Arnold heading back to division one sidelines

February 20, 2004
by Mike Moore
Staff Reporter

After five years with the Albion College football team, offensive line and special teams coach Dave Arnold accepted a position with Colorado State University. He will be reunited with long-time friend and CSU head coach Sonny Lubick in Denver.

“Sonny called out of the blue offering the position,” Arnold said. “It’s probably the first job I didn’t have to interview for.”

Arnold officially accepted the job Feb. 11, and last Friday he resigned from Albion announcing his decision to the team.

“Leaving the players and the coaches is the hardest part, especially the 2005 class,” Arnold said. “I have recruited and coached them for three years now.”

Whether it was his unique background, witty coaching style, or obvious sense of humor, Arnold quickly became a player favorite after arriving at Albion in 1999.

“He taught me more about football than I could have ever imagined,” said starting offensive tackle Greg Sheldon, Royal Oak junior. “But it wasn’t just football, he taught us about life. It’s a huge loss for us; the whole team is going to miss him.”

Sheldon is one of three starting offensive linemen who has played under Arnold for the past three seasons, perhaps the player who will miss Arnold the most is place kicker Andy Cline, Perrysburg, Ohio, junior.

“He has such high credentials that influenced me to impress him and always work hard,” said Cline, who broke the school record for career field goals made this past season. “Having him as a coach has always made me want to be number one, and I give him a ton of credit for what I have accomplished.”

Arnold’s credentials range from the high school level all the way to the NFL. After coaching at Midland H.S. (’68-’72) and Alma H.S. (’73-’79), Arnold joined Michigan State as their offensive line coach. Two seasons later he left for division I-AA Montana State (’82-’86). As the head coach in 1984 he won the division I-AA national championship.

His next two stops, where he coached special teams, were Washington State University (’87-’88) and the University of Miami (Florida). In his five seasons at Miami (’89-’94) Arnold was a part of two national championship teams and two runners-up. When Miami head coach Dennis Erickson left for the NFL, Arnold followed suit. From ’95 to ’97 Arnold was the Seattle Seahawks special teams coach.

Arnold spent the ’98 season coaching his son E.J. in high school, and then Albion came calling.

“More than anything, I needed a job, and growing up in Midland I wanted to stay in Michigan,” Arnold said. “I was offered another job at MSU and the head job at Saginaw Valley State, but my friendship with Coach Rundle [Albion’s head coach], the fact that I could work with the offensive line, and the tradition of Albion really attracted me to come here.

“There are certain things about Albion football that no other team in the state can say. The 1994 national championship is just one example. That tradition is a real selling point.”

While some of the players were shocked and confused by Arnold’s decision, Rundle felt this was an opportunity his colleague couldn’t pass up.

“This is awesome for him, a great opportunity,” Rundle said. “To land a job like that, with that type of competition in that conference is awesome. He would have been crazy not to go.”

At CSU Arnold will coach special teams and tight ends, and according to Lubick, he will be an instant lift to their program. “He’s going to have a huge impact on our players,” Lubick said. “He is exactly what we need as a special teams coach, and he brings a ton of experience to the table.”

That experience, along with a good friendship, made hiring Arnold much easier for Lubick.

“The fact is, in this business most coaches hire someone they have either worked with or know a lot about,” Lubick said. “We had plenty of good applicants...[The fact] that he was still coaching at Albion shows his heart is still in football. We are very pleased about having him come out here.”

Rundle said applications have already been taken for Arnold’s replacement, and he hopes to have someone in place after spring break.