Mobile bowl will pit interim versus outgoing coach

Published Dec. 7, 2012 12:29 a.m. ET

foxsports

The news conference promoting the GoDaddy.com Bowl was a coach-free zone.

Darrell Hazell, who will be leaving No. 25 Kent State after the Jan. 5 game to take over at Purdue, wasn't available Thursday. Neither was Gus Malzahn, who has already left Arkansas State to lead Auburn's program.

Defensive coordinator John Thompson will be interim coach for the Red Wolves, but wasn't here either.

Hazell couldn't bear to miss Kent State's first bowl in 40 years, and is busy pulling double duty.

''It's a great thing for our team because he has such great respect with our team and our community and our university,'' Golden Flashes athletic director Joel Nielson said. ''There was an outpouring (Wednesday) from our team and our community that if we had the chance to have coach Hazell in our bowl, they wanted me to make the right decision.

''I give Purdue a lot of credit allowing him to have dual roles here for about a month and allow us to have that for our student-athletes. That was really important to our team. I talked to the team and the captains and it was real important to have this staff involved.''

This is the fifth straight year that at least one of the head coaches has not coached in the Mobile bowl game because they have taken another job. It's the first time other schools have hired both coaches.

The Boilermakers will be led by receivers coach Patrick Higgins against Oklahoma State on Jan. 1 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.