Know your Trojan coach: John Schlarman

By Drew Champlin

Published: October 30, 2008

TROY—John Schlarman was a last-minute addition to the coaching staff in 2007, but he helped an almost-brand new offensive line become one of the best in the Sun Belt.

He coached in the high school ranks before his relationship with former offensive coordinator Tony Franklin helped him land the job at Troy. Like current assistants Neal Brown and Chad Scott, Schlarman played college football at Kentucky.

How did you get to Troy?
A big part was I had worked with Coach Franklin in Kentucky. When I was a G.A., he was the coordinator. That was the big in for me as far as getting the job. I knew Neal and Chad from Kentucky, so those relationships really helped me. Matt Moore took the job at Texas Tech so they were looking for an offensive line coach. I talked with Coach Franklin about the job, he offered it to me and I took it and ran with it.

Did it take much convincing?
Of course you have to talk to your wife and make sure she’s good with everything, and she always has been. Once I felt good about that, I took it and ran with it.

Were you looking to get to the college ranks?
I wasn’t really, but Neal called and asked if I’d be interested in it, and I said yeah, I’d love to talk to Tony about it. I was happy where I was, but it was a great opportunity to work for a guy like Coach Blakeney.

What made you want to get into coaching?
When I was a player, I was always intrigued by studying the game and looking at the big pictures. My brother’s a basketball coach at my old high school. I really always admired my coaches. Coach Curry had a lot of impact on my life because he recruited me to Kentucky. The whole sports experience, I’ve got two sisters who played basketball and a brother who played basketball. I broke the mold and played football. They were all tall and I was fat. Growing up around it and being a part of it from a young age on made me want to stay in it.

Most memorable coaching moment?
Unfortunately, the one I remember the most was when we got beat by LSU on the Hail Mary (in 2002). I was a G.A. at Kentucky at the time. That was a bad experience. Last year, our win over Oklahoma State was one in a good way. I felt like we put it all together that night and it was a great experience.

Most embarrassing coaching moment?
I’ve done plenty of stupid stuff, but off the top of my head I can’t really think of something I’m really embarrassed about.

Most heartbreaking coaching moment?
It would be that Kentucky-LSU game. I was in the press box.

What’s going through your mind when you see that happen?
What was going through your mind is that we were going to win. We were giving each other high-fives and felt like the game was in good hands when they’re on the other 30 yard line and don’t have enough time to run two plays. When the ball was in the air, a sick feeling came over me and you see a guy streaking toward the end zone. That was definitely the most heartbreaking because they were ranked and it would have been a big win for us.

Was there silence or profanities?
Both. There were some people in awe and some profanities.

What about you?
I was in shock. How could that happen? I was right next to the defensive coordinator, so you know how he felt. It was basically one guy who didn’t do his job and the other guy ended up catching it.

Career goals?
In this business, your goal is to do a great job and maintain your job and win championships and win a lot of games and have an impact on the guys you coach. That’s always a goal of mine and your career will take you where it takes you.