Coaching isn't exactly what Southeastern University defensive backs coach
Richard McNutt thought he would be doing with his life.
"Sometimes you get called to do certain things outside of what you have planned," said McNutt as he reflected on his start in coaching.
McNutt was an exceptionally talented football player in high school just outside of Chicago and went on to continue his football career at Ohio State. He even chuckles when he talks about having a degree in family resource management and consumer affairs. After dealing with an ankle infection during his senior year of high school, an injury that would prematurely end his playing career a few years later, McNutt also considered the medical field.
"I wanted to work in an emergency room because I love to work with people and I saw how they took care of me and wanted to make an impact on somebody's life in that arena," said McNutt.
During his junior year with the Buckeyes, doctors said the ankle couldn't handle anymore football. McNutt was at a crossroads wondering if he should get a job in a jail, in sales, or somewhere in the medical field.
Ohio State Head Football Coach Jim Tressel had other ideas. Tressel offered McNutt the chance to remain part of the team as a player-coach and finish his studies.
"(Coach Tressel) said I can be a regular guy on campus or stay part of the team and find a role," said McNutt. "I talked to the defensive coaches to see how I could help out."
During his time coaching the Buckeyes, McNutt learned how to relate to players early in his career as he started coaching his teammates and learned how to communicate with them.
"As a player, all I really knew was being around the guys and being part of the team," said McNutt. "The best way to stay part of the team was to be able to impact and influence guys the way coaches did in my life."
The conversation with Tressel was a defining moment for McNutt. He also credits some of the other coaches he worked with at Ohio State like Mel Tucker, the current head coach at Michigan State and Mark Dantonio, Tucker's predecessor in East Lansing to help direct him as he began his coaching career.
"I was lost; I didn't know what to do next," said McNutt. "Certain things were not going to satisfy me, what satisfied me was being around the guys, in the locker room and being part of the team; it basically saved me."
Fast forward 18 years and McNutt has coached at just about every level of football including a stint with the Cleveland Browns, to multiple Division I FBS stops, to one of the premier programs in the Football Championship Subdivision at Youngstown State, down to Division III, and now the NAIA.
"When you love coaching, it doesn't matter what level it is, you do it for the love of developing kids and helping them find something in themselves that they can't tap into."
During his first season coaching the Fire secondary, SEU ranks fourth in the NAIA in pass defense efficiency at 76.3 and passing yards allowed per game at 112.5. The Fire are currently 11
th in scoring defense at 13.5 points per game.
"Being at Southeastern has been a very personable experience where I can truly touch every part of the program and every part of campus," said McNutt. "I get to actually build relationships with people in a way that I normally would not have been able to."
Additionally, McNutt has enjoyed being at a Christian school for the first time in his career. "You go through life and sometimes you need to be at a certain place in a certain part of your life to help you refocus and get on track and I think coming here was right on time," said McNutt.
McNutt wants to make sure none of the athletes he interacts with ever have those feelings of uncertainty about life when football ends for them as he did.
"I talk to guys now about having an exit strategy from football and allowing football to take you as far as it can go, but then using it to our benefit afterwards," said McNutt.
For those that wish to stay involved in football, there are plenty of ways to do so from administration, to scouting, officiating, and of course coaching.
"You have to first be willing to let go of the dream of playing, because it ends for everybody at some point," said McNutt. "You then have to look at what the next best thing to playing that you can enjoy that if you were to stay around sports."
As an African-American coach, McNutt encourages his players to look at continuing into coaching. "Kids gravitate to people they relate to or are comfortable with and players like to be coached well there's something about it when you come into a room and you can relate to a guy or he's been through what I've been through."
Sometimes, it can be difficult to encourage this path when looking at the previous cycle of head coach hires in the National Football League over the last two months. According to a chart of NFL head coaching interview request obtained by FootballScoop, there were 31 interview requests for white coaches which led to five head coaching positions. Minority coaches received 28 interviews and two positions.
"There are so many qualified African-American coaches at every level, and I truly believe that when we get in positions to promote each other, we need to do it," said McNutt. "Not because they are your friend, but because they are a really good ball coach and are qualified."
As McNutt points out, what do you have to lose by giving a guy who is qualified an opportunity? Chances are if you are in the market for a new head coach, you already aren't winning.
"It's a tough deal, it's going to take the right people to get into leadership positions to actually make a difference and want to make a difference," said McNutt. "When we start meeting the people that really want to create change, then things will start happening for real."
