Head Coach Matt Viator
Introductory Press Conference
December 15, 2015
Opening Statement...
"Brian [Wickstrom], thank you very much. Dr. [Nick] Bruno, Josh Brooks, Pat Mitchell and all of the members in the search committee - I just cannot express to you how honored and privileged I am to be standing here right now, both Schantel and I. Before I move forward, I would like to backtrack just a second and really thank McNeese for the great time that Schantel and I had there for 16 or 17 years; the opportunity there to be a great coach, two great presidents, three athletic directors, a lot of really good coaches, incredible student-athletes and a great fan base that was extremely supportive of what we did. For that, Schantel and I will be forever in debt to McNeese for the opportunity we had there. My first experience actually with ULM - I was an undersized quarterback and ran the option. I wasn't very good, but I could run a little bit I guess. I was invited by a guy by the name of Norman Joseph to come to a recruiting trip here - a great man, a guy that I really had a lot of respect for then and still do. When I came at the time, coach Pat Collins was the head coach. I was scared of him then and I still am. I certainly have a lot of respect for coach, what he's done and the coaches that came to McNeese. But the star player of the team was Tag Rome. I remember standing there watching and we wore the same high school number thinking that I might have could have been Tag Rome. As the game went on I figured out no I could not. I've always certainly known about ULM. I cannot tell you how excited we are to be here. We are obviously excited to get to work. I had an opportunity to meet some of the student-athletes a while ago, and I was certainly glad to be able to do that. Certainly to get on recruiting very, very fast and to also meet the ULM coaches here this afternoon and support staff, I'm looking forward to that as well. We are going to come in here and I want to put together a coaching staff that obviously wants to be here and shares in the same vision I do. I certainly think that we're going to be able to do that for sure. I want to get out and recruit the best student-athletes we can. We are a little bit behind right now, but we're certainly going to catch up and work all through the break here to try and get back in the direction that we need to go there. Other than that, I will promise you, all I've ever really done as a head coach - I'm very proud of this - I'm going to say this, but I actually started in 2A high school and 3A, 4A, 5A, FCS and now FBS. All I've ever tried to do was to do it right. All I've ever preached to our coaches and our players, 'Let's do it right. Every day that you get up, when you get here let's do it the right way.' What I've found, if that's your ambition and that's what you're doing, you're going to win more than you're going to lose. If you get up every single day and let's do this the right way. Let's everybody pull in the same direction and I've been certainly fortunate enough to do that. I will also say, which Josh [Brooks] and I were talking about last night, it's also been my experience in 30 years of coaching and 20-something as head coach, you're never as far ahead or far behind as you think you are. You know you look back at the numbers this year and the games. Obviously, ULM was in a lot of these games. There's a fine line between if you're going to win it and if you're going to lose it. I'm also saying, I was telling Josh [Brooks] last night, we went undefeated at McNeese this year. We were 10-0, but we're not that far ahead. I understand that. If I would have stayed at McNeese, I would have understood that. Like I said, you're never really that far behind or you're never as far ahead as you think you are. You have to keep working in order to get the results you want. I look forward to meeting everybody. It's different I guess meeting new people. I'm excited about it. Learning new keys, you know the key that opens everything is always a transition and stuff. I'm sure I'll get that. The opportunity to be here is exciting for Schantel and I, and we look forward to getting to work. Thank you very much. Go Warhawks."
On recruiting style with JuCos and fifth-year transfers...
"First off, I think recruiting is 100 percent about relationships. We are going to have to get a staff in here and develop relationships with high school and junior college coaches. We've always recruited junior college at McNeese. We probably haven't taken quite as many maybe as ULM has. Some of it is because of the numbers, because I always wanted to keep the recruiting class at a certain number. I'm looking forward to it and getting probably more into the junior colleges that we've ever been at McNeese. I haven't dealt with the fifth-year that you're talking about but certainly that would be something to address an immediate need and somebody we thought could make an immediate impact on what we're doing as a football team - same thing with junior college. All we've tried to do as McNeese is if we went out and got a junior college player, we wanted to make sure that he can make an immediate impact on what we're doing because of only the two years left of eligibility. We looked at high school kids differently, take them in, develop them and maybe even if they didn't start for a couple of years - but junior college and transfers were different for us in the way we looked at it."
On staff hires...
"Actually we are in the process of doing that right now. I've been meeting with Brian [Wickstrom] and Josh [Brooks], and I will meet with Dr. [Nick] Bruno this evening. We are going to start doing that. I didn't find out until Sunday night that I was the head coach. Yesterday morning, I had to obviously spend time with my staff, my athletic director and my president back at McNeese. After talking with them, I got in the car yesterday at about 3 o'clock and drove on over here. That's about as far along we've got. But that's certainly something that we're going to address quickly and try to do the best we can at getting together the coaching staff that I'd like to have here."
On what excited you the most coming to ULM...
"I think just the great opportunity that I think it is, that we thought it was. I think ULM obviously has great tradition. The opportunity for me and Schantel to be able to come up here, be a FBS head coach - you know there's only 119 of them, 118 or something like that and one of them is here in Monroe. To have the opportunity to do that, be a part of the Sun Belt Conference and to play new teams - I just look at it as a great opportunity but also a great challenge. That really intrigues me. I love challenges. I love opportunities. I'm certainly fortunate to have that here."
Closing statement...
"I appreciate it again. I'm looking forward to it. Like I was saying earlier, sometimes change can be a good thing. I was telling the players earlier. There's a Dr. Martin Luther King quote that I like, 'Change is inevitable; growth is optional.' Change is going to happen. Hopefully how the players and how the staff - how we adapt to that change and how we grow is going to make the biggest difference in what we're doing here. Thanks again."
