CHESTNUT HILL - Years ago, BC head coach Jeff Hafley was just trying to find his way into the coaching profession.

Hafley listened to Paul Rhoads speak at a clinic and from that point on, basically followed Rhoads around wherever he was speaking next. Rhoads soon gave Hafley his first break in coaching and the rest is history. Their relationship has come full circle and Rhoads is now trying to help Hafley turn Boston College around.

"When i was probably 21, 22 years old, I saw him speak at a clinic and I thought he was the man," Hafley explained during Media Day on Sunday. "I wanted to be him when I grew up. Two weeks later, I found him at another clinic and sat in the front row. Two weeks later, I found him at another clinic and he finally looks at me and said 'are you stalking me?' I was like no...so, then I actually started getting up there and helping him. Then, I started working the camp and every year he'd invite me back to work the camp and eventually, he hired me as a GA. When he went to Auburn to be the defensive coordinator, I got hired to be the DB coach at 27 years old. We kept in touch. I'd go stay at his house when he was the head coach at Iowa State. One year, I helped install punt for them because we were doing a lot of different stuff on special teams and I was coaching special teams as well.

"Stayed at his house, hung out and talk every year. Finally, when Tem (Lukabu) left, he was the guy and the timing was perfect. Ex-head coach, mentor, friend. my nee neighbor. Seriously, no kidding, he is my neighbor. If I look out my window, it's like 'hey Paul.' I'm not even joking, that's how close we are. I'll probably have to be the one cleaning (snow) off his driveway because I owe him all the years he'd helped me."

For Rhoads, his initial impression of Hafley was one of a guy that wanted to be the best he possibly could be right away.

"My first impression was, his presence. He was always around," said Rhoads. "I'd speak at a clinic and he'd be there. We'd have a camp and he'd be there. with that presence was his energy and a coach is always looking for high octane guys. Guys that have a high energy level to increase the energy level of the players. It was ultimately the intelligence he had at such a young age that really made the lasting impression on me. We were at a camp at Pitt and another coach asked to go up and get on the board, and Coach Hafley asked if he could tag along. We got into the conversation and Hafley sort of took it over. His insight and his intelligence was overwhelming for such a young football coach. We had him hired quickly after that."

From early on, Rhoads knew Hafley would eventually end up running his own program.

"Oh yeah. He's just always had the relationships necessary to be a head coach and the intelligence necessary to be a head coach," Rhoads explained. "The recruiting ability, and he showed all of that at a young and inexperienced young age. He had all the recognizable traits early where you knew someday he'd be a head coach."

The idea of coaching alongside Hafley again has always been there, but was never possible until now. The old saying goes timing is everything, and that couldn't have been more true in this scenario.

"We've always talked about it. it's been a work in process. We had so much fun coaching together and have wanted to do it again ever since then," said Rhoads. "As time works out, it doesn't always happen to be the right time and place, this one just happened to be the right time and place. It was a number of factors that go along with it. I wanted to get back to this level at least one more time as a full time coach. You never know if you're ever going to get to finish on your own time and your own choice to get back to it and have that opportunity. I'd lost a mentor of mine, a gentleman by the name of Larry Coyer. he had passed away a few months before Coach (Hafley) made the call and I just saw this as an opportunity to be a mentor. I had been mentored by Larry and I just saw this as an opportunity to go mentor. There's no way I could turn it down. This was a no brainer for me."

While Rhoads obviously knew Hafley and what he stood for, he wanted to be part of a blue collar program and so far, the Eagle players have not disappointed him.

"In the decision to come back, I wanted to come back to a place where the culture and playing the game the right way was right to the program," he said. "I was very confident that was going to be the case here. Not only because Jeff was leading them, but because of what BC stands for. I have not been let down in that. These are tremendous kids to coach. They're here for the education. They've got unbelievable character, unbelievable work ethic, they want to be coached and they want to be taught. Do we have NIL involved in our program? Certainly we do, but they're not here because of NIL and they're not playing for NIL money. they're playing for their teammates and because they love the game. Because I coached against them when I was at Pitt, and coaching with guys like Dana Bible who had been here for a long time and I got to coach with at UCLA, I had always admired the toughness of this program and the blue collar work ethic of the program. I think it still exists and we're trying to bring it back to a more robust level. We're trying to make the program more exciting for the city and the students of this university."