‘Restore the order’ at Grambling State

GRAMBLING – Mickey Joseph wants to bring the Grambling State Tigers back to the top of the food chain in SWAC football.

Joseph, officially introduced as the 15th head football coach in GSU history here Monday, spent most of his introductory press conference emphasizing recruiting and a mission to bring the G-Men back on top in the HBCU space — no longer missing out on the postseason that built the program into what it was.

After spending multiple seasons at LSU, Nebraska, Tulane, Louisiana Tech, Langston, Grambling State, Alcorn State, and many more as an offensiveminded coach, Joseph said it’s time to restore the Tigers’ brand and identity.

“It’s great to be back. It’s great to be back,” Joseph said. “First and foremost, I want to give and honor to God – for whom promotion comes. I want to send a special shout to my parents and my brothers who aren’t here right now, and my longtime mentor Patrick Simon, Ed Orgeron, Hank Tierney, Daryl Daye, Skip Holtz — all the guys that helped me get here today.

“This is an institution known for its football. With great pride and enthusiasm, I accept this prestigious appointment. I’m honored to be back after coaching under Broderick Fobbs, and I’m deeply invested to lead the Grambling football program back to dominance,” he added. “We’re going to restore the order. They need to fear Grambling. And that’s what we’ll set out to do.”

The G-Men have been looking for someone to bring a winning culture back to the once-glowing HBCU powerhouse, moving on from Broderick Fobbs and Hue Jackson over the last four seasons after failing to maintain a competitive standard.

GSU has not had a winning season since 2019 and has put together three- straight losing seasons for first time since 1996, 1997 and 1998.

The Tigers have not made the SWAC Championship game since 2017 – the longest drought in program history without a title.

Joseph’s resume indicates he has the potential to be that person, and it’s exactly what drew in GSU Athletic Director Trayvean Scott to make the hire official and task the former Nebraska interim head coach with leading the Tigers in 2024 and beyond.

“He’s spent the last 25 years preparing for today,” Scott said. “His experience at Wayne State College, Tulane University, Central Oklahoma, Nicholls State, Langston University, Alabama State, Alcorn State, Grambling State, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana State, and the University of Nebraskarounds Lincoln. They’ve all well prepared him to take the reins of our program.”

Joseph’s previous coaching stops have been highlighted with an ability to recruit at a high level, most notably at LSU with the 2019 wide receiver talent of Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, and Terrace Marshal, among others.

Bringing that caliber of athlete to Grambling State is Joseph’s mission, and he knows taking the program back to winning SWAC titles can’t happen until then.

As he put it, the Tigers’ coaching staff has to be visible at just about every high school in the state and develop relationships with the top talent. LSU, Georgia, Texas, and other college football giants may dominant the recruiting field, but you can’t bring top talent in if you don’t try.

And Joseph plans to do more than put in a good effort.

“We’re going to touch every high school in the state of Louisiana when it comes to recruiting,” Joseph said. “ I think right here in the state of Louisiana, pound for pound, it’s the best state as far as high school football. We’re going to draw a five-hour radius around Grambling, but we’re going to stay instate basically to recruit these kids.”

After spending the 2022 season at Nebraska, another program trying to get back to the glory days of national and conference titles, as associate head coach/wide receivers coach before taking over briefly as interim, Joseph said he learned one big lesson that kept the Cornhuskers from taking the steps forward like they hoped. It all starts with talent acquisition.

“What happened at Nebraska was the recruiting fell off,” Joseph said. “ You have to recruit kids because that’s your lifeline. And I think if you wake up every morning and you ask God to see you through the day, and you start recruiting because at the end of the day good players make good coaches. I was a good coach because I had Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, Terrace Marshall. I had all three of those dudes on the same field at one time. I plan to do the same thing here. We want to bring kids here that want to play in the NFL, so we’re going to recruit NFL caliber talent. We can’t be scared of those type of kids. I think it’s going to be really competitive around here, but we’re trying to recruit kids that want to play in the NFL. and they’re going to get their schoolwork. But we want to establish that. We gotta put fear into people now, so when we come down that hill, they know they’re about to get 60 minutes of hell. That’s the only way I know how to do it.”

Joseph said “15%” of the roster going forward will come from transfers, while the remaining 85% will be spent on high school development and recruiting – recognizing that relying on transfers year after year isn’t sustainable at HBCUs.

Before Joseph gets the players, he needs a staff to go find them.

John Simon Jr. served as the program’s interim coach before Joseph was hired, and Joseph didn’t have an answer on whether Simon and the other coaches on staff will be retained.

“I’m going to get to that after this is over because that’s one of the toughest things to sit down and talk about the future of the staff,” Joseph said. “Most of the guys in this building I know. So, I’ll have to sit down. But at the end of the day, we’ve got to do what’s best for Grambling.”

As of Monday, the Tigers will need a new defensive coordinator, defensive line coach, offensive line coach, safeties coach, and special team’s coordinator.

Joseph, a Marrero native, concluded his press conference by thanking GSU administrators for the opportunity and said he wants the fanbase to embrace him and what he has coming for the Tigers.

“I’m gonna be a guy that you can touch,” Joseph said. “I’m going to go into Walmart. I’m not going to hide. I’m not going to say I’m too big for this. I’m a real one, as the kids would say. And I’m going to continue to be that way.”