Chris Partridge made it official today. He has accepted a position on the recruiting staff at the University of Michigan. His official title is Recruiting Operations Coordinator. He leaves early next week to begin the job – weather permitting.
So, I was already looking at some message boards, Michigan people asking, who is this guy? what are we getting? Rutgers people either saying good riddance, or, oh man, what did we lose….and a lot of people asking what does this mean for Rashan Gary, does this mean he’s going to go to Michigan as well?
I had the pleasure of talking to Chris multiple times the last two weeks. I stayed silent since most of what I was told and heard was off the record. I can tell you a lot of things I think now.
Today I was at Paramus Catholic talking to some coaches. Chris was there, but reluctant to say anything, other than, he was humbled to get the offer and that Michigan was truly “the total package†for athletes. Hey, he’s a recruiter now, he has to start saying that. I half expected him to break out and start whistling the Michigan fight song. He’s been given a very big job, overseeing a large part of Michigan’s recruiting efforts.
I think that 2 weeks ago, Chris was very interested in the Rutgers job. We all know that Chris had an offer to join the staff at Rutgers. If you read back at what Chris said on this web site two weeks ago, he said he was not in a rush to make his decision. He wanted to make sure his kids at Paramus Catholic had the best information possible to make their college decisions. I think that Rutgers and Michigan were not the only other schools in the mix.
Listen, I think that there was a lot to Rutgers that appealed to him. It gave him a chance to stay close to home. From a personal standpoint, that was important to him. I think he just wanted to wait and see how it all played out.
Did Rutgers put the squeeze on him and maybe ask him to make up his mind sooner than he wanted? I think so.
I don’t think Chris cared about what some of the other coaches said about him in the paper about him going to Rutgers. Whether he should or shouldn’t – that’s up to you to decide. I don’t think Chris cared at all.
Also, I think that if Chris was really anti-NJ and anti-Rutgers, there is no way Najee Clayton, maybe the kid Chris was closest too in his tenure at PC would have committed there, like he did last week.
I also just think when it came down to it, Michigan or Rutgers….Chris felt like Michigan was a better fit right now.
I think Chris really wants to coach football, but he does enjoy the evaluating/judging process that comes with recruiting. I think he hopes that if he does a good job for Michigan, he will be able to coach somewhere on staff there, or anywhere.
I don’t think Chris will coach high school football again, and if he does, it would only be at Paramus Catholic.
So, what does this mean to Rashan Gary? Hey, I mean, I asked that question point-blank today. Michigan – in a really big clue to where Partridge was going if you were paying attention offered Gary this week –
but it seems like the whole ‘package deal’ noise is just that: noise. Kids in 2015, or 2016 which will be Gary’s class are so much more savvy to the whole recruiting business than they ever were. Does having Partridge at Michigan give Michigan a shot? Of course, do I think that Rashan, like 99 percent of the kids in the nation will consult the people he truly trusts (mom) take his visits and then pick the right school for him?
Um, yeah. Why is that so hard to believe? I guess it just makes good message board fodder.
In fact, I think Gary is partial to a southern school right now.
So, what is Michigan getting? I think Michigan is getting someone who knows he has a lot to learn. I think they are getting someone with strong opinions and a strong personality and someone who connects uniquely with high school football players. He’s not afraid to share personal parts of his life with them and gets them to talk about their personal lives too. He’s not afraid to make them feel engaged, wanted and interesting. He’s not afraid to call them out and get on them. On the football field, he was bold. That’s the best way to put it. Bold. He’s got an ego. He’s got a good work ethic. He’s got less hair than me. (Haha)
Did he tick off coaches in the Big North and New Jersey? Yep. But let’s get a little perspective here. 5 years ago, Paramus Catholic football was a speed bump. They. Meant. Nothing.
Heck, they mattered so little that I had Partridge’s name misspelled in my phone for years before I ever realized it. Paramus Catholic? Shoot, they wanted out of the league at one point.
And Chris admitted it, if you read my earlier Q&A, they had to sell sizzle before the steak. He had to sell style, flashy uniforms and a bold style, because, he didn’t have a lot of very good players. Slowly, Paramus Catholic began to fashion a reputation in New Jersey as the hot place to go. Almost like a trendy restaurant that everyone starts going to. Heck, he made the word “Livin’†either a curse word or a lifestyle depending on your point of view. Jabrill Peppers left Bosco to go to Paramus Catholic and it pushed the program to a new level, and it didn’t fall apart when Jabrill left.
A lot of people didn’t like it. They thought Chris was skirting the rules in New Jersey, getting transfers in without them having to sit, badmouthing other programs. To him, he wasn’t doing anything anyone else wasn’t doing or hadn’t done. He thought it was the best way to get his program to compete at a high level. Hey, success always breeds critics.
But guess what, after the sizzle died down, after the smokey entrances on to the field (an NJSIAA violation by the way), the Paladins had plenty of steak. His kids played hard and fast on the field. And when things got close at the end, they found ways to win. I believe every team is in some ways the personification of their head coach, and Chris Partridge’s teams were a little rambunctious at times, but they worked hard and they got the job done when it mattered.
I also think – and I never said this to Chris – but I think if he had it to do over again there are things he would have done/said differently. I think specifically he regrets some things that he said about Bergen Catholic and Bosco. I think…I may be wrong. (He will probably text me and say I’m way off).
But I know he talked about how much respect he had for the job Nunzio did at Bergen Catholic this season (Nunzio should have been Coach of the Year), and what Greg Toal has built and done at Don Bosco. And he always admired Tony Karcich and Augie at St. Joes. I think Chris was staggered at times to realize the clout and persona (I hate to use the word fame, but that’s what it was) he had developed and maybe was a little embarrassed when things got back to him. So when he talked about that respect, people didn’t buy it. Or maybe they just didn’t want to.
Now, it’s extremely interesting to see what will happen next at Paramus Catholic. Blake Costanzo and Chris are a lot alike. How good are the Paladins? We will have to wait and see. I was pretty sure they would be very good this year, and they were. They have a lot coming back on offense, defense will have one of the best players in the country, and the schedule will be loaded. But there will be a transition period for Blake. It’ll just be different.
I said a while back that Paramus Catholic’s rise to the top of the North Jersey football mountain was the biggest story this decade in North Jersey athletics (it’s not any more, Madison Holleran is No. 1) but the decade still has some years left. But we will always be able to look back at Paramus Catholic football and say, before Chris Partridge, and after.