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AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


Letter From the Editor

The Best of Times & The Worst of Times
Managing Editor
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With the 2003 season officially over, I can’t help but look back at the outstanding coaching jobs done this past season.

In high school football, Bob Ladouceur continued to do the unthinkable by adding to De La Salle’s monumental streak (151 and counting) and solidified his legacy as one of the game’s greatest coaches. At age 77, St. John’s (Minn.) head coach John Gagliardi not only broke Eddie Robinson’s all-time college wins record by six victories (414), but he also captured the NCAA Division III national title with a win over D3 juggernaut Mt. Union led by legend-in-the-making Larry Kehres. Coaches like Nick Saban, Pete Carroll, Gary Patterson, Dan Hawkins, Bob Stoops, Larry Coker and American Football Monthly’s Schutt Sports Division I-A Coach of the Year Terry Hoeppner of Miami (Ohio) proved why college football is hard to beat in terms of coaching competitiveness and talent.

Even the pro ranks stepped up with terrific coaching jobs from Bill Parcells, Marvin Lewis, Bill Belichick and AFM’s Sportexe Pro Coach of the Year John Fox of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.

However, with all the good news associated with the football coaching industry, some bad news still managed to surface. And before I go on, I realize I’m preaching to the choir here, but sometimes a little venting is therapeutic – at least that’s what my therapist tells me.

One example of the atrocities facing football coaches in 2003 was the firing of San Augustine (Texas) head coach Lynn Graves just days after the Wolves won its first high school state championship over Texas 4A powerhouse, Ennis.

The San Augustine board of trustees voted 5-2 not to bring Graves back, a decision that according to Graves “came out of the blue.” Graves, 60, a former Stephen F. Austin head coach, “retired” last fall but he continued to serve as San Augustine’s head football coach and athletic director under the state’s JR3 “retire/rehire” program, a plan that allows school personnel to draw retirement while remaining employed.

“It was a hell of a way to go, being Christmas and unemployed,” Graves told the Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel sports editor Kevin Gore just days after his dismissal.

School board members would not reveal their reason for their decision to release Graves, but many stated that they were under the impression that Graves would coach just one more season after announcing his “retirement” in November 2002.

Graves insists he never said it would be his final season.

And what about Nebraska’s dismissal of head coach Frank Solich? Perhaps Richmond offensive coordinator Tony DeMeo said it best in a conversation just days after Solich was released after finishing the season with a 9-3 record (58-19 overall): “Nebraska said they want to go in a different direction with the program ... what’s that, 3-9?”

And don’t forget the two Tommys: Tuberville and Bowden. These are two of the finest coaches on the planet, yet both Auburn and Clemson have seemingly lost sight of that fact and not taken the proper measures to give them the needed support to be successful. Believe me, if I started a team tomorrow, these are two of the guys I would look at first.

Finally, we have Joe Paterno. This guy still has the fire and ability to coach, and if you don’t believe me just spend one minute listening to him tell you. One day Coach Paterno will retire, but until he decides to do so, everyone should just sit back and enjoy one of the greatest coaches – ever! Because when Coach Paterno no longer walks the sideline, the same people that want him gone will be the very same people that will demand future Penn State coaches to be just like him.

So this year, like any other, we will have to take the good with the bad ... however, I can assure the entire football coaching profession that AFM will continue to strive to be a voice of reason and guidance for the entire football coaching industry. Thanks for a great 2003, and here’s looking for an even brighter 2004.

Respectfully,

Aaron S. Lee
Managing Editor
American Football Monthly
aslee@lcclark.com





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