Jim Britt Grobe (born February 17, 1952) is an American football coach and former player who was most recently the defensive coordinator of the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football. His previous position to that was as head football coach at Baylor University.[1] From 2001 to 2013, Grobe served as the head football coach at Wake Forest University. In 2006, he was named ACC Coach of the Year by a unanimous vote and AP Coach of the Year for coaching Wake Forest to an 11–2 regular season and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) title.
_(cropped).jpg) Grobe in 2009 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 17, 1952 Huntington, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1971–1972 | Ferrum |
| 1973–1974 | Virginia |
| Position(s) | Guard, linebacker |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1975 | Virginia (GA) |
| 1976–1977 | Liberty HS (Bedford, VA) |
| 1978 | Emory & Henry (LB) |
| 1979–1983 | Marshall (LB) |
| 1984–1994 | Air Force (LB) |
| 1995–2000 | Ohio |
| 2001–2013 | Wake Forest |
| 2016 | Baylor |
| 2019 | San Antonio Commanders (DC) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 117–121–1 (college) |
| Bowls | 4–2 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 ACC (2006) | |
| Awards | |
| AP College Football Coach of the Year (2006) Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award (2006) Sporting News College Football COY (2006) MAC Coach of the Year (1996) ACC Coach of the Year (2006) | |
Playing career
editGrobe earned his undergraduate degree (B.S.) in education from the University of Virginia in 1975 and earned a master's degree in guidance and counseling from Virginia in 1978. As a player at Virginia in 1973 and 1974, Grobe played middle guard (1973) and linebacker (1974). He was a two-year starter for the Virginia Cavaliers and was named Academic All-ACC.
Before enrolling at Virginia, Grobe spent two seasons with Ferrum College, then known as Ferrum Junior College, where he played linebacker on the undefeated Coastal Conference championship team. Grobe earned the Catlin Citizenship Award and the Big Green Award. In the fall of 2002, Grobe was inducted into the Ferrum College Hall of Fame.
Coaching career
editOhio
editGrobe obtained his first head coaching job in 1994 with Ohio University. He inherited a struggling program that went 0–11 the prior season.[2] He guided the Bobcats to a 33–33–1 record over six seasons and won MAC coach of the year in 1996.[3]
Wake Forest
edit2006 season
editIn 2006, Grobe led Wake Forest to a school record 11 wins with a perfect 6–0 road record. His Wake Forest team also won the Atlantic Coast Conference championship by virtue of defeating Georgia Tech, 9–6, in the conference title game. The Demon Deacons earned their first trip to a BCS bowl game and played Louisville in the Orange Bowl. Grobe was named the ACC Coach of the Year, receiving 80 out of 80 votes from the league's media and making him the sixth Wake Forest coach to win the award. Grobe was also awarded the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award and the AP Coach of the Year in 2006.
On February 27, 2007, Grobe signed a 10-year contract extension through 2016.[4]
Resignation
editGrobe resigned from Wake Forest on December 2, 2013.[5]
Baylor
editOn May 30, 2016, Grobe was hired as Baylor's head coach for the 2016 season, coming out of semi-retirement. He made it known when he was brought on that he would not be a full time coach for the University, which had suspended and later terminated Art Briles due to the Baylor University sexual assault scandal. The Bears won their first six games before losing five in a row to close out the regular season.[6] However, the Bears were invited to their seventh consecutive bowl game, the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl in Arizona. Baylor entered the game as heavy underdogs to the 10–2 Boise State Broncos, but the Bears rolled to an easy 31–12 victory. After the game, Grobe retired again.
San Antonio Commanders
editIn 2018, Grobe was named the defensive coordinator of the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football.[7] On April 2, 2019, the league's football operations suspended[8]
Family
editGrobe and his wife Holly have two sons, Matt and Ben, and four grandchildren. Matt has been head men's golf coach at Marshall University since 2012.[9] Ben has formerly served as Assistant Director of Football Operations at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Head coaching record
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio Bobcats (Mid-American Conference) (1995–2000) | |||||||||
| 1995 | Ohio | 2–8–1 | 1–6–1 | 9th | |||||
| 1996 | Ohio | 6–6 | 5–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1997 | Ohio | 8–3 | 6–2 | T–2nd (East) | |||||
| 1998 | Ohio | 5–6 | 5–3 | T–3rd (East) | |||||
| 1999 | Ohio | 5–6 | 5–3 | T–3rd (East) | |||||
| 2000 | Ohio | 7–4 | 5–3 | T–3rd (East) | |||||
| Ohio: | 33–33–1 | 27–20–1 | |||||||
| Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2001–2013) | |||||||||
| 2001 | Wake Forest | 6–5 | 3–5 | 7th | |||||
| 2002 | Wake Forest | 7–6 | 3–5 | 7th | W Seattle | ||||
| 2003 | Wake Forest | 5–7 | 3–5 | 7th | |||||
| 2004 | Wake Forest | 4–7 | 1–7 | T–10th | |||||
| 2005 | Wake Forest | 4–7 | 3–5 | T–4th (Atlantic) | |||||
| 2006 | Wake Forest | 11–3 | 6–2 | 1st (Atlantic) | L Orange† | 17 | 18 | ||
| 2007 | Wake Forest | 9–4 | 5–3 | T–2nd (Atlantic) | W Meineke Car Care | ||||
| 2008 | Wake Forest | 8–5 | 4–4 | T–3rd (Atlantic) | W EagleBank | ||||
| 2009 | Wake Forest | 5–7 | 3–5 | 4th (Atlantic) | |||||
| 2010 | Wake Forest | 3–9 | 1–7 | 6th (Atlantic) | |||||
| 2011 | Wake Forest | 6–7 | 5–3 | T–2nd (Atlantic) | L Music City | ||||
| 2012 | Wake Forest | 5–7 | 3–5 | 4th (Atlantic) | |||||
| 2013 | Wake Forest | 4–8 | 2–6 | 6th (Atlantic) | |||||
| Wake Forest: | 77–82 | 42–62 | |||||||
| Baylor Bears (Big 12 Conference) (2016) | |||||||||
| 2016 | Baylor | 7–6 | 3–6 | T–6th | W Cactus | ||||
| Baylor: | 7–6 | 3–6 | |||||||
| Total: | 117–121–1 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Jim Grobe Named Baylor's Acting Head Football Coach". Archived from the original on January 8, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- ^ "1994 Ohio Bobcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
- ^ "Wake Forest Tabs Jim Grobe As Head Football Coach". Wake Forest athletics. December 11, 2000. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
- ^ "Grobe inks new 10-year contract with Wake Forest". ESPN.com. Associated Press. February 27, 2007. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
- ^ "Wake Forest's Jim Grobe resigns". ESPN.com. December 2, 2013. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
- ^ "Baylor's Grobe: No regrets over 1-season stint". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ Luca, Greg (October 29, 2018). "San Antonio Commanders making preparations for upcoming season". ExpressNews.com. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
- ^ Kercheval, Ben (April 2, 2019). "AAF operations suspended, league's future in doubt after eight games of first season". cbssports.com. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
- ^ "Matt Grobe". Marshall Thundering Herd. Retrieved January 26, 2022.