Hope On The Record: Part Two

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Former Purdue Head Football Coach Danny Hope says he's in full-time job search mode and definitely wants to coach again, preferably during the upcoming 2013 season.

The former Boilermaker head coach, who was fired by Purdue Athletics Director Morgan Burke on Nov. 25, 2012, told WLFI Sports Director Mike Cleff that either a victory at Notre Dame or at Ohio State, both close losses, might have altered his coaching future at Purdue.

"I think -- I know -- if we could have won another game or two, things would have been a lot different in my career here at Purdue. But that's the nature of the business. That's just the way it is. I'm the first one to acknowledge that," Hope said. "Another win or two and it's a whole different story."

Hope agreed that declining attendance played a major role in his dismissal. One year prior to taking over for Joe Tiller, who retired after the 2008 season, average attendance at Ross-Ade Stadium was over 56,000 per game. In Hope's final season, that number had dropped to just over 43,000 per game. If that number had been 60,000 per game last season, Hope felt that he would have bee back with Purdue in 2013.

"No question. 2013, 2014, 2015. I think I would have fulfilled. ... I didn't come here as a stepping stone job," Hope said. "I left my alma mater (Eastern Kentucky) to come to Purdue because I love Purdue Football. And I thought I could come here and do some things to return the program to national prominence."

Hope, who finished with a 22-27 as the head coach at Purdue, decided to attend the Boilermakers bowl game in Dallas on New Year's Day, a little more than one month after his dismissal from Purdue. It was a decision that Hope said he made based on support.

"I wanted to to see my players play," Hope said when asked by Cleff why he attended the Boilers bowl game. "We had a great football family. I was surprised that there were some people that were critical of that. It wasn't an easy thing to do. Go sit in the stands with the fans. But if my son (Chaz) would have been out there playing, I would have been in those stands watching him play regardless. And we were a football family. And my players were like my sons."

Hope said there were things he could have done better during his head coaching stint at Purdue, but added that he shouldered the majority of the blame for the program's shortcomings.

"I probably covered for everyone too much. I allowed myself to become the scapegoat for anything that the program didn't have in place. Or any lack of success that we didn't have," Hope said. "Even if it were things that should have been in place for years."

When given a chance to respond to Hope's remarks, Burke declined WLFI's request for an interview.

Hope, who has spent nearly one-fifth of his life with the Boilers, says he'll continue to root for the Boilermakers, who hired Darrell Hazell to replace Hope as the head football coach at Purdue on Dec. 5, 2012.

Hope added that he learned numerous on the field and off the field lessons during his four-season head coaching tenure at Purdue.    

"A lot of things will make me a better football coach. No question about that. But when it's all said and done, you commit your life to a program, to the institution, the team, and you hope the impact the lives of the players. Because other than that your efforts aren't really appreciated very much. And when they're done with you, they're done with you. And that's just the way it is. That's what I learned from it," Hope said. "So you should focus on things that are most important. And that's to change the lives of the younger people. And then living and loving with your family." 

Hope said getting fired at Purdue was a blessing in disguise for one family-related reason. Hope says that he's spent more time with his son, Chaz, in the last two months that he had during the previous 10 years combined due to his coaching responsibilities.