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Grobe owns a 6-5 record in one season at Wake Forest, 39-38-1 in seven seasons overall as a head coach.
Grobe inherited a young team that went 2-9 in 2000 and guided it to a 6-5 record last fall. The Deacons won road games at East Carolina, Duke, Virginia and North Carolina en route to posting Wake's second winning season since 1992.
The win over Virginia, Grobe's alma mater, was Wake's first over the Cavaliers since 1983. The 32-31 win at North Carolina came after the Deacons trailed the Tar Heels 24-0 at halftime.A win over Northern Illinois in the season finale secured the winning season and made Wake Forest eligible. for a bowl berth. Grobe became just the eighth rookie head coach to produce a winning season in his first year.
All five losses came to bowl-bound teams. And in three of those losses --vs. Maryland, NC State and Clemson --Wake Forest had the ball with good field position and with a chance to go ahead or even the score late in the game.
Last year's Deacon team averaged 221.6 yards rushing per game --more than 70 yards per game more than the previous season. The Deacons led the ACC in rushing, edging out BCS-bound Maryland for first place. The Deacons averaged 401.6 yards of total offense per game.
Grobe, 50, has gained a national reputation as a builder of programs. He came to Wake Forest after turning a struggling Ohio University program into a contender for the Mid-American Conference championship.
In the 10 seasons before Grobe left his assistant's position at the Air Force Academy to become Ohio University's head coach, the Bobcats won 17 games. In the six years under Grobe, they won 33 and finished with winning records in the Mid-American Conference five straight seasons.
Grobe coached at Ohio for six seasons, from 1995 through 2000. After taking over the reigns of a program that went 0-11 and was ranked last among Division I-A programs in 1994, Grobe led the Bobcats to a cumulative six-year record of 33-33-1.
The Bobcats were 2-8-1 in 1995, 6-6 in 1996, 8-3 in 1997, 5-6 in 1998, 5-6 in 1999 and 7-4 in 2000. ,Grobe was named the MAC Coach of the Year in 1996 and was a candidate for The Sporting News Division I-A Coach of the Year in 1997.
In Grobe's final season with the Bobcats in 2000, Ohio posted impressive victories over bowl teams Minnesota (23-17) and Marshall (38-28) and closed the season by winning five of its last six games. Statistically, the Bobcats ranked in the top 30 nationally in eight different team categories. Ohio "ranked second nationally in 2000 in rushing offense (323.0 ypg), 18th in fewest turnovers lost (18), 20th in scoring defense (18.9 ppg), 25th in total offense (418.1 ypg) and 30th in scoring offense (31.18 ppg) .The Bobcats also ranked high nationally in two special teams categories --fourth in net punting (39.7 ypp) and 29th in punt returns (11.95 ypr). Grobe's team produced the best fourth-down conversion numbers (8-of-12) in the MAC.
Grobe could have easily remained at Ohio for several more years.
However, the opportunity to "jump start" another program and coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference enticed him to make the move to Winston-Salem.
"Quite honestly, it's time for a new challenge," said Grobe at his hiring. "We'll see if we can get another program jump-started."
"We see nothing but good things happening for our program," said Wake Forest director of athletics Ron Wellman. "He is a good fit for Wake Forest University in what he believes about the academic process and the importance of education and graduating his players." , Grobe, a 1975 University of Virginia graduate, gained valuable experience as an assistant to Fisher DeBerry at the Air Force Academy prior to going to Ohio. He served as linebackers coach from 1984 to 1994, during which the Falcons produced a record of 84-50 and appeared in seven bowl games. Grobe credits DeBerry's influence in the development of his own coaching philosophies, both on and off the field.
"Fisher DeBerry is the guy who taught me that you can treat kids like they're your own," he said. "You can treat kids with respect. You work their tail ends off but treat them like family.
Ohio University, that's what we did at Air Force and that's what we are doing at Wake Forest."
Grobe also worked previously as an assistant coach at Marshall (1979-83), and Emory & Henry (1978) .He began his coaching career at his alma mater, Virginia, in 1975 after talking head coach Sonny Randle into hiring him as a graduate assistant.
One year later, he was head coach at Liberty High School in Bedford (Va.) from 1976-77.
As a player at Virginia in 1973 and 1974, Grobe played middle guard (1973) and linebacker (1974). At 5-10 and 200 pounds, what he lacked in size and speed he made up for with intensity and heart. He was a two-year starter for the Cavaliers and was named academic All-ACC. II
Before enrolling at Virginia, Grobe played two seasons at Ferrum (Va.) Junior College, where he played linebacker on the undefeated Coastal Conference championship team. Grobe earned the Catlin Citizenship Award and the Big Green Award.
"I don't know if there's anybody who loves the game more than I do," Grobe said. "I'd rather be playing still. The players don't get it, but I tell them that all the time. I'm just a big kid who can't play anymore."
Grobe was born on Feb. 17, 1952. A native of Huntington, W. Va., Grobe earned his undergraduate degree (B.S.) in education from Virginia in 1975 and earned a Master's degree in guidance and counseling from UVA in 1978.
Grobe and his wife Holly have two sons, Matt and Ben. Matt is a 1995 Marshall University graduate who currently works as the head golf professional at Rhodes Ranch Golf Club in Las Vegas. Matt and his wife, Melanie, have a daughter, Mackenzie, and a son, Cameron. Ben is a senior at Ohio University majoring in health care administration.
Grobe wasted no time in assembling his staff. He brought eight assistant coaches with him from Ohio University, including Troy Calhoun, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks; Keith Henry, outside linebackers; Dean Hood, defensive coordinator/ secondary; Steed Lobotzke, centers/ offensive guards; Ray McCartney, recruiting coordinator /defensive line; Billy Mitchell, assistant head coach/ running backs /kickers; Jeff Mullen, tight ends/ offensive tackles; and Kevin Sherman, receivers. The only Ohio Award who did not accompany Grobe to Winston-Salem was Brian Knorr, who was promoted to head coach of the Bobcats.
That not only says something for him that he brought everybody, it also says something for him that we all wanted to come," defensive coordinator Dean Hood said. "There's a lot of guys on our staff now who have been offered jobs over the years. A lot of guys. And we have stayed with Coach Grobe. It's not just quality of life, though that's important. It's the fact that you believe in the man. You believe in what he stands for. "
The ninth spot at Wake Forest was filled by Brad Lambert, who joined the Deacon staff as inside linebackers coach after a stint at the University of Georgia.
"The main advantage is that we were able to get right to work," Grobe said. "We didn't have to get to know each other, and we were able to use that time to get to know the players."
As the Grobe era at Wake Forest unfolds, the head coach gives Deacon faithful something to look forward to in the seasons to come.
"I think we're going to have some fun," he said. "I think we're going to be very exciting to watch."
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