BATON ROUGE � Dave Kragthorpe can tell his son Steve all about the travails of the coaching life ? moving, losing, pressure and, finally, getting fired.
By Travis Spradling, The Baton Rouge Advocate via AP
Steve Kragthorpe, right, gave up his play-calling duties and instead will work with quarterbacks such as Zach Mettenberger.
By Travis Spradling, The Baton Rouge Advocate via AP
Steve Kragthorpe, right, gave up his play-calling duties and instead will work with quarterbacks such as Zach Mettenberger.
He cannot tell him, though, how to deal with Parkinson's disease, which is what LSU offensive coordinator Steve Kragthorpe, 46, was diagnosed with last month. Kragthorpe stepped down from his coordinator and play calling duties and will remain as quarterbacks coach while he tries to cope with a degenerative disorder of the nervous system that affects movement and has no cure.
"I never had any serious health issues ? just the normal dodging bullets with the public and alumni," said the elder Kragthorpe, 78, who won a Division I-AA national title at Idaho State in 1981 but was fired as Oregon State's coach after six seasons in 1990. "I was very fortunate. Now with Steve's diagnosis, I'm 78 years old, and I'm the healthy one. It's very hard to see your child go through something like this. I would certainly trade places with him in a heartbeat if I could."
In the last 19 months, Steve Kragthorpe, an offensive whiz head coach at Tulsa who replaced Bobby Petrino at Louisville in 2007 , has faced his share of third and longs. He was fired from Louisville after the 2009 season. His wife Cynthia was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a disease also without cure, in 2010 while Kragthorpe was just starting as receivers coach at Texas A&M. When heart complications related to the disease arose in his wife, Kragthorpe took the 2010 season off to be closer to her and his three sons.
"It was shocking for both of them to be diagnosed with such serious diseases," Dave Kragthorpe said. "He stays in shape. His life is very active. His wife's is, too. She still goes to the gym on her good days. What the doctors have said to both of them is it's very good to remain active."
With his wife's heart condition improved, Kragthorpe was hired as LSU's offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach in January, charged with rejuvenating struggling senior quarterback Jordan Jefferson's career. But last month while at a LSU football camp, Kragthorpe experienced involuntary hand and arm shaking. He saw a doctor in Dallas and was diagnosed with Parkinson's.
"The early symptoms include rigidity, which is a little stiffness and slowness in the body, and there can be tremors, which are uncontrollable shaking of the arms or legs and hand and arm flapping," said Dr. Michael Puente, a neurologist in New Orleans who is not treating Kragthorpe but is a Parkinson's specialist.
Kragthorpe told head coach Les Miles and offered to relinquish the more taxing elements of his job, such as calling plays. The plan is for Kragthorpe, who is now on medication, to be at practice daily and contribute to the game plan. He will also be in the press box for games with newly appointed offensive coordinator Greg Studrawa, LSU's offensive line coach .
"Stress can certainly aggravate the symptoms of Parkinson's disease," Puente said. "What I tell my patients is to stay away from stressful situations when possible, avoid caffeine and alcohol, stay active and try to maintain flexibility. What they need is a good exercise program, plenty of rest, a good diet ? just a healthy lifestyle. I do not tell them to stop working."
Puente said most of his patients get Parkinson's in their 60s.
"It's not a good thing that he has it in his 40s," Puente said. "It gets worse as you get older, but medicine can control it. And there are surgery options."
When Kragthorpe called his older brother last month with "something to tell him," Kurt Kragthorpe, a sports columnist at The Salt Lake Tribune, braced himself for bad news, but he was not ready for what he heard.
"I automatically thought it would be about Cynthia because I looked at the calendar, and it was almost the exact same date that he left Texas A&M," Kurt said. "And I thought, 'It's happening again.' Then to find out that it involved him was just mind-boggling. He's never had any type of illness that was abnormal ? just things related to the stress of coaching and sleeplessness. Just when Cynthia is getting better, this happens."
Something else shocked Kragthorpe, 50, about his little brother: His delivery.
"Looking back, that was part of how startling it was," he said. "He was so calm about it. It was like he was telling me what he had for lunch that day. And one of the first things he said was, 'I've got to keep coaching because of Jordan Jefferson.'"
Kragthorpe is getting used to delivering bad news.
"It's certainly unusual ? a married couple in their 40s who both appear healthy and in good shape and work out regularly ? both have serious illnesses," Kragthorpe's father said. "But I know Steve has a lot of faith and knows how to handle things. He's a Christian as is his wife, very much so. He and his family have gone through a lot of things."
Steve Kragthorpe grew emotional at the end of a news conference last week in which his condition was made publicfor the first time.
"This is obviously a bit of a blow to myself, but by the same token we're a family of great faith," he said. "I hope for the next 10, 12 or 14 years that I can be here at LSU coaching the quarterbacks."
So far through preseason practice, Kragthorpe has done exactly that.
"I talked to him Saturday, and he said the medicine is working. But he said he gets tired quicker," his father said.
"He's normal," Jefferson said. "The only thing different is he shakes a little bit. He told us that he was taking medication, and everything should be good within a few weeks. He's good. He still walks, still jogs, still throws. "
There might have to be off days or missed games down the road, which is why Miles promoted Studrawa so the No. 4 Tigers, who are expected to contend for a BCS national championship appearance in New Orleans in January, will have "uninterrupted leadership" of the offense.
No one in the family asked him to stop coaching, according to brother and father.
"He wants to coach as long as he can," his father said. "His plan is to try to get through this year and then think about next year."
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