As he’s navigated his coaching career, Fagan has tried to draw inspiration from the coaches who impacted his life, including a pair of legends: former Hurricanes coach Howard Schnellenberger and Pro Football Hall of Famer Bill Walsh, whom Fagan played for in San Francisco.
Their influence, Fagan said, impacts him even today.
“Howard Schnellenberger taught me how to be punctual, organized, and prepared. There’s never been, in my opinion, a better coach when it comes to being organized and punctual. I mean, if we had to be on the bus at 12:58, it wasn’t one o’clock, it was 12:58. Super organized, very prepared and I took a lot of that from him. I had the utmost respect for him,” said Fagan, who was inducted into the UM Sports Hall of Fame 2003. “And then my other coaches in the NFL, I mean, we all know Bill Walsh. I felt like he was incredible at getting guys to bond as a team. I think the 49ers in the 80s and early 90s were probably the most cohesive teams in the NFL and I think that was a huge credit to him. That’s what he instilled from the get-go.
“We’d get to training camp, and his opening speech was [about how] there were no rookies, there was no hazing. We were all in it to win a championship and we were all in it together, coaches and players. When we loaded the plane, he made sure players got on first and staff, front office personnel, everyone else got on last. When people were fed, players were fed first. He created that mentality, ‘Hey, it’s about you guys.’ And I got that from him. That was huge. So, my coaching [influences], I got from somebody else. I had some really, really good role models.”
Today, Fagan has become a sort of coaching role model himself.
Not only did each of his daughters play softball at the Division I level, but three – Kasey, Sami, and Haley – have followed his footsteps and embarked on their own coaching careers.
Kasey and Sami are both assistant softball coaches at Liberty University, while Haley is on her father’s staff at Emmanuel as a volunteer coach.
And, Fagan says, Cameron Fagan – who is currently an infielder at Virginia Tech – has expressed an interest in becoming a graduate assistant when her playing days are over.
“They all are so invested in the game. They know the game. They love the game, so for them to go into coaching is neat, because their dad was a coach,” Fagan said. “Softball’s in their blood. We lived it for many years and they’re just kind…
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