Kugler Hire a Good Fit For UTEP

On Monday at a 1:00pm press conference, Sean Kugler, was announced as the twenty-fifth head coach in UTEP Football history.

On the message boards, the announcement was met with a mix of responses. Some people were happy with the choice of UTEP AD Bob Stull and some were not. Fans may not know much about him, his coaching philosophy or who will bring on staff but Monday's press conference told us a lot and everyone should be happy with the hire because Kugler is a good fit with the Miners.

To start, Kugler calls El Paso a home. He played here and said that two of his children were conceived here so he has special memories of El Paso. Everyone at the press conference erupted in laughter when he said that but all jokes aside, he wants to be here and he cares about the University and for this reason alone success will come.

Wanting to be in El Paso is never a bad thing.

He spoke of what he expects out of his players and on more than a few occasions, his answers to questions related to the guys around him and what he did "for their teammates." He said this with a look and a conviction that was like a belief, a brotherhood.

Is this a small look into what it is like in an NFL locker room? Do NFL players care more about their teammates than anything else? We have always been told it is like a fraternity but the words he spoke seemed to suggest more than that.

In speaking about "his players," he said it was an emotional decision and he was going to finish the year with "his players." It seems to me as if these words are very significant in that not only does he care for the guys he coaches but he also shows the Miner players he is inheriting that he will stand beside them and they can trust that he will be here for them.

Not only is Kugler going to hold the players accountable but he has said he is going to hold himself accountable and that is something everyone should take notice of. It's been widely said UTEP need this over the last couple years and Kugler might be the one to bring it.

This brings us to coaching on the field. His coaching style is going to be that of all the coaches he has coached for. He has never been micromanaged and he is not going to micromanage. He felt he grew as a coach because he was allowed to coach and do his job so he is going to let the offensive and defensive coordinators plus all the position coaches do their jobs. That is placing a lot of trust is your coaches that they are capable to do that job.

Which means we will have the pleasure of watching a coach evolve, we get to see him grow into the role of head coach and that in itself is going to be a lot of fun.

Let me tell you he is one imposing figure, even when he smiles he looks mean. They say teams take on the coach's personality, well if that happens, the Miners will be just fine. Kugler intends to win at UTEP. It may take some time, but he will succeed.

Chad Middleton, also the producer for 600 ESPN El Paso's SportsTalk, can be reached at show@minerillustrated.com or you can follow him on Twitter at @chad600espn. Make sure to follow Miner Illustrated on Twitter at @minermaniac for more up-to-date news and information about UTEP.