I continue to stand by my claim.
West Virginia is the real cradle of college coaches.
By my count, 18 national-championship teams have been coached by Mountain State natives. Hailing from West Virginia have been names like Nick Saban, Fielding Yost, Greasy Neale, Ben Schwartzwalder, John McKay, Lou Holtz and Jimbo Fisher. All have won titles. Native Rich Rodriguez came within a game of coaching in one.
On this Father's Day, however, allow me to point toward Masontown native and Glenville alum Rick Trickett, the assistant head coach with Fisher at Florida State.
A few years ago, he helped with a championship Seminole team. But he also combines his profession with fatherhood like few others.
Just ask the ol' ball coach with the slow, southern drawl how he's doing. You'll get what I mean.
"I enjoy coaching," Trickett, now 68, said. "I just signed up for three more years [at FSU]. I'm still enjoying it; I still have a lot of energy. I'm just now getting this [stuff] figured out, you know what I'm sayin'?"
He laughed.
"Coaching is kind of fun for me now because I have three sons and they're all coaching," he continued. "They all have full-time jobs. To them, I've become a lot smarter. I got two phone calls from Clint today and one from Travis. I have more communication with my sons.
"Chance is recruiting for Louisiana Tech. We have a lot of football conversations going on."
Clint Trickett, of course, played quarterback at WVU before giving up the sport because of concussions. He's now the quarterbacks coach at East Mississippi Community College. Travis Trickett was a grad assistant at FSU before moving to Samford and then Florida Atlantic, where Concord's Garin Justice was hired as well. Chance Trickett is the recruiting coordinator at Louisiana Tech.
"Clint is enjoying coaching," Trickett said. "It's been a good experience for him. He's been on the road recruiting and has his own area. He's been able to get in homes, visit and talk. I see some of our graduate assistants that have been here five years and not be able to get off campus and make visits.
"I think this is a great start for Clint. He'll be able to call plays next year. He's doing the groundwork. Those quarterbacks, they need humbled every now and then."
Trickett always has a zinger. But if you need a recruiter or an offensive line coach, there's no one better. He landed Pat White while coaching at WVU. More than 35 of his linemen have gone on to play in the NFL. Remember that 2013 Seminole team that steamrolled defenses? All five starters, led by center Bryan Stork, signed NFL contracts. (Stork, now with New England, won a college national title and Super Bowl in consecutive seasons.)
This coming season, expect Rick Trickett to have Florida State humming again.
"[Star running back] Dalvin [Cook] is back," he said. "We have everybody back on offense except the [Everett] Golson kid that transferred in from Notre Dame. He was the only senior we had. We have a chance. We have a chance to be pretty good."
Florida State will have either senior Sean McGuire or redshirt freshman Deondre Francois at quarterback.
"I don't think Sean is going to give it up without a fight," Trickett said. "They're both working hard this summer. It's a good problem to have. It's better than having nobody."
Clarksburg native Fisher, Trickett said, is doing just fine.
"He's doing good," said the line coach. "He has the kids pretty well focused in right now. We're going to take a little vacation and then get back and see if we can win this ACC championship."
Part of that vacation, by the way, involves West Virginia. There's no doubt Trickett is a man of the hills.
"I miss it," he said. "I'm heading up to the hills [for recruiting], then back here for the [July 4 weekend] then back up to the hills right after the Fourth.
"A bunch of us guys - Joe Pendry from Alabama, me, and, I think, [Sen.] Joe Manchin - are going to Ike Morris' place in Huntersville, over in Pocahontas County. We're going to ride Harley Davidsons for a week. We have a blast."
It's well known that FSU and Trickett are after state offensive linemen Billy Ross of Huntington and Riley Locklear of Spring Valley. (Trickett couldn't comment.)
Whether he lands the recruits or not, though, Tricketts will continue to be woven into West Virginia's football fabric. Just don't expect the ol' man to send more sons to quarterback WVU.
"Florida just sent one, right?" Trickett said of 2017 Mountaineer Will Grier. "Maybe he'll be able to help them. I'm out of sons. I'm done."
But never, ever forgotten.