AFM RSS Feed Follow Us on Twitter       
AMERICAN FOOTBALL MONTHLY THE #1 RESOURCE FOR FOOTBALL COACHES
ABOUT |  CONTACT |  ADVERTISE |  HELP  



   User Name    Password 
      Password Help





Article Categories


AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


Moving On...

Can a coach ever leave without causing hard feelings?
by: Steve Silverman
© More from this issue

Click for Printer Friendly Version          

You are coaching at good, old State U. There have been a few bumps and bruises over the years, but that's in the past. You have just led State to a second consecutive 8-3 record and a second straight bowl game.

Times are good. The shoe company has just offered you a new deal. Your TV show - the one where you review yesterday's game with the local yahoo sportscaster - is a success as ratings are up 20 percent. One of the local alums has offered you a part-ownership in the new restaurant that's going up and the local newspaper columnists are even praising "your ability to motivate young men" and the creative gameplan you've put together. All of the outside factors are positive and your family is comfortable and happy.

Not only that, State U. is making serious noises about a new contract. Not just an extension either. Serious money is coming in your direction and you are getting established at State U as an icon and institution. Look out Joe Paterno.

Then the call comes. Not from your archrival, but from the megapower school that has been keeping its eye on you through the years and has now decided you are the man. Instead of a nice, comfortable, happy life, there is a real chance to become the head man at a national power. The dreams you had when you took your first position as a LB coach at a tiny Division II school have a chance to come true. You have a chance to live out those dreams.

But wait a minute. After winning your bowl game, having a beer, shaking your assistant coaches' hands and taking a deep breath, you have exactly 30 seconds to relax. It is recruiting season and you've been to visit at least 10 young high-school stars and their families. You didn't know anyone was going to come offering you the deal of a lifetime and you've told Johnny Studley and his family that you plan to be at State U. for four more years. Now the offer comes and you are ready to bolt.

Consider the ramifications: Some people are going to be disappointed. Some people are going to call you a liar. Feelings are going to be hurt. Loyal employers may be angry. What are you supposed to do?

That hypothetical is the scenario facing today's college coach. There is virtually no time that is the right time to leave one employer for another. Coaches can't leave during the middle of the season for obvious reasons. If you are successful and your team is going to a bowl game, an interested employer is likely to call you in the weeks between your last regular-season game and that bowl game. If you decide to leave then, your players will miss your leadership for the culmination of their season. Is that fair to them? Is it fair to you? If you wait until after that bowl game to move on, you are smack dab in the middle of recruiting season and leaving at that point is potentially even more damaging than leaving in the season or before the bowl game.

Wait even longer and that opportunity may disappear. Your new suitor wants an answer and your potential new employer is not willing to wait until after recruiting season. They want you now. If you turn them down and decide you want to wait for the next opportunity, you could end up waiting for years.

The only thing that is certain is that if you let a few opportunities slide by without accepting them, word will get out and new schools or professional teams will be hesitant to come calling.

Coaches find themselves in these kind of dilemmas every year. The most notorious example from this past season involved former Miami (Fla.) head coach Butch Davis who was eventually hired by the Cleveland Browns. Davis had every intention of staying at Miami when he led the Hurricanes to their impressive 37-20 win over Florida in the Sugar Bowl. The Hurricanes finished as the No. 2 team in the country and Davis, his staff and his players would be looking for the opportunity to get that No. 1 spot in 2001-02.

Davis went on his recruiting trips and told his young charges that he has every intention of staying at Miami and leading the team to more bowl games. He was not looking for a new gig. But as the Super Bowl between Baltimore and the N.Y. Giants was about to unfold in late January, NFL teams were making their plans as well. Coaches were getting fired in that league, including Chris Palmer of the Cleveland Browns, and those teams were looking for new leadership and new blood. When Carmen Policy and Dwight Clark of the Browns called Davis and then kept calling him, he ultimately decided to go follow that muse. He had been an assistant coach for Jimmy Johnson and the Dallas Cowboys. He had been to the Super Bowl and won it as an assistant and the pull to go back to the NFL was too strong. Even though the third-year Browns were probably years away from a realistic opportunity at the Super Bowl, Davis thought about it, agonized over his options and decided to go with the Browns.

Almost immediately, Davis was vilified for the decision. Talk-show hosts mocked his veracity. National columnists questioned his character. Young recruits were confused. His players at Miami didn't understand and thought they had been abandoned. University officials were shocked. Overnight, Davis had gone from football hero to football villain.

Davis is just one of many coaches to go through the grind of moving up the ladder. It is a climb laden with potential bombs that will almost always go off in the coach's face. Certainly, there are ways to massage the critics, but there is no way to turn this situation into a positive.

