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Story Archives: Daye's defense tops conference


Daye's defense tops conference
by Joey Martin - posted Thursday, January 10th, 2008 @ 9:14 amE-mail Story E-mail Story | Print Story Print Story 
You won't find many people in Missouri who were excited about seeing the LSU Tigers in the BCS championship game.

But you can rest assured a certain defensive coordinator at Missouri Southern State in Joplin was more than happy to see the team in purple and gold playing for a title.

"It's funny, because our head coach (Bart Tatum) does his football show from a place called Buffalo Wild Wings and every time LSU was on television the people in that place would be begging for them to lose," said Daye, who played under Bill Arnsparger at LSU in the mid-1980s, walking on after finishing up at Huntington School and eventually earning a scholarship. "I've been in there once or twice when LSU was playing and once there happened to be a trucker with an LSU hat who came in once when LSU was on TV. Needless to say, that guy got a free meal from Coach Daye across the room."

Daye actually attended the LSU-Arkansas game the day after Thanksgiving in Baton Rouge.

"There has never been a time when I was more glad that I was not in that restaurant," Daye said. "I may have had to have fought my way out of there."

Daye is the defensive coordinator, linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at Missouri Southern, recently completing his second season at the Joplin school

This past season, Missouri Southern went 6-5, posting its first winning season since 1996. MSSU's defense led the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association in total defense for the first time in school history, allowing 21.7 points a game, 130.4 rushing yards a game, 159.5 passing and 289.8 in total offense a contest.

"The people around here were really excited this year about having a winning season," Daye said. "There was a lot of enthusiasm and it always feels good when you go to a place where people tell you that you can't win there like they did at Nicholls State and then you do that. It's a rewarding feeling to do that as a staff and as a team."

Also rewarding was the play of the MSSU defense, which helped the Lions tie their best record since 2004. The entire defensive line was rewarded with All-MIAA honors and Devin Rutledge was acknowledged as first team All-MIAA.

"I have been contacted with some opportunities," Daye said. "But the pay here is good and the cost of living so low that it would be hard to find something better in Division I-AA. If something came along in Division I-A equal or better it would be something I would definitely look at. But I really enjoy being a coordinator and I have a great guy to work for. And I get to fish a lot." 

Daye also realizes that change may not always be for the better, especially with the number of coaches changing jobs lately.

"There's not a lot of stability when you put your career in the hands of 18-and-19-year olds," Daye said. "When you have guys like Jeff Bower and Lloyd Carr who have had some good years losing their jobs, that's tough. But c'est la vie."

Daye said he would never take a coaching job for just the money or limelight.

"I never really respected those coaches who are in it to make money," he said. "I want to make a difference in kids' lives."

Daye previously served as head coach at Nicholls State University, in Thibodeaux from 1999-2003.

His 2003 team broke 32 school records and played for the first ever Southland Conference championship. The Colonels finished that year ranked 32nd nationally and were among the top 45 percent in NCAA Division I-AA attendance. His quarterback Josh Son became the All-Time leading Colonel rusher.

Daye led the Colonels to a four-win turnaround in 2002 as the team finished 7-4 and ended the season ranked in the Division I-AA top 25. For his efforts, he was named the 2002 Southland Conference Coach of the year. The success for Daye at Nicholls State started in 2001, where he guided the Colonels to a victory over Division I-A  foe Arkansas State, the first ever Division I-A victory in school  history.

Over the course of his career, the team went from a 1.7 overall grade-point average to a 2.5 GPA and over 150 players were named to the All-SLC academic team and over 40 players were named to the Verizon All-Academic All American team.

Daye's former assistant coach, Jay Thomas, became head coach when Daye left. Thomas led NSU to a 6-5 mark this past season.

"We're still the best of friends," Daye said. "I am so proud of him for keeping going what we started with several successful years."

Prior to Missouri Southern, Daye worked as special teams coordinator for Southern University until 2005. His punt return unit led the nation with a 19.1 yards per return average in 2005, and the kickoff return squad ranked 9th nationally at 22.4 yards per return. He coached kicker Breck Ackley who became the All-Time leading scorer at Southern University. 

