ESPN ACC Blog

Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- It was about 77 degrees and sunny for Wake Forest's second scrimmage of the summer and coach Jim Grobe was sweating through his sweatshirt.

Yes, his sweatshirt.

"It's pretty funny," said quarterback Riley Skinner. "When he comes out we always ask him why he's wearing a sweatshirt. He always says, 'If you guys are gonna sweat, I'll sweat with you.'"

The loyalty works both ways at Wake Forest.

Spend time around the people in this program and it's of little surprise this school is in the midst of its most successful period in history.

There are two cardboard boxes filled with footballs in Grobe's modest office.

It's one of the many tangible signs of change around the Demon Deacon program. Never before have Grobe or his players been asked to sign so many footballs.

Long before Wake Forest won the 2006 ACC title, though, other programs throughout the country recognized Grobe's value. He won't ever bring it up, and he's borderline shy about it, but Grobe has been getting offers for the past seven seasons.

Only recently have people begun to take notice.

Michigan. Nebraska. Arkansas.

Grobe never received official offers, but he talked to each of those programs about becoming their head coach. There was something, though, that didn't sit well with him. When Grobe says it's not just about him, he genuinely means it. Or he wouldn't be here.

"For me personally, there have been some situations where people would look at me and say, 'Have you lost your mind? Why would you not go there?'" Grobe said. "But it wasn't a great move for my staff and I didn't feel like it would be good for the staff or the families. It's a big responsibility to pull up nine guys and their families and move on. And in some cases, quite frankly, some of the schools want you to keep some of the old staff members. For me that's non-negotiable. All my guys are going to go with me if I go."

Try finding that kind of loyalty at any of the top programs in the country.

When Wake Forest offensive coordinator Steed Lobotzke was 17, Grobe came into his living room and recruited "Lobo" to the Air Force Academy.

"He told my parents he'd take care of me and 21 years later he's holding up to his end of the bargain," Lobotzke said. "When he got the Wake Forest job, I was at Ohio and I saw the press conference on the internet. I packed up my office right then. I knew I was coming.

"A lot of guys get lured by the wrong stuff. Other guys get lured by the big name or the big money or the title and not enough guys stay for the right reasons. Coach Grobe has stayed here for the right reasons and the guys on the staff have stayed with him for the right reasons."

The 2006 team peaked early. This year's defense is loaded with fifth-year seniors and fourth-year juniors, the product of Grobe's redshirting philosophy.

That's part of why they're winning, and will win more this season.

The other part is his willingness to sweat with them a little.

"It's good to know he cares about you as a person," Skinner said. "He knows what you're going through. Things like that make you want to play for the guy as hard as you can. That's what we do every day, come out and play our hearts out for him."