In the case of the Hurricanes, Davis' decision to "quit" the program becomes a motivating factor for the players that remained. Safety Ed Reed's reaction was typical of his Hurricane teammates after Davis decided to go to Cleveland.

"We thought he was going to be here and leading us," Reed said. "The day he made his decision, he called a meeting, told us that he was going and then he walked through the door."

QB Ken Dorsey did not see Davis' decision coming. "Well, it's a shock," Dorsey said. "One of the main reasons I came to UM was to play under a coach with the reputation that Coach Davis has. While I'm disappointed that he's leaving, I know he had to make a decision that was best for him and his family. We certainly wish him the best of success in the future. I know I remain a fan of Coach Davis and I know we will ride this out as a team. This program has had a lot of success in the past and it's bigger than just one person. While there is some shock to his leaving, we are confident that we will continue to be successful."

FB Najeh Davenport was even more critical. "He abandoned us and I never thought that would happen," Davenport said. "We're still here and we're going to keep on going."

The Hurricanes have kept on going with Larry Coker as their head coach. Coker was named to the position by Miami athletic director Paul Dee and he became the first Hurricane assistant to get the head coaching job in 25 years.

"Our search for a new head football coach focused on our intent to hire what we consider the complete coach, a person who possesses exceptional ability in leadership, a commitment to academic excellence, has tremendous integrity and is proven to be an outstanding recruiter," said Paul Dee upon Coker's hiring. "Larry Coker meets all of these requirements, in addition to being a man who can keep the Miami football family together and lead our program to continued success."

Much of the consternation about Davis' resignation was how the Hurricanes' recruiting would be affected. At the time, Hurricane fans felt that Davis' recruits might not stay with the program since the head man was leaving. Coker, though, was able to hold on to most of the key recruits that the Hurricanes wanted. Recruits like LB Leon Williams, DB Atrel Rolle, DE Orien Harris and RB Frank Gore ended up going to Miami and as a result Coker and the Miami program was vindicated.

"This is an exceptional class of recruits and is a group that we take particular pride in," said Coker. "In addition to being the first class of signees during my tenure as head coach, these kids stuck with us throughout the recruiting process. In light of the coaching change we went through, it is a tribute to the efforts of our coaches and the attitude of these student-athletes that we ended up with such a fine class. Our coaching staff is excited about the prospect of working with these players in the future."

The perceived victory on recruiting day put an end to the Wall Street-like panic that surrounded the Miami program at the time of Davis' departure. Coker is a favorite of the remaining players so they feel more secure with him in charge than if Dee had brought in an established name to take over the program.

When the University of Alabama made a big push for Dennis Franchione at Texas Christian last year, it came at a time when the Horned Frogs were getting ready to take on Southern Miss in the Mobile Alabama Bowl. There was little doubt that Franchione loved his school and his players, but he found it impossible to resist an offer to take over one of the country's legendary programs. The Crimson Tide had finished the 2000 season with a 3-8 record and they weren't about to wait for Franchione to play his bowl game. Athletic director Mal Moore made that point crystal clear to his potential new coach. Franchione may not have liked it, but he knew he couldn't let an opportunity slip through his fingers. As a result, defensive coordinator Gary Patterson took over the TCU program.

Franchione's decision to leave TCU did not come with anything resembling the ill will that accompanied Davis' move. The biggest reason for that is Davis' name had continually been circulated when any high-profile job opening was discussed. Davis had been rumored for the Alabama job, the head coaching position of the new Houston Texans (which will begin play in the NFL in the 2002 season) and the Browns before Cleveland finally got him. In Franchione's case, one particular job came up and the head coach took it after careful consideration. He didn't negotiate in the press and there was little hand wringing. He just took the position.

That doesn't mean the Franchione defection didn't hurt TCU. The Horned Frogs lost their bowl game to Southern Miss and lost their opener this year at Nebraska. Just two years after accepting a hefty pay raise at TCU and making a "long-term" commitment Franchione moved on.

But Franchione didn't allow his name to surface when it came to serious consideration for other jobs. Perhaps that's why his decision to leave the program wasn't accompanied by the same amount of ill will as Davis' decision.

A point to remember for the those considering leaving good, old State U in the future.






NEW BOOK!

AFM Videos Streaming Memberships Now Available Digital Download - 304 Pages of Football Forms for the Winning Coach



















HOME
MAGAZINE
SUBSCRIBE ONLINE COLUMNISTS COACHING VIDEOS


Copyright 2024, AmericanFootballMonthly.com
All Rights Reserved