PROVO -- Entering his first season as the offensive line coach at BYU, Jeff Grimes brings a wealth of experience and insight to the game. Grimes, who is entering his 12th season as an assistant coach, spent the past three seasons at Arizona State before accepting the position at BYU.
"After talking to different people about the job," BYU head coach Gary Crowton said, "I believe Jeff was one of the top line coaches in the Pac-10. He's a great addition to our staff. I'm very pleased to have him with us."
The Garland, Texas native recently sat down to answer a few questions about his personal life, his football career, coaching philosophy and any insights the avid BYU fan might want to know.
Q:Since you arrived at BYU, what has impressed you the most?
JG: "I have been most impressed by the quality of people I have met."
Q: What have you noticed as a major difference between BYU and the other places you have worked?
JG: "I really appreciate the emphasis placed on the spiritual, family, and moral aspects of life. I have seen that in only one other school that I have worked."
Q: Personally, what went in to the decision to come to BYU?
JG: "I accepted to job at BYU because of the opportunity I would have to spend more time with my family. I also wanted to work with and learn from Gary Crowton."
Q: Tell us a little about your family?
JG: "My wonderful wife, Sheri, and I have been married for almost 12 years--the best 12 years of my life, of course! My wife and children are still in Arizona at this point. We have the most beautiful little girl. Bailey will turn 4 on May 1. We also have a little boy, who is cute is his own way. (You know, the muddy, snakes and spiders, throwing rocks, pull up Mom's flowers and beat up my sister kind of cute.) Garrison will be three on April 10.
Q: When you're not thinking about football, what do you do to relax? How do you spend your free time?
JG: "See the answer to the previous question. I love spending time with my family."
Q: What is something most people don't know about Jeff Grimes?
JG: "Well, I was an English minor and won my elementry-school spelling bee. (Oops, that's "elementary," isn't it?)
Q: If you weren't a college football coach, what would you want to be?
JG: "A football player, of course."
Q: Who would you say has been the most influential person in your life?
JG: "Jesus Christ. Without Him, I would be nothing."
Q: From a football coaching standpoint, who has been the biggest influence in your career?
JG: "I have had the opportunity to be around so many great coaches. I can't limit it to just one person. One of my high school assistant coaches, Jack Catlett, was the first guy who showed me how important it is to spend time with guys, individually.
"I learned a great deal about offensive-line play and motivation from Andy Reid, who was my line coach for two years as a player at UTEP.
"My first boss, Tom Work, showed me how to give your all for the kids that we coached when I was a high school assistant.
"Ken Hatfield and RC Slocum gave me my first college coaching opportunities, and I learned a great deal from them as well.
"As a graduate asst. coach, I had the opportunity to build an unbelievable foundation from four outstanding O-Line coaches: Scott Wachenheim, Mike Sherman, Steve Marshall, and JB Grimes.
"As an assistant at Hardin-Simmons, I learned how to build and maintain a great program, working under Jimmie Keeling and Alan Wartes.
"I gained a wealth of information in regards to offensive football and general organization, working for Dirk Koetter at Boise State and Arizona State.
"That is more than you asked for, but less in terms of the way I feel about all of the people who have made the coach that I am today!"
Q: What are your professional/coaching goals?
JG: "I may want to be a head coach someday, but that's not something I think about at all right now. Today, my goal is to be the best offensive line coach in the country, and at the same time, making an impact on the lives of my players. Most importantly, I want to be the best husband and father that my family could hope for."
Q: How would you describe your coaching philosophy?
JG: "My coaching philosophy is very similar to my parenting philosophy. Like children, college football players need different things at different times. Sometimes they need instruction; sometimes they need a hug; sometimes they need a figurative kick in the pants. (I prefer the hug, but I am perfectly capable of the other as well.)
"I set high expectations, especially in terms of effort. I try to set a vision for the group that will drive them toward greatness. The more that players become self-motivated, the easier my job becomes.
"I would also be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that a group of offensive linemen cannot produce unless they have great unity. Because of the nature of our work, all of the o-linemen must be willing to work together in order to accomplish a common goal. Therefore, a large part of my job involves building an identity for our group, which becomes evident in the family atmosphere that our group develops."
Q: What does it take to be a great offensive lineman at the college level?
JG: "There are certain physical parameters which must be in place in order for a player to even get the opportunity. A guy has to be big enough, fast enough, strong enough, etc. However, once those are met to a minimal level, the intangibles actually create the greater offensive lineman.
"An offensive lineman must be intelligent. Besides playing quarterback, an offensive lineman has to have a greater knowledge of the game than any other position.
"Technique is probably more important at this position than others because the skills we must perform are not natural.
"When you are a kid playing football on the playground, you don't work on picking up the zone blitz in empty protection, you're scoring touchdowns like every other kid! (You just probably don't score as many as most of the others.)
"Last, but not least, an o-lineman must be tough and physically aggressive. Playing on the offensive line is a physical game in the phone booth we call the trenches. Imagine repeatedly running into another object equal to your body weight 75 times in a three-hour span. After three hours in our shoes, you might feel the way you would on the day after a car wreck. "
Q: What do the players hear you say to them most often?
JG: "WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING???!!! (Just kidding.)
"Actually, they hear me talk to them every single day about their effort and toughness. I want our group of offensive linemen to be known as the toughest, hardest-working, blue-collar guys around. We won't be in the newspaper, but we'll be awfully proud of the job we've done if our quarterback, receivers, and running backs get lots of dates!"
Q: What goals have you established for the offensive line this season?
JG: "We have two main goals. First, we want to be the toughest guys on the football field. Second, we want to become great technicians."
Q: During Spring Camp, what are the kinds of things you are looking for?
JG: "Progress every day in the areas mentioned above. In order to achieve our goals, we must get better each time we have the opportunity."
Q: If you had to chose your five starting offensive lineman, who would they be?
JG: "I honestly can't say right now because we have only been practicing for one week. Even if I could, I would not state at this point because competition makes every player better. At this point, all of the guys are working hard because they all know they have a chance and I don't want that to change yet. There will be a time for that, but not yet."
Q: What will be some of the strengths of the offensive line this season?
JG: "Hard, physical play and great effort!"
Q: Do you anticipate any weaknesses on the offensive line? If so, what will those be and how will you work to overcome those weaknesses?
JG: "We are not very experienced up front as there is only one full-time starter returning from 2003. However, the guys are hungry. Experience is a big deal at our position, but all of the intangibles can make a big difference. We will have to make the most of spring ball and this summer. Guys will have to take the initiative to work on some of the technical aspects of the game on their own during the summer months because the NCAA prohibits us from doing much with them during the off-season."
Q: What can you tell people about this year's team that they're going to want to know?
JG: " I believe we have the opportunity to be much better on offense. To what degree depends on the improvement and development of individuals in the next few months and the ability of our key players to stay healthy."