Old Dominion assistant head coach/defensive line coach Jeff Comissiong begins his third season with the Monarchs. ODUSports.com recently sat down with his to discuss his coaching career, the state of the Monarchs and more.
Q: How are you a different coach now then when you first started?
JC: The biggest thing is with experience you kind of figure out the lay of the land. How you have to approach things with the players, because coaching them isn’t just about X’s and O’s, it’s about player development on and off the field. I think understanding how to deal with each individual and helping them progress forward is the biggest thing as a coach.
Q: When did you decide you wanted to be a football coach?
JC: It was decided for me. I was still finishing up school and my prep school coach wanted a young coach to coach the prep school. He called the head coach at Maine, Jack Cosgrove, and told him he was looking for a coach. Cosgrove brought me into his office and called the coach and put me on the phone with him, and I really didn’t know what was going on, but I got the job and I really enjoyed it.
Q: What is a normal week like during the season. Meeting time with players, things like that?
JC: We watch film every day, just trying to see if there is any little thing we can pick up on. At minimum, meet with the players for an hour, watch extra film things like that. Guys can come on their own and meet with me. It’s kind of an open door policy with the players.
Q: What have been some of your favorite experiences in your career?
JC: Some of my best experiences is seeing the young men graduate. It isn’t easy to be a college athlete, the demands of your time year round, is something most people don’t have to deal with. Every week you go out and represent your university, the scrutiny that the players are under, especially now with social media, isn’t easy. They’re under so much more of a microscope than in the past. To see them succeed, on and off the field, but particularly when they earn their degrees. I’ve coached guys that have played in the NFL, but I remember B.J. Raji (Green Bay Packers) when he found out he was graduating from college, he came out the practice field getting ready for the bowl game, and said coach, “I wanted to let you know I’m a BC graduate,” the entire defense started to cheer. Things like that are the most gratifying to me.
Q: You are one of the few coaches on staff that has been to a bowl game, what is that experience like?
JC: When you play in a bowl game its kind of a reward for the work you’ve put in and the success you’ve had, because if you haven’t had success you don’t go to a bowl game. It gives you an opportunity to play schools you normally wouldn’t play, you could find yourself playing against a power-five school. It’s a great experience for the players and coaches to go and challenge yourself against some of the better teams in the country.
Q: The defensive line group coming into the year is experienced, but still fairly young. What do you see in them?
JC: As a group there in a good place, they’re working hard. We have a good combination of older and younger guys and the older guys are starting to understand what it takes to be leaders, and that’s starting to show up now. You see them taking the young guys under their wing and making sure they’re doing things the right way, making sure they understand what they need to do. Any good team is based on the leadership of the team, its good to see those guys, who were freshmen when I first got here, are starting to take on that role.
Q: What is your recruiting process?
JC: You want to find the right kind of kids, tough-hard nosed like-minded guys that want to be successful on and off the field. Coach Wilder talks about the “Aim High” philosophy; well that’s what we’re looking for. We want people who want to succeed in all aspects of life and that’s not going to ever change in this game. If you look at the top programs in the country, they’re looking at the same types of kids.
Q: What has the move to Conference USA done for ODU Football?
JC: It shows the support the program has from the administration and the community. The success of the program is not built on luck; it’s built on a pretty good foundation that starts with the support from the administration and community. When our players come in here they understand how important it is for this area, for them to do well and be successful.