"It was a blast coaching at Southern that year," Daye said. "I really enjoyed coaching special teams and just having to coach. At Nicholls State I had to worry about a bunch of administrative duties and it was hard to concentrate on just coaching. Nicholls was struggling financially so most of my time was spent fund-raising and budgeting. I wasn't able to become a better coach. But now I've got my coordinating legs back under me and it feels good."

Daye took the head coaching job at Nicholls State after serving eight seasons under former Cleveland Brown, two-time NFL Coach of the Year Sam Rutigliano at Liberty University, where he served as the school's defensive coordinator and defensive line coach.

His first season in his defensive coordinator role proved to be an outstanding experience. The defense showcased itself as one of the most opportunistic squads in the NCAA I-AA ranks, leading the nation in turnovers (40), second in turnover margin (1.82), and yielded only 17.7 points per contest, the best mark by a Flames' defensive squad over the previous 15 seasons. The Flames finished the season at 9-2 and nationally ranked No. 17.

His football coaching experience began at LSU in 1986, where he worked under and also played for Bill Arnsparger "the architect of the Miami Dolphins' "No-Name Defense" in the early 1970s. He then coached two seasons for then-coach Mike Archer who is the defensive coordinator for the University of Kentucky Wildcats.

Initially, Daye came to LSU as a walk-on player. He earned a scholarship and lettered at inside linebacker for the Tigers.

While at LSU the Tigers won two Southeastern Conference Championships. Daye was a part of five teams that went to bowl games either as a player or coach. LSU represented the Southeastern Conference as the league champions in the Sugar Bowl in 1985 and 1987.

After his stint at LSU, Daye coached at Southern Mississippi under former head coach Curley Hallman in 1989-90. The Golden Eagles, whose then-roster included current Green Bay Packers star Brett Favre, made one postseason appearance during his stay there in the 1990 All American Bowl.

"We brought Brett to some summer camps with us his senior year when we had some those camps going," Daye said. "Everywhere we went people were oohing and aahing and his power and the speed of the ball. When we were at Baker High I asked Boots Garland (who started Boots Garland Speed Camps in Baton Rouge in 1992 and worked with Bert Jones, Tommy Hodson, Terry Bradshaw and Peyton Manning) to take a look at this guy from Southern Miss for me. He told me he had never seen a guy throw a football like that. He worked with Brett on speed-training, running with the ball, keeping it in his hand and then throwing it. I remind him when I see him about that boy and tell him he can still throw it."

Daye said he spoke with Favre last summer in Chattanooga after Missouri Southern senior All-American offensive lineman Allen Barbre was selected by Green Bay Packers as the 20th pick in the fourth round (119 overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft.

"Four kids I had coached went to Green Bay, but none of them made it," Daye said. "I told Brett he was going to love this kid. I called him up later and he told me Allen was involved in a fight every day. I told him I knew he would love him."

The Ferriday native earned a bachelor's degree in general studies from LSU in 1986 and added a master's degree in physical education from Southern Mississippi in 1990.

Daye attended the Arkansas game last November and carried his nephew, Dane, on his shoulder as they followed the team down the hill to Tiger Stadium.

"Unfortunately it was the worst game LSU played all year, but it was tremendous just to see where the program has come from back in the '80s," Daye said. "There were thousands of people lined up all along the walk. I was just in awe of it and how it's grown to what it is now. Everywhere I go I see purple and gold. Everybody loves a winner."

Daye is married to the former Kathy Polko, also a graduate of LSU and a former All-SEC selection in gymnastics. His father Donnie Daye played for the 1958 National Champion LSU Tigers as a fullback/linebacker, coached for over 20 years, six seasons of which he was the defensive coordinator at New Mexico State. His mother Penny was the feature majorette for the University of Missouri - yes that Missouri.

"She met a guy named Donnie who was toting that pig at LSU, so she became an LSU Tiger real fast," Daye said.
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