Jan. 13, 2004

Charleston, SC - For most of the last month, Citadel football player Adam Hastings found himself logging on to the Internet two or three times a day.

Like a lot of other people, he wanted to know who the Bulldogs' next coach would be.

"It's been a real crazy month," Hastings said. "I was on the computer all the time, trying to find out what was happening."

When Citadel players went home after exams a month ago, Ellis Johnson was their head coach. When they returned to classes Monday, the players were greeted by the news that offensive coordinator John Zernhelt had been promoted to head coach.

After 28 days of uncertainty, the choice of "Coach Z" to replace Johnson, who left on Dec. 15 to become defensive coordinator at Mississippi State, was a hit with the Bulldogs. "I couldn't be happier," said Hastings, a junior offensive lineman. "I think it was a big thing for everybody that they promoted from within the staff. We've been real successful the last couple of years. For me personally, I didn't want to have other people coming, and to lose our coaches and the system we have in place.

"I think everybody was glad to see them stay inside the coaching staff."

The Bulldogs' success last season -- a 6-6 record, the team's most wins since 1997, and victories over Southern Conference powers Appalachian State, Furman and Georgia Southern -- was enough to convince Citadel athletic director Les Robinson that hiring from within was important.

Once he made that determination, Robinson decided that Zernhelt -- a 50-year-old coaching veteran who has been at The Citadel for less than a year -- was the right man for the job, choosing him over defensive coordinator Les Herrin.

"I think this is the best move we could possibly make," Robinson said. "I think this guy fits the school. He fits the profile of a coach who can be successful here."

Zernhelt likely will receive a three-year contract worth about $90,000 per year, Robinson said at a Monday news conference called to announce Zernhelt's hiring.

The Citadel job is the first head-coaching position for Zernhelt in a 27-year career that has carried him to nine different schools, including stints at South Carolina, Duke, Rice and Maryland, where he played offensive lineman for three ACC championship teams.

"I am very fortunate to get the opportunity to coach at such a great place," Zernhelt said.

Zernhelt, who had spent the previous four years at James Madison,Zernhelt is known for his fiery pre-game pep talks was hired by Johnson at The Citadel last year and came on board during spring practice. An offensive line coach and coordinator, Zernhelt earned a reputation among the players as a solid teacher who can also deliver fiery pre-game pep talks.

"I've never been around a coach who is as good a teacher as he is," Hastings said. "His ability to teach you to take what you learn on the practice field into the game and into life is better than any coach I've ever met."

There was no shortage of candidates to replace Johnson, including Citadel graduates such as Kenny Carter (now at Vanderbilt), Stump Mitchell (Seattle Seahawks) and Keith Jones (Navy). But after VMI coach Cal McCombs, a 1967 Citadel graduate, rebuffed early advances, Robinson turned his attention to Zernhelt and Herrin, who's been at The Citadel three years.

"The first decision was to go inside or outside," Robinson said. "Even Stump Mitchell said to me, if you have somebody there, I don't see how you go outside. That staff has beaten App State, Georgia Southern and Furman, they've obviously done a great job.

"This is a good staff, and the more I talked to them, the more I liked them. We were still looking outside, and that's what I was wrestling with. If we bring somebody else in, and all these guys leave, it would take a month to get a new staff. Then recruiting is a crapshoot, the players still have to start over with a new coach, and you are losing a year or two. But if we didn't have the guy on the staff who could lead them, we couldn't make this decision. And that's what we have with John."

Zernhelt faces some immediate issues as he replaces Johnson, who had a 12-22 record in three seasons. Among them:

-- The coaching staff. Zernhelt wants to hire a new offensive coordinator by national signing day on Feb. 4, and said he would consider quarterbacks coach Toby Strange. He might also need a defensive coordinator -- Zernhelt said all current assistants, including Herrin, are welcome to remain on staff, but it was unclear Monday if Herrin would stay.

-- Recruiting. The Citadel expects to sign 15 to 18 players on Feb. 4. "We don't have that many scholarships to give, and the coaches did a good job of staying in touch with the recruits through this period," Zernhelt said. "So now it's just a matter of getting back to full speed as staff and getting the kids in here to look at the school."

-- Spring practice. Zernhelt said he might move the start of spring practice back a week in February, and will begin installing a new offense that will feature more option. He'll also have to find a new quarterback after Johnson brought in fifth-year transfers Jeff Klein and Willie Simmons the last two years.

"If you don't have the option as part of your package, you're just foolish," Zernhelt said. "You have to make defenses accountable for all phases of the field."

Zernhelt said he has not been told by The Citadel administration to halt the practice of bringing in transfer quarterbacks.

"But that's certainly not an avenue that anyone would build a program on at any level," he said. "It just doesn't make sense. It's an opportunity that exists and if it happens every once in a while, that's fine. But it's just not something you want to make a habit of."

Though he's not a Citadel man, Zernhelt said he's proud to be The Citadel's coach.

"It's a great place to make yourself successful, to have a chance to be successful for the rest of your life," he said. " I used to tell kids that going to Duke or Rice was like being a pretty girl for the rest of your life; you always get a second look. I think The Citadel is the same way; that's the great thing about being at this school."