Nov. 26, 2007
NIU Football Head Coach Joe Novak
Opening Statement:
"One thing I want to make sure you all understand is that I'm not quitting, I'm not resigning, I didn't give Jim Phillips a chance to fire me, I'm retiring."
On His Story of Becoming a Coach:
"When I was in junior high, when I was supposed to be studying math and do other things that I was supposed to be doing, I was writing plays and I knew back then that I wanted to be a coach. I feel very fortunate because I know that not very many people can say at that age what they want to do and end up doing it for 40 years and I did. My dad was a factory worker for 40 years in a factory in Cleveland, Ohio. He always told me, 'you don't want to do this. You want to find something you love, get up every day and look forward to.' I feel very fortunate and my family has allowed me to do what I want to do for 40 years and I can't say thank-you to them enough. "
On Getting the Opportunity to Coach at NIU:
"For some reason 12 years ago (former NIU A.D.) Cary Groth and (former NIU president) John La Tourette decided I was maybe worthy of being a head football coach. I was 51 years old, loved coaching, always wanted to coach and thought I could be a good football coach. But I never got the opportunity. I interviewed at several places and never got the opportunity, but for some reason they gave me the opportunity in 1995. Not only did they hire me, those first three years they stayed with us. I told my wife Carol to start looking for boxes because we might need to be packing up here shortly, but they stayed with us and I certainly appreciate that."
On Associate Vice President / Athletic Director Dr. Jim Phillips:
"What a treasure we have with him. He came in here with enthusiasm and I don't know when the man sleeps. He has been a great friend and a great help. He has taken this job from a good job to a great job because of the support he has given. "
On President Dr. John Peters:
"He loves athletics and he wants it to be important. If you are going to be successful at this level, you have to have a president that cares. John cares. I certainly appreciate that."
On His Coaches:
"I have had 35 coaches come through with me in 12 years. That's one of the hardest part of this job, to be honest with you. Hiring every year is tough, but I have had some great coaches... 35 great coaches. You are only as good a coach as your assistant coaches. "
On His Players:
"I tried to figure out the other day in twelve years how many players I've had. Then I thought in forty years of a coaching career it must be thousands. That's the great thing about coaching: players. See them come in, seeing them graduate seeing them leave seeing them mature, seeing them grow. That's what's coaching is about. That is what has made it fun. I know one thing we always talk about it when I got this job. I wanted to be around kids and people I enjoyed. I certainly wanted good players, don't get me wrong. But if he was a good player, bad character I didn't want him to get around here. I proud of our players."
On His Plans Now:
"First, I plan on finishing my contract at the end of July, but then it's back to Carolina. There are a few things that I do want to accomplish, though. I want to go downtown in Chicago and enjoy Christmas. I want to get a boat. I want to read. I have got plenty to do and look forward to doing it all. One nice thing now is that every day is going to be Saturday to me and I won't care what time it is anymore."
On His Possible Input on His Successor:
"None, I don't want it. It's John and Jim's decision and I have complete confidence that they will find a great coach."
On His Advice to His Successor:
"Be yourself. Be yourself. I think the best decision I ever made was to not change my ways when we were losing games early on. I thought if I'm going to fail, I'm going to fail my way."
On the Biggest Lesson Learned From Coaching:
"You're going to deal with something every day and the best thing to do is to deal with it and not take personally. I took things like that too personally early on and struggled with it, but now I don't let those things bother me so much anymore."
On What He Will Miss Most About Coaching:
"The kids, players, coaches, staff and relationships. Those players are like my 115 sons and it's just like being a parent, but without having to raise them the first 18 years. I love them, I really do."
NIU President Dr. John Peters
To Joe Novak:
"Thank you for the gift you have given NIU. A tremendous football program that has national recognition and visibility, that is known for the character of its coaches, and the character of its young men. That is the best gift anyone can give NIU."
On Novak's Construction of a Program:
"I always judge people relative to what they do with what they have. It's one of the things I love about NIU. We do more with what we're given than any place I've ever been, and I've been some very good places. I would have to say that Coach Novak has done more with what he was given and what he inherited when he took over the program 12 years ago than any football coach I can think of at any program."
On Novak's 'promotion:'
"Today we're here to celebrate his promotion. For 12 years he has been our top expert on college football. Now he can finally graduate to the ranks of those who are experts on everyone else's football program."
On football's role in a university:
"I've come to understand the special role intercollegiate athletics and football programs have in universities, public universities in particular. I consider them to be very important, if they are our in balance, and our's is very much in balance, putting the student-athlete first."
NIU Associate Vice President / Athletic Director Dr. Jim Phillips
On What Coach Novak Means to NIU:
"Joe Novak embodies everything that collegiate athletics is all about in being successful academically, socially and athletically. I pay him the highest compliment that I feel any coach can be given when I say that I want my boys, John Phillips and Luke Phillips, to play for Coach Novak. I know that they won't get that opportunity, but that is the highest compliment that I can give. Joe Novak has left a legacy everywhere he has been and we have certainly been a beneficiary for the legacy he has left here at NIU. We thank-you from the bottom of our hearts for all you have done for us and the community."
On Moving Forward:
"The search process for a new coach begins tonight. There is no timetable. It could take a couple of weeks or a couple of months, but we will feverously work with a national search to find a replacement. Joe Novak will be intimately involved in the search. He has been kind enough to lend me his ear in this decision."
On the Last Day:
"To say the least, it's been a very emotional last 18 hours for our department and for our football program. This summer, Coach Novak and I agreed we wouldn't have any conversations about the future of NIU football until the season was over. We both felt like to focus needed to be on our student-athletes and on our team. That agreement withstood the entire time."
On Novak's Decision:
"We talked about the future etc., and he indicated that it was time to retire. He talked about not wanting to be selfless and noble, but that's exactly what came across, because it really wasn't about more than what was best for this program, and what was best for he and Carole, and to think about a successor and what would be best for that person. I think that's beyond the norm in our society."
On Seeing Novak Leave:
"It is certainly a day of celebration, because he deserved that opportunity after forty years of his entire life giving back, it was time for him to do something for his own family. Selfishly, none of us want to see him go. It's hard to realize that, and hard to think about that but that is what we're going to have to do. We couldn't be happier for Carol, their two sons, three grandchildren, to get their husband, get their father and get their grandfather back after forty-plus years."
On Working with Novak for Four Years:
"I can say this unequivocally: words will never express my true feelings, or the feelings of our department, our community or our team what he has done for our program. It's hard to imagine an individual who has had a greater impact on an institution. I know I certainly have been blessed to work alongside him."
