By John Erardi
The Cincinnati Enquirer

It has been nothing but good times for Miami coach Terry Hoeppner (right) and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger this season. (Tony Jones photo)

It had to happen eventually. The "Cradle of Coaches" cranked out so many great young football coaches - Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, Ara Parseghian, to name a few - that finally the cradle appeared to be empty.

But somehow it kept rocking.

And rocking.

And rocking.

In January 1999, Miami chose 13-year assistant Terry Hoeppner as its head coach. Five years later, he has led the RedHawks (12-1) to a school-record 12 consecutive victories and their first Mid-American Conference championship and bowl appearance in 17 years.

He also oversees one of the hottest offenses in the country (fourth in total offensive yards per game, fifth in scoring).

That offense is led by junior quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, the likely soon-to-be NFL multimillionaire who turned down a scholarship from Ohio State University four years ago because some hound dog named Hoeppner - in his second year as Miami's head coach - had been on Roethlisberger's trail since his first game as a high school quarterback, Game 1 of his senior year.

"All he did was throw six touchdown passes in that game," Hoeppner says.

Hoeppner also says he is pretty sure Miami would not have been on ESPN2 five times this season - the fifth time will be Thursday night against Louisville in the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala. - if it wasn't for Roethlisberger.

Hoeppner, 56, has earned the right to be self-deprecating: He's one of those guys who became an overnight wonder in 33 years. But he also knows when he's earned something. When a sportswriter from Louisville asked Hoeppner if he was surprised Miami was one of the biggest favorites in all of the bowl games (13 points), Hoeppner pointed out that Miami:

• Is ranked in the top 15 in each of the major polls (14th Associated Press, 15th USA Today/ESPN).

• Finished No. 11 in the Bowl Championship Series standings.

• Owns the longest Division I winning streak in the country.

So, who is this guy and why did it take him so long to get a D-I head coaching job?

His hot-shot quarterback swears by him. His assistant coaches hate to leave him. And his players would do anything for him.

"Terry is the most honest and genuine person I have ever met," says former Miami coach Randy Walker, now at Northwestern. "He's down-to-earth, level-headed, a great guy to work with and a great guy to have as a friend. He sees the world very clearly, and knows where he wants to go.

"Look, there are only 117 D-I positions out there - these jobs aren't all that easy to come by. The circumstances have to be right to get one."

For Hoeppner, a 1969 graduate of Franklin (Ind.) College, those circumstances include: nine years coaching in high school (Indiana, Alabama and South Carolina), six years as defensive coordinator at his college alma mater, and 13 years as an assistant coach at Miami.

Even when Miami football was at its lowest ebb 15 years ago - head coach Tim Rose had just produced a grand total of two wins over 1988-89 - and just before Walker took the job and kept the defensive backs coach named Hoeppner on the staff, Miami football was perceived as a glass half-full. It is a place of incredibly rich coaching tradition.

"I love it here," says Hoeppner, who is 39-20 in five seasons as Miami head coach. "I said that at the football banquet the other day. This is my dream job. I'd be thrilled to coach here the rest of my coaching career. That's how strongly I feel about it."

The players love his enthusiasm and that he is a straight shooter.

"He just really loves football, and it shines through," says wide receiver Michael Larkin, a St. Xavier High School graduate.

Walker says Hoeppner is "an outstanding football coach, who is highly regarded and highly sought."

"It's a funny thing, though," Walker says. "As a coach, being happy where you are is a big part of the profession. Terry may have found that place where he is most happy. I've said it before: 'If Woody Hayes had stayed, Miami would have never become the Cradle of Coaches.' It's a great program, and Miami is fortunate to have Terry - and they know it."

The Woodburn, Ind., native was recently given a five-year contract extension. His coaching pedigree is on the defense - he played defensive back at Franklin College and in the World Football League - but he has always paid attention to the offense. That all began at Franklin, where he played for coach Red Faught, who ran the run-and-shoot.

"I've got to find a way to get Coach Faught to Mobile," Hoeppner says. "We're undefeated with him (in the stands) this season."

Hoeppner already has broken the mold typical of defensively trained head coaches: He isn't one to sit on a lead, even though he has a terrific defense. Walker calls him "a risk-taker," saying, "he will take the calculated risk."

"I don't find myself disagreeing with Coach Hep - even though I admit I want to go for it on every fourth down," Roethlisberger says. "He has confidence in our offense, and he lets it roll."

Roethlisberger is on a long leash at Miami, where insiders say he checks off the designed call 25 to 40 percent of the time.

"Part of the thing about coaching a great player is just getting out of his way, not over-coaching him," Walker says. "Terry has done a great job of letting Ben be Ben."

The only place where Hoeppner doesn't get out of Roethlisberger's way is on the golf course.

"For the record, I'm 6-0-1 against him," Hoeppner says. "I'm pretty proud of that. He's closing the gap, though. He doesn't like getting beat."

To top Roethlisberger in any sport is quite an accomplishment, because he's a fine all-around athlete. He's the best basketball player on the team, Hoeppner says.

"Terry has great hand-eye coordination," Walker says. "You'd better not go out on the golf course with too much money in your pocket, because he's going to separate you from it. I think he'd beat a lot of guys at a lot of things. I've never seen him play horseshoes, but I have no doubt he'd be good at like that, too. Don't challenge him to anything."

Hoeppner doesn't play Roethlisberger for money.

"Bragging rights means way more than money in something like this," Hoeppner says.

Coach and star player are not bringing golf clubs to Mobile, but Roethlisberger is eager for the day when he finally whips his coach on the links. Some day, Big Ben is going to have a ton of NFL money, and Hoeppner might not be content with bragging rights then.

For now, though, bragging rights belong to the RedHawks, thanks to Hoeppner, his staff and the players.

It turns out the cradle was never really empty at all. At Miami, the cradle has always rocked from within, by the sheer force of the young coach inside. This time, the cradle was being rocked from without. And in choosing the quintagenarian who had his hand on the cradle, Miami University found in Terry Hoeppner one of the greatest rockers of all.

E-mail jerardi@enquirer.com