By GUERIN EMIG Sports Writer on Mar 6, 2013, at 11:02 PM Updated on 3/06 at 11:02 PM
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Last Jan. 9, Wisconsin head man Gary Andersen hired Jay Boulware to coach Badger tight ends and special teams. Boulware lasted about six weeks, before a call from Oklahoma had him moving again, and doing the same thing for Bob Stoops' Sooners.
Andersen wasn't happy about it, and let reporters know.
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Ultimately I hired him and it's my fault. It's disappointing. It's upsetting. And I brought the wrong guy in here. We'll be better off as we move forward."
Also: "Jay's got his own world and I don't want to start all that stuff. I'll probably say something I shouldn't say so I'll just shut up."
Wednesday, Boulware met beat reporters for the first time as OU tight ends/special teams coach. When the subject of Andersen's reaction came up, here's how he responded:
"It's kind of like I told Coach Andersen before I accepted the job. I said, 'Coach, there's one main reason why I left here, and it's family.'
"A real brief story: Right before I took the Wisconsin job, I had an aunt about 15 or 20 minutes from here, and she got hit by a truck walking back to a casino. My mom called me bawling. I'm in Auburn, Alab. My mom had no way of getting to Texas to see her sister in Oklahoma. I told Gary at the time, 'Hey look, it's about family.'
"When I heard that, I did all I could financially for my mother to get her there, but I hadn't even seen my aunt. From what I understand, she's doing better now. She's paralyzed. She's close to 60, and she got hit in an intersection close to a crosswalk. It just floored me. So when you have opportunities to get back closer to home and be near family, I think that most of us, most men… When you're the patriarch of your family like I am… I'm one of the only guys that's ever even graduated from college… Especially men, coming from a rough neighborhood. So I think that when you have opportunities to be around for your family, you've got to choose family every time.
"I live by that creed. I put God first. Then it's my family. Then it's football."
Boulware was asked if it bothered him that Andersen appeared to not get that message.
"No," he said. "Whatever 'Coach A' thinks, he's got to run his program. He's got to do what's best for him at Wisconsin. Again, it's faith, family and football. I think most people understand that."
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