Jagodzinski takes charge at BC

About 1 1/2 hours before he was introduced as Boston College's 33d head football coach, Jeff Jagodzinski walked into the second-floor auditorium at the Yawkey Athletic Center, the same room where he conducted his first team meeting. It was the same room where former BC coach Tom O'Brien made a tearful farewell speech to his players before leaving for North Carolina State.

Returning to The Heights for the first time since serving as O'Brien's offensive line coach and offensive coordinator in 1997-98, Jagodzinski pledged to infuse the program with a dynamic approach, to assemble "the very best staff possible," to go after the "difference-makers" on the recruiting trail, and not only sustain the success O'Brien achieved over his 10 years at BC but to enhance that by taking the Eagles to the next level.

"I didn't want to leave pro football unless it was the right fit for me, and Boston College was the right fit for me," said Jagodzinski, who left a $550,000-per-year job as the Green Bay Packers' offensive coordinator to sign a five-year contract.

Terms were not disclosed, but Jagodzinski will reportedly be paid $800,000 to $1 million per year. Athletic director Gene DeFilippo said Jagodzinski's total package was "very, very, very competitive with what other coaches in the [Atlantic Coast] conference and the country were receiving."

Jagodzinski seemed to score his first victory as BC coach when he won over his newly inherited players, making an instant connection with them when they greeted him with a loud ovation.

Without saying a word, Jagodzinski's infectious enthusiasm seemed to spread around the room as he stood at the front of the room and beamed, then blushed.

Jagodzinski then pumped his fist, causing an even greater reaction. He had them at hello.

"Not to sound too corny or anything," said junior quarterback Matt Ryan, "but it gave me chills."

"He just came in and made eye contact with all of us and he seemed like one of the guys," said junior wide receiver Kevin Challenger. "He's an offensive-type of guy and he wanted to make things exciting for the fans, and I'm all for that."

"He was energetic," said junior linebacker Brian Toal. "Just the way he talked about football and what it meant to him, you knew he had a passion for football."

But Jagodzinski, an eight-year NFL assistant, had an even greater passion to return to the college ranks and coach at BC, where last night he packed the auditorium with well-wishers and gave them, and the media, a glimpse of his infectious enthusiasm, which won over BC president Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., and DeFilippo.

"I knew what a special person Jeff was because I'm very close to the football program and he was here for two years and so we got to know him and stayed in touch through the years," said DeFilippo, who credited Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Colts general manager Bill Polian for their assistance as BC screened its candidates.

"But the thing I'd forgotten was how enthusiastic and how infectious he is," DeFilippo said. "You know, he's just unbelievably positive and he's exciting. Most importantly, he's a great football coach. He's proved that at the professional and collegiate levels.

"You can see how he is; he's never met a stranger. He's just infectious. We were going through the halls today and he was saying hello to the custodians and introducing himself and wanting to know their name, so he's just special."

So much so, among the faces in the crowd at his introductory press conference were two of Jagodzinski's former offensive linemen with whom he had connected in his first two years at BC: former walk-on Mike Callahan from Belmont Hill and Robert Withers from Atlanta.

"I was telling Gene, it's been eight years [since leaving BC] and he still keeps up with my mom and dad," Withers said. "All of us still keep in touch with him -- Damien Woody, Danny Koppen, Mike Callahan, all of us from those two years he was here, we all still keep in touch with him because he's such a special guy.

"He cares about us and we care about him. He has so much character, so much integrity, so much passion for the game. You couldn't have made a better hire."

Chimed in Callahan, "He's a great guy, a family guy. He has five kids and his offensive linemen, which he treats like his own sons. That's a great thing, especially for a parent sending off their 18-year-old sons [to college]."

Jagodzinski said his first order of business would be to assemble his staff. "There's nothing set in stone and I've had a chance to talk to the coaching staff here at Boston College and wanted to talk to those who wanted to stay," he said. "They've done a great job here."

Jagodzinski, however, downplayed reports out of North Carolina he had already hired former East Carolina head coach Steve Logan as his offensive coordinator. "Heck, I just got hired," Jagodzinski said.

"I remember talking to Gene during the interview process and he asked me, 'Why do you want to be the head coach at Boston College?' and it was because I had such a great experience here the last time I was here," Jagodzinski said. "When I ended up getting the job, I had so many guys call me and e-mail me and say they were so happy that I was coming back, and those were guys I had 10 years ago. The kind of guy you get at Boston College is cut from a different kind of cloth. He's a special kind of guy, both athletically and academically, and Boston College is the best place on earth to do both things, I really do believe that."

Michael Vega can be reached at vega@globe.com.