yeah, it is. The kid's
got to eat, and we've got to be in the weight room and
Q. You have to be a secure person to come here
all those things.
and coach offensive line when you have Kirk and
Brian and their legacy. What made you want to do Coach Doyle has been phenomenal. One of my most
that and come here and coach that position? memorable moments about the interview process was
TIM POLASEK: Why wouldn't you want to is the better sitting across from him and saying, okay, this is the top
question. I mean, an opportunity to grow, an guy in the country. And to be in that same room
opportunity to be uncomfortable for a couple of weeks amongst the coaches that were in there, and for him to
here. And, quite frankly, when you talk about the top enter the interview for two or three hours was really
offensive lines of the country, an award doesn't give neat. I have the utmost respect.
you that status. This is a reputation thing that's been
here for a long time. I know that Iowa has been founded on that idea of
recruiting some kids that have some length. The ability
So I see it as an opportunity to learn and grow from to grow and function alley move better by the time they
several guys upstairs that really understand the get through the program, just, my hat's off to him. He's
position. I've always been of the mindset that I'm going done a great job, and we won't devalue his importance.
to try to create uncomfortable situations for the players, He's huge. I mean it. As important a person in the
so why would that be any different for a coach that's program as anybody.
trying to move forward and do great things.
Q. You've had quite a journey in your coaching
So super excited about the offensive line. I know I career getting here. Including, did you really sell a
haven't coached it before. But three years ago I wasn't
Golf Club to pay for gas to get from North Dakota?
an offensive coordinator either. So we'll just keep
TIM POLASEK: Yeah, one of my old bosses is in the
meeting these challenges head on.
back here, Mr. Taylor. He's probably hoping you don't
get into a bunch of the stories. But, I did. Quite frankly,
You know, with an extremely good work ethic, a
I got a call from Coach Craig Bohl who has been a
passion, and the want-to, I think anything is attainable.
major mentor of mine along with Chris Klieman through
And I really am encountering a challenge just knowing
this whole thing.
that I have a good teaching background, and I think we
can get those five, six, seven, eight guys to come
It was so interesting, because when I got the phone
together to play hard and do what they're supposed to
call to come interview at North Dakota State I was just
do.
getting out of the woods in Central Wisconsin from a
day of logging. About 12 or so, and he had, you know,
Q. What about Chris Doyle, have you met him yet? "Is this Tim Polasek the football coach?" And I said,
Actually, something that's really helped me in my What I'm talking about there is is there a discipline? Is
career, just work ethic, and, man, those people have there a finish that's uncommon? Those are the things
earned, women and men across the world in the that were most fun about being a coordinator. It was
midwest that are out there working and don't get to really hardly about calling plays, to be honest with you.
coach football. I mean, man they do it.
Q. Very few people have this on their resum, but
So Coach says when can you come over here? I said you have coaching fullbacks on your resum.
how long is it? How far is it? I don't know where Fargo What did you learn coaching fullbacks, and have
is. He said, eight hours. I said, I can be there in eight- you taken that with you, because Iowa has like 90
and-a-half. So two days later I drove out there, and fullbacks.
when I came back I didn't really have the means to get TIM POLASEK: Yeah, I was fortunate, I couldn't even
back out to Fargo. So I had the means to get a really tell you the years now but when I was at Northern
good driver the summer before, and so I sold it to get Illinois I coached the tight ends and fullbacks, and then
enough gas to come back. for a three or four-year stretch at North Dakota State I
coached that position as well.
The really cool part of that story -- and it just comes
back to people -- Iowa, Wisconsin, a guy purchased It's one of those things that we took a great deal of
that driver and he mailed it right back to me right away. pride in having a fullback, and being able to set some
So it was kind of a running joke that he would have hard angles and try to get leverage on the defense and
given me the money regardless. But that's a true story. so forth. I think those kids are some of the neatest
people in the world. I mean Lee Vandal, Tyler Roehl,
Q. Do you have a say in how the running game Andrew Bonnet, I could -- this Brock Robbins kid is
looks or have you gotten to that point yet? going to be a good player. I mean, those guys. You
TIM POLASEK: I know how it looks. We're going to talk about putting your face mask down the heart of
kind of do what we do. We're going to have an some guys over and over again.
uncommon in finish about what we're doing.
