The Daily Times

How much did you get done last weekend?

If it involved more than a 1,000 miles of driving, an impromptu packing up of house and office, unpacking of the same, and a marathon series of meetings then you might be able to empathize with Maryville College’s newest coach.

Mike Rader’s day didn’t end Tuesday with his introductory press conference and it had already been a very long 72 hours since he accepted the job as MC 28th head football coach.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” Rader told The Daily Times. “I accepted Friday, cleaned out my office Saturday, went to church Sunday, packed up the house Sunday evening and drove up Monday, moved into an efficiency apartment and thankfully my wife was able to come and help me just move in.

“Today was the official first day and I’ve been in meetings a lot of the day, met with the athletic director, met with the staff, met with the team, came over here for the press conference. It’s been going 90 to nothing.”

Rader was greatful for the support of his family, introducing them to the MC faithful gathered Monday afternoon to meet the new coach, who left his job as an assistant at Huntingdon as the weekend began. Mom, Linda Crawford; stepdad, David Crawford; dad Mike Rader; and mother-in-law Susan Martinez were all there in Bartlett Hall to show their support.

And don’t forget wife Lindsey.

“Luckily she was able to take a day off from her job and help me move and be here today,” Rader said. 

It’ll be a commuting couple months for the Raders as coach sets up shop in the Cooper Center in Maryville while the real head coach of any football household will be finishing the school year teaching in Alabama.

The new head coach showed little signs of fatigue from that whirlwind and said he was ready to start the process in his second day on the job.

The next few months promise to be a challenge for Rader, but he seemed Monday to have all the support and energy he needs to face it.

Marcus Fitzsimmons is a multi-platform editor at The Daily Times who enjoys reading the online comments posted to this column on http://thedailytimes.com .

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