Mark Story: Ex-UK aide Hatcher plans Mumme-like aerial show at Murray

Chris Hatcher's days coaching quarterbacks for Hal Mumme at Kentucky seem as distant as The Hundred Years War.

"You know, it does seem like a long time ago," said Hatcher, the new head coach at Murray State. "One thing that I still think about was the night (in 1997) that we beat Alabama and they tore the goal posts down."

It's actually only been 11 years since Hatcher, then a 26-year-old coaching prodigy, gave up his spot on Mumme's UK staff to become head man at his alma mater, Valdosta State.

Five years after he left Lexington, Hatcher took Valdosta to the NCAA Division II national championship and stamped himself one of college football's most promising up-and-coming coaches.

By now, many thought, Hatcher would be a major-college head coach, maybe even a Southeastern Conference head man.

Instead, he was on the wrong end last season of a surprise firing at traditional Football Championship Subdivision power Georgia Southern after only three years as head man at the school.

So at the ripe old age of 37, Hatcher is back in Kentucky trying to re-establish his career momentum by lifting Murray State out of a deep case of the football doldrums.

"There aren't many times in coaching where you get fired and get an immediate chance to still be a head coach," Hatcher said. "So I'm very grateful to Murray State for that chance."

As thankful as he is for his opportunity at Murray, what happened at Georgia Southern is still an open wound for Hatcher.

When it comes to football, the Statesboro, Ga., school has regal expectations. Six national titles in the Division formerly known as I-AA will do that.

Yet when Hatcher brought his 76-12 career record there from Valdosta, he was Georgia Southern's third head coach in 13 months. He inherited a 3-8 team.

In his first year, Hatcher led Georgia Southern to upsets of the No. 5 (Appalachian State), No. 10 (Wofford) and No. 25 (The Citadel) teams in the FCS, and the Eagles finished 7-4. His name was being linked with a head coaching vacancy at Georgia Tech.

However, after finishing 5-6 last season, Hatcher's career record at Georgia Southern stood at 18-15. He had never made a playoff appearance.

The school ousted him.

"Really, I was surprised," Hatcher said. "I don't think it's any secret that when I got there, they had massive APR (NCAA Academic Progress Rate) trouble and were down like 12 scholarships.

"Over 21/2 years, we got that built back up. I thought we had it set up to really have a good year in the fourth year, but that wasn't how they saw it."

So "Hatch" came back to Kentucky.

Of all our state's college football programs, Murray State is the biggest roller coaster. Current big-name coaches Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech) and Houston Nutt (Mississippi) launched their careers at the far western Kentucky university by winning big.

Yet Murray has never been able to sustain success. After going 7-4 in 2004, MSU has gone a horrid 13-43 over the past five seasons.

Seeking to put some "giddy-up" back into the Racers, Hatcher will install a version of what in these parts used to be called the Air Raid offense. Hatcher first learned the pass-happy approach while starring as a quarterback for Mumme at Valdosta State. He then helped Mumme teach the system to quarterbacks Tim Couch and Dusty Bonner at UK.

"It's almost identical," the new Murray coach said of how the "Hatch Attack" compares to what Mumme ran at UK. "We have a few of our own little nuances, and we will make adjustments to the talent we have. But that's what we want to run."

Hatcher says he talks regularly with Couch and Bonner. When Murray sends a coach to Central Kentucky to recruit, Bonner "saves me a little bit of money. Our coach stays with Dusty."

The Mumme era at Kentucky ended in bitter feuding among the head coach and some of his staff, including his former offensive coordinator Tony Franklin.

Yet Hatcher remains on good terms with both of them, as well as with another former Mumme-era UK assistant who can be a bit volatile, former Texas Tech head man Mike Leach.

"I talked to all three of them on the phone last week," Hatcher said. "You know, I just try to treat everyone like I would want to be treated. Just because they fell out with each other doesn't mean I can't get along with all of them."

Which is why, if coaching at Murray doesn't work out, Chris Hatcher may have a future with the United Nations.

This story was originally published June 24, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Mark Story: Ex-UK aide Hatcher plans Mumme-like aerial show at Murray."