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Todd Graham Named New Head Football Coach Todd Graham has been named Rice University’s 17th head football coach, replacing Ken Hatfield as the leader of the Rice program. Hatfield resigned on November 30 after 12 seasons as the Owls’ head coach. Graham started his coaching career in 1988 at Poteet High School in Mesquite, Texas, where, in three seasons, his teams compiled a 25–5 record. Since then, Graham has played major roles in reversing the fortunes of struggling programs at the high school and college levels, including at his first collegiate coaching job as defensive coordinator at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma. His three seasons with theTigers saw ECU improve from a break-even program to the NAIA national championship in 1993. He was head coach at Carl Albert High School in Midwest City, Oklahoma, in 1994, ranking 10th in the state’s final class 5A poll, before moving to Allen High School north of Dallas in 1995 to serve as head coach and athletic director. In the year prior to Graham’s arrival, the program had no district wins, but Graham led the team to five playoff berths and two bi-district championships wins in six seasons. In 2000, Allen posted a 9–3 record and captured a Class 5A Division II bi-district title, defeating four teams ranked among the top 10 in Texas. Among Graham’s
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players at Allen were former Owls B. J. Forguson (1998–2000, 2002) and Chad Richardson (1996–99). Graham then spent two years as an assistant coach at West Virginia University, under head coach Rich Rodriguez. There, he was the defensive scheme coordinator and safeties coach in 2002 after coaching the linebackers in 2001. In 2002, the Mountaineer defense ranked 33rd nationally in total defense and 30th in rush defense. He helped WVU improve from a 3–8 mark to a 9–3 record in his second season, registering wins over nationally-ranked Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh. In 2003, Graham went to the University of Tulsa, where he served as assistant head coach, defensive coordinator, and secondary coach under Steve Kragthorpe. There, he helped the Hurricane jump from 1–11 in 2002, prior to his arrival, to an 8–4 record in 2003. The Hurricane’s success continued with the 2005 Conference USA championship and a 31–24 win over Fresno State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. Tulsa finished with a 9–4 record in 2005. Both the WVU and Tulsa turnarounds were the best in NCAA Division I in those seasons. In Graham’s first season atTulsa, the Hurricane’s total defense saw dramatic improvement, jumping 49 spots from the previous year, to rank 60th that season.
Tulsa’s defense also ranked 11th in pass defense efficiency; 16th in pass defense, an improvement of 28 spots; and 72nd in scoring defense, an improvement of 29 spots in the national rankings from the previous year. In Western Athletic Conference play, the Hurricane defense ranked first in pass defense, second in total defense and pass defense efficiency, and third in scoring defense. In 2004, the Tulsa defense ranked 22nd nationally in pass defense. This past season, the Hurricane improved to 13th in pass efficiency defense and also was fourth nationally in turnover margin, gaining an average 1.38 turnovers per game. Tulsa led C-USA in both statistical categories, and one of Graham’s position players, junior safety Nick Graham, led the league with six interceptions. A native of the Dallas–ForthWorth area, Graham, 41, was an all-state defensive back at North Mesquite High. He later was a two-year NAIA all-America defensive back at East Central and three-time all-conference performer. He signed as a free agent with the NFL’s St. Louis Cardinals. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education at East Central University. He and his wife, Penni, have six children: Bo, Hank, Natalie, Haylee, Dakota, and Michael Todd Jr.