Jim Reid to BC is officially official

A couple of notes before I cut and paste the release from Boston College.

- I did digging on this. Coaches go silent when things get to the point of . . . what's the word . . . well, the moment of truth. Reid's deal was finalized and announced this morning. Seriously. The musical chairs ran and ran and ran. The coaching carousel is real.

We talked while he was in the dentist's chair. Hey, it can only get better from here for Reid, right?

Why was Jim Reid in the dentist's chair? During one of the last Rose Bowl practices, one of his players accidentally ran into him and he lost a tooth. They looked for it on the field. Never found it.

Ried, 65, laughed it off. Pretty sure me, 48, would be in a coma.

- Reid is a Medford, Mass., native, which is 6 or 7 miles from his new job.

'I was shocked when (BC coach) Steve Addazio called,” Reid said. 'I'm 65, you know.”

- Reid couldn't say enough good things about the whole Iowa experience, from head coach Kirk Ferentz to his players and to you guys, Iowans and Iowa fans.

'I now know why there's an ‘i' in ‘integrity,'” Reid said. 'The entire stat is like that.”

- Reid said he cried telling every Iowa linebacker, one-on-one, that he was leaving. And then he said he cried for himself because . . . these guys had a great year and the arrow is only going up. From MLB Josey Jewell to OLB Ben Niemann to sophomore Aaron Mends, who, Reid said, 'is about to burst on the scene of Big Ten football.” He also had nothing but respect for junior Bo Bower and senior Travis Perry. Bower lost his starting job and never blinked, Reid said. He stayed engaged for the entirety of 2015, always lending an ear and an eye to WLB Cole Fisher. Perry, who was the de facto special teams captain, engaged similarly.

- Reid expressed huge gratitude toward Ferentz, calling him a 'great man and a great coach.” Reid has coached football since 1973, serving all sorts of roles including head coach, and said Ferentz is the best head coach he's worked for, meaning no disrespect to anyone.

- A few days after the Rose Bowl, Addazio reached out to Ferentz, asking for permission to talk with Reid. Reid didn't want to do it. Ferentz urged him to, saying, basically, that he thought it was something that would be good for Reid.

- From the end of the TaxSlayer Bowl to the end of the Rose Bowl, Reid called Ferentz's coaching job in 2015 'masterful.”

'It starts at the top,” Reid said. 'Every practice, every recruiting meeting, everything, he set the tone. It was masterpiece like Picasso or the Mona Lisa.”

- I wrote a long post before Nebraska on LB Cole Fisher and his rise to a starting role for his fifth year, seemingly out of nowhere. I talked to Cole's dad, Todd, for the story.

Todd said he and Cole had only the utmost respect for Reid. Fisher's path to a starting role wound through a seriously involved major (civil engineering with an emphasis in structural engineering). Reid made time to get Fisher where he wanted to be. It all paid off. Fisher, an Omaha, Neb., native, walked out of Memorial Stadium with a victory over the Huskers and Iowa's first 12-0 season in school history. Fisher had an interception and a pass breakup in the game.

- Reid is a cool dude. Lit up the room. Will Iowa hang on to Indiana RB Toks Akinribade? That remains to be seen. There will be some work to do there.

So then, here's the release (I didn't know BC referred to itself as 'The Heights,” but I do know that Wisconsin and Penn State make great ice cream on campus - I'm a Big Ten creature, not much more) (also, there's a quote from Kirk Ferentz in this release, which tells me he was totally cool with this - usually, when a coach leaves a program, you don't get that quote):

Jim Reid is Boston College's New Defensive Coordinator

The Medford, Mass., native returns to The Heights after helping Iowa to a 12-0 regular season

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Jim Reid will be Boston College's defensive coordinator and coach linebackers, head coach Steve Addazio announced on Wednesday. Reid brings more than 40 years of coaching experience to The Heights. He most recently finished a three-year stint as Iowa's linebackers coach.

'I have known Jim Reid for a long time and have tremendous respect for the work he's done as a head coach, a coordinator and in the NFL. He is an impact coach who has left an indelible mark everywhere he has been,” Addazio said. 'He is an extremely high-energy guy with a tremendous passion for the game of football. His experience in the Northeast, at Boston College and with many people on our staff makes him an invaluable addition. He has a great ability to develop and lead players and will be an integral part in the progression of our program.”

The Medford, Mass., native is returning to a role he occupied once before. Reid was the defensive coordinator for the Eagles under Dan Henning in 1994. BC went 7-4-1 and ranked 11th in the nation, defeated Kansas State in the Aloha Bowl on Christmas Day. The Eagles recorded 47 sacks that season, a school record that still stands today.

\'First, I would like to thank Kirk Ferentz for the opportunity to work at Iowa; it was an honor to work with so many great players, fans and staff. I have great confidence in Steve Addazio's leadership and the direction his program is headed,” Reid said. 'Boston College is a very special place; I know this because I worked there in 1994 around some dedicated, wonderful people in a very close-knit Jesuit community. BC develops great young people and is just a tremendous institution.”

In 2015, the Hawkeyes ranked 22nd in the nation in total defense, allowing 341.0 yards/game and 15th in rush defense as opponents averaged 121.4 yards/game. Iowa won its first 12 games – and earned the No. 4 spot in the College Football Playoff poll – before falling in the Big Ten Championship. In 2014, the Hawkeyes ranked seventh in pass defense and in 2013, Reid was named one of FootbalScoop's national Linebackers Coaches of the Year.

'Jim Reid has played a key role in our success in his three years on our staff, and we wish him continued success at Boston College,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. 'Jim is a tireless worker who builds strong relationships with his players and his fellow coaches. He has been a very valuable member of our staff and his contributions to the program go beyond the playing field.”

Reid, who was a three-year starting safety at Maine (1970-72), has been a head coach at the collegiate level three times, totaling 17 seasons. He served as the head coach at Virginia Military Institute (2006-07), Richmond (1995-2003) and Massachusetts (1986-91). He guided the Minutemen to three Yankee Conference titles and was named the Yankee Conference Coach of the Year in 1988 and 1990.

While in Amherst, Reid coached current BC defensive line coach Ben Albert in 1990 and 1991. Albert went on to coach with Reid at Richmond (1997-2000). Tight ends coach Frank Leonard was also on Reid's Richmond staff (1995-2003), serving as the offensive coordinator in 2003.

While the head coach at Richmond, the Spiders won the Atlantic 10 Conference championship twice and finished in the FCS top 20 five times. Reid was named the A-10 Coach of the Year in 1998 and 2000 and the Yankee Conference Co-Coach of the Year in 1995. He also led Richmond to its first 10-win season in program history in 2000.

Before arriving in Iowa City, Reid was the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Virginia for three seasons (2010-12). In 2011, the Cavaliers finished third in the Atlantic Coast Conference in total defense and in 2012, they ranked fourth.

Reid also brings professional experience to BC as he coached the outside linebackers for the Miami Dolphins in 2008 and 2009. In his first season, Joey Porter recorded a career-high 17.5 sacks, second in the NFL that year, and Miami won the AFC East Division Championship for the first time in eight seasons. Porter's mark was also the most sacks by a Dolphins linebacker and third-most overall. Reid earned his bachelor of science in education from Maine in 1973 and went on to earn a master of science in sport management from Massachusetts in 1975. He and his wife, Judy, have two daughters, Meghan and Molly, and a son, Matt, and four grandchildren.

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