Dave Reardon: Jeff Reinebold brings love of sport, state, players

Why hire a great recruiter if according to NCAA rules he can’t hit the trail and isn’t even allowed to call or text message prospects?

That’s a good question, given the University of Hawaii football program’s recent addition of Jeff Reinebold as director of player development.

There’s an even better answer.

Retention is a very big deal now … much bigger than it was when players had to sit out for a year if they changed schools.

UH fans know this better than most, considering how many of the Rainbow Warriors’ top players headed for the nearest exit after last season, disenchanted with the atmosphere brought upon by the program’s leadership. Under the previous head coach, it could best be described as culture-deaf.

Bringing in Reinebold is yet another example of first-year head coach Timmy Chang’s commitment to turning that around.

Reinebold bleeds green, and it’s not because he was born in South Bend, Ind., home of Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish.

It’s because Hawaii is his adopted home. In 2005, he called himself “a Hawaiian man trapped in a haole’s body.” Reinebold was 47, a coaching nomad working in London for NFL Europe, when he told UH coach June Jones he’d do anything to be a part of what was brewing with the Warriors.

“I said I don’t care if I have to volunteer, walk on, hand out jocks, whatever — I want to be a part of this,” he said at the time. “This is an unbelievable football environment.”

Already a 20-plus-year college and pro coaching veteran, he gave up a $100,000-a-year job to be a graduate assistant at Manoa. When Vantz Singletary left before the 2006 season, Reinebold was promoted to defensive line coach.

He was officially a full-time assistant for just two years, but it was the best two-year stretch in the program’s history, when the Warriors went a combined 23-4. Reinebold recruited and coached many of the players who helped make it happen.

He had hoped to be considered for head coach when Jones left for SMU. When defensive coordinator Greg McMackin got the post, Reinebold took up Jones’ offer to be part of the Mustangs staff. He’s been trying to find his way back home to UH since, even taking up part-time Hawaii residence while coaching in the Canadian Football League after SMU.

That makes him highly qualified to stand guard at the transfer portal, making sure players have completely thought through leaving as their best long-term option.

“He loves our beloved state so much. His voice, his presence will reach the guys,” said Chang, who finished his playing career at UH the year before Reinebold arrived. They met later at a golf tournament and remained in contact.

Reinebold said his job should really be called director of human development.

“I love football, but I’m passionate about people. Being part of their transition from kids to grown men is a huge responsibility,” he said Friday. “Timmy understands our responsibility is to win football games, but he also knows that’s just part of it. Another big part is to teach these student-athletes how to win in life. We’re a small blip on the timeline of their lives, but it’s a time where we can have a big impact. This is part of our promise to them.”

When he coached the UH defensive linemen he had them write papers about the Noga brothers, who were dominant 20 years prior at their positions.

“If you’re going to stand on the shoulders of giants, you need to know who they are. And then, later, it will be their turn to do the same. That’s why we have to bring these guys back and celebrate them,” Reinebold said after Friday’s practice, which was attended by several UH football alumni, including four–time Super Bowl winner Jesse Sapolu. “Timmy’s vision is for something that’s going to last. That means for the program, and for the players that build it. What we hope is that what we build will stand.

“That doesn’t mean you enable them. You gotta love ’em, but you gotta discipline ’em too.”

Cornerbacks coach Abraham Elimimian first crossed paths with Reinebold at SMU.

“His experience is going to help a lot,” the former UH star defensive back said. “Jeff’s a great coach, a player’s coach.”

That attribute, player’s coach, should suit Reinebold well in this job — even though he’ll be coaching them up as more than just players.