Foreman sticks around as Griz coach

Muckie Foreman’s final semester schedule as a student at the University of Montana is an enviable one.

He’s enrolled in a diction class, social classical theory, billiards and dodgeball.

But when the former Griz linebacker wraps up each of his school days, he heads over to the football offices in the Adams Center. It’s been 153 days since his playing career ended in a November upset at the hands of the Wofford Terriers in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. But he now embraces a new role within the football program: coach.

Foreman spent spring drills as a coach for the wide receivers and will return in that capacity in the fall to put himself in position for a graduate assistant job at another school.

UM does not have a program for graduate assistants and Foreman equated his position to an internship.

“I’m just learning the offense,” he said.

That in itself is a bit of a chore. He last played offense while a quarterback in high school at Spanaway Lake High School in Washington.

“It’s a change for him,” receivers coach Cedric Cormier said. “He’ll adjust well. This will help him down the line as a coach.”

The popular Foreman’s maroon No. 4 jersey was as much of a staple on game day Saturdays as the Boom Crew or Monte’s antics. But he acted as a coach long before his playing days came to an end. He often worked with younger players on understanding defensive formations and opposing offenses.

“For me it was the fact that I realized I embraced the role of being that extra coach behind (linebackers) coach Ty Gregorak,” he said.

Last year, when a spate of arrests were the only blemishes on a perfect 11-0 season, it was Foreman whom coach Bobby Hauck designated as the team spokesman on the matters.

“I kind of looked at it as Bobby respected the fact that I know how to speak well and I’ve never gotten into trouble here in Missoula,” he said. Then, rapping his knuckles against the table in the UC, he added, “Knock on wood.”

Because of his past leadership on the team, accepting Foreman as a coach has been a natural transition, senior receiver Mike Ferriter said.

“It’s good having a guy like Muckie,” he said. “A guy who’s been around the program and the winning tradition of the school.”

There have still been some aspects of the switch that have been uncomfortable for Foreman.

“Most of these guys just call me Muckie, so when they started calling me ‘Coach,’ it was weird,” he said, laughing.

Foreman said he knew by the end of his junior year that he wanted to coach. A sociology major, he originally thought he wanted to coach high school. In the last month, he was asked to be the defensive coordinator at his old high school, but declined in favor of coaching in the college ranks.

He said coaching in high school could be more of a dead end, while the college level has more options.

Indeed, Foreman has connections, both his own and those of other Griz coaches. Former secondary coach Tim Hauck left UM earlier this spring to take a similar position at UCLA, and other former Griz coaches are now at Idaho.

But for now, he’s content at Montana, honing his skills, learning more aspects of football and preparing for a career that Cormier said will be successful.

“(Foreman) has great potential,” he said. “This is a résumé builder to let him get his name out there.”