Written by Thomas Moore

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Paul Haynes, a former Kent State defensive back, was introduced on Tuesday as the Golden Flashes' 21st football coach.

Haynes, who played for Kent State from 1987 to 1991 (a time period where we covered the team for The Daily Kent Stater, which oddly makes us feel really old), takes over for Darrell Hazell, who will be leaving Kent after the GoDaddy.com Bowl to take over the football program at Purdue.

"This has been a whirlwind, and I can't begin to describe my excitement about the opportunity to come back to Kent State as head coach," Haynes said. "Being a former player and assistant coach here, and now coming back at a time where there is so much pride around the football program and the university, it is unbelievable. My family and I are excited about coming back to Ohio. I'm looking forward to getting involved with the players and embracing the Kent State alumni."

This is the second time that Haynes has returned to Kent since his playing days; he previously spent two seasons as an assistant coach under Dean Pees. Haynes spent last year as the defensive coordinator for Arkansas, where the Razorbacks finished 4-8 overall and 2-6 in the SEC West. The Razorbacks gave up an average of 30 points per game and coach John L. Smith was "reassigned" after one season and replaced by Bret Bielema.

Um, yeah. Moving on.

Prior to spending the year in Fayettville, Haynes was at Ohio State for seven years, first as defensive backs coach and then as co-defensive coordinator for the 2011 season. That year, the Buckeyes ranked fourth in the Big Ten in turnover margin and fifth in the conference in pass defense and sacks.

That's better.

"I am very excited to welcome Paul back to the Kent State family," Director of Athletics Joel Nielsen said. "During our search for a new head coach, I was looking for someone who had the qualities that could carry on the recent success of the football program. Those qualities include leadership, a genuine interest in our student-athletes, integrity and an understanding of Kent State and the Mid-American Conference. Ohio recruiting ties were also very important. Paul hits on every one of those areas. In hiring Paul we are also making a significant investment in the head coaching position here at Kent State."

Haynes seems like a good choice for the program. He has a lot of experience in the college game, and after spending so many years in Columbus he should have a good network of high school coaches to help with in-state recruiting. As a former player he also knows the challenges he'll have to overcome to get players to come to Kent.

"He obviously knows what the tradition was," defensive lineman Roosevelt Nix told The Plain Dealer. "And I'm sure he aspired to come into the new Kent State. I know he didn't like the feeling of losing here. So he'll want to keep this thing going."

The flip side is, win or lose, Haynes will probably only be in a Kent for three years or so. He's young enough (43) that if he can build on the foundation that Hazell put in place, he will lured away in a few years by a bigger school.

But that is the nature of coaching in the MAC - always had been and always will be.

Luckily, that is a discussion for another day.

As for Hazell, he is still working with the team as it prepares for Kent State's first bowl game since 1972.

“That’s the big thing, finishing what we started,” Hazell told The Beacon Journal. “We set out at the beginning of the season talking about winning a championship and playing in and winning a bowl game. So it’s pretty special for me to be around these guys for these last couple weeks.”

This week begins a three-week period where the NCAA doesn't allow recruiting, so that gives Hazell time to work on getting ready for the bowl match up with Arkansas State as well as building his staff at Purdue (hopefully he is doing more of the former and less of the latter, but let's be realistic here).

“My days are all running together,” Hazell said. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s all good. This week is pretty much a Kent week. My concentration right now is to get these guys ready. I’ve been studying (Arkansas State) film like I normally do, making sure we put together a good game plan.”

Speaking of coaching staffs, it will be interesting to see how many coaches follow Hazell to Purdue and how many potentially stay in Kent to work on Haynes' staff.

(Photo courtesy of KentStateSports.com)