Schematically, schematics are schematics. It really We actually started putting a hit chart on them at
comes down to hitting people, moving the point of practice at North Dakota State because we were
attack. We definitely want to displace the line of concerned with stingers and so forth. There's not
scrimmage. really a position on the field, maybe besides the O-line
in some places that that's underappreciated. Man, it's
Whether it's the inside zone or outside zone, a little bit an ugly job.
of pin and pull and some power is neither here nor
there. But, yeah, I'm well aware. I've really been But I'll say this: A lot of kids that I've coached are my
impressed about how Iowa stays true to who they are favorites. But those guys will always have a special
in the run game, and are still able to be super place in my heart. They're setting the tone a lot of
productive most days out there. times. The biggest thing is they're getting a running
start. I've seen some swing and misses too, and that's
Q. Must be an interesting dynamic to come into the okay.
interview room as an offensive coordinator that
pretty much ran right around Iowa's defense? Q. Coming back, is it nice to know you don't have
TIM POLASEK: That one went pretty good for us. But to go from scratch? You have some guys to work
sometimes you come out on top and whatever. Our with and know what's going on already?
kids got to the fourth quarter, and some kids made TIM POLASEK: Yeah, I think so. My major goal in the
some plays. By no means was I going in there thinking next 48 hours and most of it in this office, is to get to
that in the interview process, that I had known know these kids, number one, on paper, which covers
something they didn't know. half of it. Number two, try to match some film up.
Then just get them in front. I just want to get to know
But I did feel like it was an opportunity to potentially these guys, what makes them tick.
answer some questions of some things that we did
during the game, and some of those things came up, To be honest with you, I'm not going to read something
some didn't. You know, it was really fun coming into
Q. How was the process for this? Did somebody Q. Would you say the culture at North Dakota State
from Iowa reach out to you? Did you reach out to compares to Iowa quite a bit?
Gene or how did it work? TIM POLASEK: Oh, I think, yeah. To be honest, that's
TIM POLASEK: No, I think Coach Copeland touched one of the reasons I was so comfortable attacking this
on the word loyalty several times, and I've kind of been opportunity. Yeah, without just saying yes, I mean,
a guy that hasn't reached out very much. I'll not be on development of student-athletes, knock on wood, it just
my phone in January looking for jobs. If somebody hasn't had a lot of issues out there from a criminal
calls, we'll take a peek. What simply had happened standpoint and those kind of things, recruiting the right
was that I saw special teams/running backs, and what's guys.
Coach Brian Ferentz going to coach? And I called
Seth, and said, Seth, I have a great deal of interest. I think genuinely, if you talk to me about really good
And I got to know Seth Wallace, man, do I respect him. guys, I'm going to start with Chris Klieman. There is
not a better human being that I've been around that still
I'm not saying this arrogantly. But in Wisconsin, I'm in has the ability to push and get a lot out of you without
the schools, and I'm like who is this Division I-A guy being a jerk or whatever you want to call it.
that's hitting 9, 10 schools a day because I shouldn't be
seeing this much paper trail. So me and Seth shortly, I think leadership from top to bottom. Going all the way
through a couple mutual friends out there in the high back from 2006 where it started with Gene Taylor with
school world, just built relationships, and I did reach us and North Dakota State and with Matt Larson, I
out. think it's just really cool to see. It's neat to see the
basketball program at NDSU do well. I got to meet the
Thankfully, I got my application in on the day of the wrestling coach today. I think that's really cool.
deadline. And, you know ever since then it's just been
communication with Coach and Brian over the phone. I want to be a person and I want my wife to be dressed
Then I think I was one of the last guys to interview. I'm up at a basketball game in support of Hawkeye
not sure on that, last Thursday. Athletics. I think that's really cool. So from that
standpoint, community, support, and what we ask our
Q. You mentioned sleeping on the floor and the kids to do and how we're going to ask our kids to do it,
$6,000 a year. That was at North Dakota State, I think it's very, very similar. You bet. We'd rather go
what position was that before you moved into a down losing at North Dakota State with the way we do
house? things than to go down any other way. I think that's
TIM POLASEK: Yeah, GAs nowadays get paid cool.
$12,000. Well, it was really interesting because I had
the opportunity to coordinate at the University of
Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Once I was offered the job
at North Dakota State. And quite frankly, I took the job
on the spot at NDSU.
So when I was going back there, that was just the cost.
That was what you had to do. You like to think you paid
your dues, and that's one of the reasons you're up here
today. Sleeping on the floor wasn't as bad as it seems,
to be honest. At that time I was totally committed to
working 12-, 14-hour days and just learning football.