Director of Athletics Gary Walters ’67 announced on Dec. 23 that Bob Surace ’90 will be the new head coach of Princeton’s football team. Surace replaces Roger Hughes, who was fired on Nov. 22 after leading the team to its third straight 4-6 season.
Surace was the starting center on Princeton’s 1989 Ivy League championship team, and he has spent the past six years as the assistant offensive line coach for the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals.
Surace said he is excited to move from one dream job to another. “Whether it was being with the best football players in the world or being in the best place in the world, [the NFL and Princeton] were the only two places I really wanted to be,” he said in an interview with The Daily Princetonian.
It has been more than three decades since an alumnus has led the team. Bob Casciola ’58, who stepped down in 1977, was the last to do so.
Several players said they place a high value on Surace’s experience as a Princeton student and athlete. Surace helped the team to a 6-1 Ivy League record in 1989 and received first-team All-Ivy honors. A history major, he also focused on sports in his 103-page senior thesis, titled “Baseball Establishment’s Role in Integration.”
“To me, any time a Princeton alum gives back to the University, whether it be with their time, talent or money, it is special,” junior wide receiver Trey Peacock said. “It is also nice because our coach will have an idea of what our unique experience is being athletes in the Ivy League.”
“He has a great sense of the tradition of the program and knows what it takes to be part of an Ivy championship team,” junior fullback Matt Zimmerman added. “As we begin our 2010 campaign, I think those are two things that are extremely important to have in a head coach.”
Surace’s expertise as an offensive lineman will be particularly valuable next season. The Tigers will graduate four of their five starting offensive linemen this spring, leaving junior guard Andrew Mills as the only returning starter next fall.
“I am looking forward to having a head coach who played offensive line,” Mills said. “I think his experience playing here and coaching in the NFL will fire up the whole position group. I also look forward to seeing how his knowledge of the offensive line translates to the play of our group.”
Looking forward to next season, Surace said he sees reason for optimism.
“The Cincinnati Bengals were 1-10-1 at the three-quarters mark last year, but we won three of our last four games,” Surace said. “Those things help propel us to the playoffs this year. Well, the Princeton Tigers started the year 1-5, but won three of their last four games. That senior group and the leadership of that group are things that hopefully can propel this team to great success next year.”
Surace has not wasted any time in getting to know the players on his new squad.
“I really have enjoyed calling the current players,” he said. “I try to get a hold of three or four a day.”
“Coach gave me the impression that he could not be more excited to start coaching at Princeton, and he described being the head coach here as his dream job,” Zimmerman said.
“To say that he is excited for the job is an understatement,” Peacock added. “The vibe I felt [during our conversation] was one of confidence and anticipation. He clearly wants to be here and is ready for any challenges.”
Surace’s other first steps will be finalizing this season’s recruitment process and forming his coaching staff. It will take a few years before the program is populated entirely with Surace’s recruits, but Surace already has a vision for what kinds of players he will look for.
“Terrific teams have smart kids. They have tough kids; they have disciplined kids and kids who are a unit,” Surace said. “They are a special group of unselfish players.”
Walters stated before hiring Surace that the new coach would have free reign over the coaching staff. Surace has yet to make any hires, and he has not yet fired any of the members of Hughes’ coaching staff that remain.
Retaining some of the coaches from the Hughes era could help players connect with the corps of coaches for the 2010 season.
Yet connecting to Surace was one thing players said they were not concerned with.
“I think the players will easily be able to relate to him because he had to do the same things we do every day as a Princeton football player,” junior linebacker Steven Cody said.
Before joining the Bengals’ coaching staff nine years ago as an offensive staff assistant, Surace was the football coach at Western Connecticut State University. He led the team there to the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship in 2001 and to a Northeast Championship ECAC playoff title in 2000.
A native of Harrisburg, Pa., Surace was awarded a master’s degree in sports management from Springfield (Mass.) College in 1992, and he also served as a running backs coach at Springfield beginning in 1990.
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