Blake hopes to lead another football program

Today

This Week

Sports Today

1. Suspect named in cheerleading stun...
2. City police shoot man fleeing arrest
3. At 19, mayor-elect's the pride of...
4. Stillwater mayor accused of sexual...
5. DHS takes 6 Del City kids into custody
6. Udoh considers OU, OSU after leaving...
7. Maverick oilman Pickens puts $2B...
8. Ex-mayor gets 10 years in fatal car...
9. Cowboys flying high; Sooners trying...
10. Car crashes into building in SW OKC

1. Death toll at 6, everyone accounted for
2. Blake hopes to lead another football...
3. Fans favor black and gold colors
4. Three accidents reported in city
5. The story of 3 OU quarterbacks who...
6. Picher storm victim identified; her...
7. Oklahoma City police looking for...
8. Suspect named in cheerleading stun...
9. Family survived, but Picher may not
10. White enjoying life away from spotlight

1. Udoh considers OU, OSU after leaving...
2. Cowboys flying high; Sooners trying...
3. KU star Darrell Arthur's eligibility...
4. Ford adds ex-LSU assistant to staff
5. Smith laments loss of another...
6. Having some good neighbors pays off...
7. Dallas Cowboys release ticket prices...
8. Bedlam Baseball
9. OSU's Ford hires assistant coach
10. Sooners' Big 12 tourney hopes on the...

View More Top Ten Categories...

Blake was fired from OU after failing to produce a winning season in three years.

Following his departure, the Sooner football program was resuscitated by his replacement, Bob Stoops.

But quietly and with far less fanfare, Blake has too revived his career by developing a reputation as a top-notch position coach.

For that reason, Blake is hoping one day he'll be offered another shot to be a head coach in college football.

"I will be a head coach again, there's no doubt in my mind,” said Blake, who just completed his first season coaching the defensive line at North Carolina. "There's a lot of things I have learned as an assistant coach these past 10 years. Lots of coaches like Bill Belichick and Mike Shanahan have had success with second opportunities. I learned a lot as a young coach.”

Indeed, Blake was young, 34 to be exact, when he was hired by OU in 1995 after coaching defensive line for the Dallas Cowboys under Barry Switzer.

"He's a good coach. He knows the game and teaches good technique. He recruits good players and makes them better,” said Switzer, who recommended his former player for the OU job after Blake successfully tutored Dallas pro bowlers Charles Haley, Russell Maryland and Leon Lett. "I never questioned John on the field. If he gets the opportunity to be a head coach again he won't make the same mistakes.”

Blake, by coaching standards, is still young, even though he already has a wealth of experience in his profession. That will work for him in attaining another head coaching job.

But Blake said he can afford to be patient for now, since he's enjoying himself as an assistant.

After stints at Mississippi State and Nebraska, Blake was hired to UNC last year by Butch Davis, whom he got to know while both were assistants together at Dallas.

It didn't take long for Blake to make an impact in Chapel Hill.

During last month's NFL Draft, ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. probably evoked Blake's name more than any other college position coach.

That's because in one year at UNC, Blake helped turn perennial underachieving defensive tackle Kentwan Balmer into an All-ACC player and first-round selection of the San Francisco 49ers.

"I walked into (Blake's) office and we talked for about 30 minutes,” Balmer recently told Pro Football Weekly. "He said if I follow him, then he's going to show me the way. And I have been following him every step of the way since then.

"He looked me directly in the eye and said, ‘You can be a first-round pick.' And I believed him. That's when I knew it would be a different season.”

Tar Heel defensive end Hilee Taylor, who was also drafted last month, has too credited Blake's mentorship for his success.

"To be a successful coach, you have to build a relationship with young men that doesn't have to do with football, but has to do with life,” Blake said. "You have to show you truly care about them, care about them more than just their ability as football players. There are often personal reasons why people cannot be successful and cannot focus. My purpose is to lead men with their whole life. That's what can make a difference when you're a head coach.”

Blake has proven he is a tremendous position coach. He also proved he can recruit, reeling in several players who would form the core of OU's national championship team in 2000.

So, if given another opportunity to be a head coach, what will Blake take from his time spent at OU?

"You have to put the right people around you and have the right support group,” he said. "Every situation is different. I'll be looking for the right situation at the right time where I'll have an opportunity to win.

"Until then, I'm going to enjoy myself at North Carolina.”