#17 Sipe back in action!

[DestinFunk]

Sipe becomes QB coach at SDSU

Steve King, Staff Writer

01.16.2009

New San Diego State University head football coach Brady Hoke didn't need anyone to tell him who Brian Sipe is.

 

Hoke, 50, was born in Dayton, Ohio and graduated in 1977 from nearby Kettering Fairmont East High School. He was then a defensive standout at Ball State during the years that Sipe quarterbacked the Kardiac Kids Browns teams to prominence.

 

So when left Hoke left as head coach of his alma materand was hired as Aztecs coach five weeks ago, and realized that Sipe, one of the greatest players in San Diego State history, was living in the San Diego area and wanted to get into college coaching, it didn't take him long to track down the 1980 NFL Most Valuable Player and ask him to join his coaching staff.

 

Sipe, 59, accepted the invitation earlier this week and will serve as quarterbacks coach.

 

"Brian Sipe believes in our players and is there for them, and that's important to us," said Hoke. "I got to spend a lot of time with him, and when you do that, you get a feel for the kind of person he is, his character, his integrity and his knowledge of the game.

 

"He met with coach (Al) Borges (offensive coordinator) and I and talked about the game. Obviously, he is a guy who has had the success at coaching at the high school level and also playing success. He knows an awful lot (about the game), especially a lot of the intangibles that quarterbacks need to have."

 

Sipe has a passion to coach and help rebuild the Aztecs program. The Aztecs have recorded a 9-27 record over the past three seasons, and were 2-10 in 2008.

 

"There is no other place that I would choose to coach at other than San Diego State right now," Sipe said. "It's an important time for this program, and we have the right head coach to make this program something that we're all proud of."

 

Sipe played for the Aztecs from 1969-71 under head coach Don Coryell, who went onto coach of St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Chargers, where his offenses were nicknamed "Air Coryell." Sipe is one of just 13 SDSU players to be named an All-American .

 

Sipe was an after-thought selection by the Browns in the 1972 NFL Draft, being taken in the 13th round of the 17-round proceedings. He spent his first two years with the team on the taxi squad, the forerunner of today's practice squad, before beginning his 10-year playing stint in 1974. But it wasn't until the tail end of the 1978 season that he finally secured the starting job for good, and two seasons later, he led the Browns to an 11-5 record, their first AFC Central title in nine years and their first playoff berth in eight years.

 

Sipe, who was born and raised in the San Diego area, had returned home 23 years ago after retiring as a player and was working in the home design business and as a high school head football coach. He spent the last eight years at tiny Santa Fe Christian, compiling a 75-21 record and winning four state titles.