Hadn't seen this article until now. Didn't want to start ANOTHER thread. I like the last line!
Stitt colleague: New Griz coach is extraordinarily driven
43 minutes ago • By Greg Rachac
Colorado School of Mines men’s basketball coach Pryor Orser witnessed first hand for 14 years what made Stitt, 50, one of the top coaches in Division II — and a pioneer whose ideas have been adopted at the highest level of college football and in the NFL.
“Stitty is an amazingly hard worker, he’s really competitive, he’s an innovator, he’s a motivator, he’s focused, he’s extraordinarily driven … there’s nothing he thinks he can’t accomplish,” Orser said. “That’s just how he thinks. That mentality will rub off on the players and coaches around him.”
Orser has deep Montana roots. He was a standout high school athlete in Gardiner in the mid-1980s before playing basketball collegiately and later coaching at Montana State Billings.
Orser was an assistant coach with the Grizzlies under Don Holst for one season before taking over as head coach at Colorado Mines in 2001. Orser has made the Orediggers a consistent winner, and has them ranked No. 17 in the latest NCAA Division II men’s basketball poll.
Orser spoke candidly about Stitt and what he believes the Grizzlies have with their new coach. And it goes beyond Stitt's 108-62 record in the past 15 seasons at Mines.
“The way he runs his program, everybody’s got to be accountable, both academically and athletically,” Orser said. “Guys are going to have to toe the line and go to class. That’s what he’s used to here at Mines, that’s what he was used to when he was the offensive coordinator at Harvard; guys are going to have to graduate.
“With his assistant coaches, he’s empowering. He gives a lot of responsibility to his assistants, particularly to the defense. He doesn’t mess with his defensive (coaches). He communicates well with his players, doesn’t put up with any BS. Everyone is accountable in his program.”
With respect to Stitt’s recruiting ability, Orser talked about how limited scholarship funds at Division II did not stop Stitt from finding the right athletes for his system. Players agreed to pay high tuition costs to play for Stitt.
“All those really good receivers that are playing for Eastern Washington, those are the kind of guys that will be playing for him,” Orser said. “They’re going to run across recruits that are that talented and that fast. He is a very, very good recruiter. He’s going to paint a picture of how he uses everybody and what they’re going to do, what they can achieve, what they can accomplish.
“The entertainment factor is going to go way up.”
Stitt, who was a running backs at Doane College in Nebraska, was a graduate assistant in 1989 at Northern Colorado under Joe Glenn. Glenn, of course, later coached Montana to its second national title in 2001.
Orser said Stitt’s son Joe -- he has two boys with his wife, Joan -- is named after Glenn.
As for Stitt’s offense, it’s impressive. And many of his ideas have been utilized throughout the collegiate and professional ranks. Famously, Stitt lent some schemes to the coaching staff at West Virginia before the 2012 Orange Bowl against Clemson.
The Mountaineers scored 70 points in a rout.
“He tries things, and then all the big boys come and steal it from him,” Orser joked. “I’ve watched so many pro teams and big schools walk through our doors. Everyone knows about the West Virginia game, but there are a lot of other examples nobody knows about.”
Stitt won’t be formally introduced as the Grizzlies’ coach until Friday morning. But Orser said Stitt is currently hard at work. Montana’s first game under Stitt is a tough one, Aug. 29 at home against FCS power North Dakota State.
“He’s already working on NDSU tonight,” Orser said.