'We're Going To Win Football Games': NSU Riverhawks Prepare To Open A New Era Under Darrin Chiaverini

It's the dawning of a new era here at NSU, literally. There's a new coaching staff, 80% of the roster is new, and there's even a new logo. But the goal remains the same, to bring the Riverhawks back to their glory days.

“Has it been 9 months?”

You might forgive new NSU head coach Darrin Chiaverini if he's lost track of time. Since taking over in Tahlequah last December, he's rebuilding the Riverhawk program from the ground up.

“There's always short-term fixes that you can do to get things started, but you got to have a model in place that you can sustain success over 4, 5, 6, 10 years,” says Chiaverini. “We're getting those infrastructures in place so we can have a sustainable model long term that we can win here at Northeastern State and have a football program that everyone can be proud of.”

That started with a coaching staff with every assistant either playing, and or coaching at the Division One level.

Then Chiaverini went to work on the roster. Focusing on kids who weren't just good football players but good people as well.

“You can't just be a good football player, just like you can't just be a good football coach. If you're not doing both sides of it, you can't play for me, and you can't play for Northeastern State,” says Chiaverini. “Because we're going to build this program the right way. That's what we're trying to do here: build good young men and also good football players.”

Since his introductory news conference, one of Chiaverini's main points of emphasis was building a culture. A culture that honors NSU's rich past but is focused on getting better each and every day.

“There's only one predictor of the future, and that's the present. History is there for you to learn from it. History is there, so you don't repeat any of it and make the same mistakes over and over. If you stay present in the moment, and you capture those moments daily and learn from the past and not worry about the future, we're going to be alright. And I like where we're at.”

As the Riverhawks inch closer to their season opener, Chiaverini says year one won't be defined by the final record.

“At the end of the day, you get judged by your wins and losses as a football program, as a football coach. We don't talk wins and losses in our meeting rooms. We talk about the standard, what the standard is. And we talk about our process. A successful football season for me is I want to see our players, at the end of the season, playing better football than they did at the beginning of the season. I want to see us playing our best football at the end of the season, 'cause that's when championships are won.”

The Darrin Chiaverini era officially kicks off Thursday, Aug. 29, when the Riverhawks host Missouri Western right here at Doc Wadley Stadium.