Introductory Press Conference
December 15, 2015
Opening Statement...
"Brian [Wickstrom], thank you very much. Dr. [Nick] Bruno, Josh Brooks, Pat Mitchell and all of the members in the search committee - I just cannot express to you how honored and privileged I am to be standing here right now, both Schantel and I. Before I move forward, I would like to backtrack just a second and really thank McNeese for the great time that Schantel and I had there for 16 or 17 years; the opportunity there to be a great coach, two great presidents, three athletic directors, a lot of really good coaches, incredible student-athletes and a great fan base that was extremely supportive of what we did. For that, Schantel and I will be forever in debt to McNeese for the opportunity we had there. My first experience actually with ULM - I was an undersized quarterback and ran the option. I wasn't very good, but I could run a little bit I guess. I was invited by a guy by the name of Norman Joseph to come to a recruiting trip here - a great man, a guy that I really had a lot of respect for then and still do. When I came at the time, coach Pat Collins was the head coach. I was scared of him then and I still am. I certainly have a lot of respect for coach, what he's done and the coaches that came to McNeese. But the star player of the team was Tag Rome. I remember standing there watching and we wore the same high school number thinking that I might have could have been Tag Rome. As the game went on I figured out no I could not. I've always certainly known about ULM. I cannot tell you how excited we are to be here. We are obviously excited to get to work. I had an opportunity to meet some of the student-athletes a while ago, and I was certainly glad to be able to do that. Certainly to get on recruiting very, very fast and to also meet the ULM coaches here this afternoon and support staff, I'm looking forward to that as well. We are going to come in here and I want to put together a coaching staff that obviously wants to be here and shares in the same vision I do. I certainly think that we're going to be able to do that for sure. I want to get out and recruit the best student-athletes we can. We are a little bit behind right now, but we're certainly going to catch up and work all through the break here to try and get back in the direction that we need to go there. Other than that, I will promise you, all I've ever really done as a head coach - I'm very proud of this - I'm going to say this, but I actually started in 2A high school and 3A, 4A, 5A, FCS and now FBS. All I've ever tried to do was to do it right. All I've ever preached to our coaches and our players, 'Let's do it right. Every day that you get up, when you get here let's do it the right way.' What I've found, if that's your ambition and that's what you're doing, you're going to win more than you're going to lose. If you get up every single day and let's do this the right way. Let's everybody pull in the same direction and I've been certainly fortunate enough to do that. I will also say, which Josh [Brooks] and I were talking about last night, it's also been my experience in 30 years of coaching and 20-something as head coach, you're never as far ahead or far behind as you think you are. You know you look back at the numbers this year and the games. Obviously, ULM was in a lot of these games. There's a fine line between if you're going to win it and if you're going to lose it. I'm also saying, I was telling Josh [Brooks] last night, we went undefeated at McNeese this year. We were 10-0, but we're not that far ahead. I understand that. If I would have stayed at McNeese, I would have understood that. Like I said, you're never really that far behind or you're never as far ahead as you think you are. You have to keep working in order to get the results you want. I look forward to meeting everybody. It's different I guess meeting new people. I'm excited about it. Learning new keys, you know the key that opens everything is always a transition and stuff. I'm sure I'll get that. The opportunity to be here is exciting for Schantel and I, and we look forward to getting to work. Thank you very much. Go Warhawks."
On recruiting style with JuCos and fifth-year transfers...
"First off, I think recruiting is 100 percent about relationships. We are going to have to get a staff in here and develop relationships with high school and junior college coaches. We've always recruited junior college at McNeese. We probably haven't taken quite as many maybe as ULM has. Some of it is because of the numbers, because I always wanted to keep the recruiting class at a certain number. I'm looking forward to it and getting probably more into the junior colleges that we've ever been at McNeese. I haven't dealt with the fifth-year that you're talking about but certainly that would be something to address an immediate need and somebody we thought could make an immediate impact on what we're doing as a football team - same thing with junior college. All we've tried to do as McNeese is if we went out and got a junior college player, we wanted to make sure that he can make an immediate impact on what we're doing because of only the two years left of eligibility. We looked at high school kids differently, take them in, develop them and maybe even if they didn't start for a couple of years - but junior college and transfers were different for us in the way we looked at it."
On staff hires...
"Actually we are in the process of doing that right now. I've been meeting with Brian [Wickstrom] and Josh [Brooks], and I will meet with Dr. [Nick] Bruno this evening. We are going to start doing that. I didn't find out until Sunday night that I was the head coach. Yesterday morning, I had to obviously spend time with my staff, my athletic director and my president back at McNeese. After talking with them, I got in the car yesterday at about 3 o'clock and drove on over here. That's about as far along we've got. But that's certainly something that we're going to address quickly and try to do the best we can at getting together the coaching staff that I'd like to have here."
On what excited you the most coming to ULM...
"I think just the great opportunity that I think it is, that we thought it was. I think ULM obviously has great tradition. The opportunity for me and Schantel to be able to come up here, be a FBS head coach - you know there's only 119 of them, 118 or something like that and one of them is here in Monroe. To have the opportunity to do that, be a part of the Sun Belt Conference and to play new teams - I just look at it as a great opportunity but also a great challenge. That really intrigues me. I love challenges. I love opportunities. I'm certainly fortunate to have that here."
Closing statement...
"I appreciate it again. I'm looking forward to it. Like I was saying earlier, sometimes change can be a good thing. I was telling the players earlier. There's a Dr. Martin Luther King quote that I like, 'Change is inevitable; growth is optional.' Change is going to happen. Hopefully how the players and how the staff - how we adapt to that change and how we grow is going to make the biggest difference in what we're doing here. Thanks again."
