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Terry Heffernan is the next man up to lead the TWU

The Tunnel Workers Union has a new man in charge, former Buffalo Bills assistant offensive line coach Terry Heffernan. Stanford announced March 10 that Heffernan is the next man up after Kevin Carberry took the offensive line coach position with the LA Rams.

"My family and I are incredibly excited to get to California and join the Stanford family," Heffernan said in the Stanford press release about his hiring. "As I was doing my research throughout the interview process, I really got a feeling how special of a place Stanford is without even stepping foot on campus.

"I'm thankful to Coach (David) Shaw for this great opportunity. I can't wait to meet the other coaches and student-athletes and get to work."

Heffernan, also known as "Coach Heff", comes to The Farm following two years with the Buffalo Bills and he spent three seasons (2013-15) with the Detroit Lions. He served as Eastern Kentucky's assistant head coach and offensive line coach in 2016-17, before a promotion to associate head coach and offensive line coach in 2018.

He served as a graduate assistant coach at both Louisville (2004-05) and Michigan (2005-07) before he joined the staff at Division II Wayne State University in Detroit. The first five years he was the offensive line coach before moving to offensive coordinator in 2012.

"Terry came highly recommended from the people who have worked with him and been around him," Shaw said during the pro day press conference. "We have two former players on the Buffalo Bills (Harrison Phillips and Trent Murphy) and both those guys intimated to us that he's a perfect fit.

"Trent Murphy doesn't approve of everybody but he was very high on Terry. If you can pass Trent's bar then you're pretty special. The past couple weeks meeting with him (Heffernan) has been a lot of fun."

Paul Winters has been the head coach at Wayne State since 2004. He hired Heffernan after Heffernan spent two seasons working with his uncle at Michigan, Terry Malone. (Malone was offensive line coach and offensive coordinator at Michigan from 1997-2005.)

"Terry was a very intense young coach," Winters said in an email to Cardinal Sports Report. "He has a personality that draws people to him. He was also intelligent, so his players believed in him.

"He holds his players accountable and teaches them to believe in themselves. He coached Joe Long, who won the Gene Upshaw Award in 2011. (The award is given to the best offensive or defensive lineman in Division II.) Our offensive line led us to the national championship game that year."

Heffernan stayed in Detroit for his next job with the Lions and then reunited with Mark Elder at Eastern Kentucky. The head coach of the Colonels was also a graduate assistant at Michigan and overlapped with Heffernan for one year. They were roommates and have remained good friends ever since.

Elder described Heffernan as the person he leaned on the most on the EKU staff and it wasn't just about "Xs" and "Os".

"I was always picking his brain because he has a lot of wisdom," he said. "I always really valued his opinion from a big-picture perspective as well.

"Terry is an extremely intelligent person. He's really, really sharp. It's not just book smart; he has a real knack for building rapport with people. I've always admired that about him. I think it stems from him being a genuine, good person who ... loves to really learn about someone else."

His genuine nature was a big part of success at Wayne State, Winters recalled.

"Terry was a fun coach, who gets along very well with his co-workers. He is very funny! He was an excellent recruiter because he knows how to talk to people of all ages. He makes them feel comfortable and part of the Wayne State family."

Heffernan has to hit the ground at a sprint in recruiting for the 2022 class. Stanford has yet to secure a verbal commitment from an offensive line recruit but several prospects are very interested in the university.

Connor Robertson was the first recruit to get an offer from Heffernan and recently did a Zoom meeting with the new coach, Shaw, Tavita Pritchard, Duane Akina, and Mike Eubanks.

"I got a fantastic first impression of Coach Heffernan," he said after the phone call when he was offered. "He’s an awesome guy."

Braden Miller has an offer from Stanford and the junior is the younger brother of current lineman Barrett Miller. He was disappointed to see Carberry leave but had good things to say after his first call with Heffernan.

"He seems like a very good guy," Miller said. "He knows tons about the game, and I’m excited to continue my recruiting process with him as O-line coach!"

Heffernan also is working to get to know the room he's walking into and it's a group that is in a strong position to succeed in large part because of work done by Carberry.

"Kevin Carberry walked into a bit of a hornet's nest in our room," Shaw said Thursday. "We had some injuries the first year. Nate Herbig was an outstanding football player but he was battling injuries through his last year here. The next year we really had injuries ... and we were starting three freshmen and trying to get everything organized.

"This past year, even with Walker Little opting out, we came back and played our best football on the offensive line in multiple years. I thought he did a great job organizing that group and getting them ready to play."

Shaw is "really fired up" about Heffernan's ability to teach technique and is excited about some new things Coach Heff will bring from the Bills.

"He is really comfortable in his own skin and he's not out there trying to be anyone else," Elder said. "He really knows how to work well with other people. I think Stanford is fortunate to have him and he's going to help that program tremendously."

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