Wofford Coaching Search

[Oak Grove]

I felt okay about all of this until I read RJ's remarks in the Shanesy piece.

Possibly not name a coach until February? Are you kidding me???

RJ does realize that recruits are going to balk at committing to a program with no head coach, right???

[Ruckus]

+1
I have been saying this since ‘07 and the baseball debacle: I have zero faith we will handle this well and make the correct/best decision possible. I have dreaded this coming and it appears my worst fears are realized.
Lord knows, I hope I am wrong.
As for any schemes, just use what we can control the game with and puts us in the best position to win, and we can recruit to. If that’s our “old ball of yarn” offense or something new and sexy, so be it. But I think the roadmap has been charted pretty well by us over time and by others like us what a recipe for success includes.

[dungeonjoe]

I see athletic administration as more than just managing the programs as they are currently, but also formulating a vision of what's next and working with various coaches within the various programs to achieve that vision. Part of an AD's thinking/vision has got to be what do we do if a head coaching position becomes vacant? I think part of the job would always be scanning the horizon for the next hire, making a mental note of qualities and potential of candidates to fit into Wofford's culture.

Even the simpletons like me knew that Coach Ayers was not going to be there forever. Surely, the athletic administration has given some thought to this possibility before the beginning of this week. If not formally at least informally. I cannot believe we are starting this process without any vision or dream candidates within or outside of the program.

The process of this next hire will tell us a great deal about Wofford's athletic administration. I hope that we are up to the test.

[lawdog]

Occam’s Razor.

[Atldog7]

My hope is that RJ was one of the 2 people in the know as MA mentioned. If so, he definitely should have an idea about who is on his radar both within the program and abroad. I would hope that even in exit interviews for guys like Fuqua and Brown that this topic may have been broached to gauge interest. All that being said, the announcement that this is a national search may just be a way to see if anybody comes out of the woodwork as I would assume most coaches around the country think the hire would come from within the program. I suspect RJ will give this a few day to see if an interesting candidate comes calling. If not, my guess is that he already has a short list of internal candidates with WL at the top. Interestingly, hiring WL may be the best way to keep most of our current stable of coaches as they know he is probably not going to be HC as ong as Ayers and they could easily step in then. Nash may be the exception given his tenure but he could be promoted to OC although I doubt WL would give up playcalling.

[OlRB#3]

I’m with Ruckus. After reading that article, it creates more concern than I had initially. If WL wants the job, then to me it would be hard to pass on him considering his experience. WL recruited me and I love him dearly. Great man, BRILLIANT (I know some here will disagree) and always working.

As far as offense goes, we have got to stay with some version of the current system. 1. Because it’s been successful 2. A program like Wofford can’t afford down years due to a system change. Recruiting would plummet.

For those of you seeking an offensive change, look at how this offense has changed since my last year (2007). 2nd year doing anything out of the gun, to where we are now. We are throwing the ball more, formations and movement is way more than it was then, and the speed is faster. I think if we continue to make small changes to the offense, as we have, we’ll be right where many of you envision it. Wofford is a special place and it take special people to be willing to put the work in to make it successful, but we all know that.

This doesn’t seem like it should be overly complicated.youve got a short list of guys on the tree. Should have a short list of any guys outside the tree (not a huge fan). Make some calls, gauge interest, make a decision. We CAN NOT wait until late January/February to make the decision. If this occurred when I was being recruited and no coach had been name that late, I’m going elsewhere. Just a fact.

Here’s to hoping it’s a Wofford guy and we retain our staff. Lot of Wofford guys who are great men and great coaches!

[SmallTownTerrier]

Who’s the OC if WL is appointed? Romero? Nash? Lets here some thoughts.

[Eyes of Old Main]

I would hope that MA would have tipped off RJ if this was decided that long ago. Wofford owes MA a lot, but in this case I think MA would owe Wofford at least that much.

WL may be the only hire that can keep the bulk of the staff together, but if he's not the best candidate when all is said and done then RJ can't be afraid of that. This is going to be a change no matter what so there has to be the realization that this isn't going to end up with everybody except MA still in their respective places.

If WL is the hire, then there definitely must be a new OC hired/promoted who has playcalling power. We have struggled with playcalling for years and the head coach has enough separate responsibilities to worry with that.

This is a big deal for Wofford and I hope that we really aren't taking the the "we'll figure it out" approach that some of the comments from the article imply. The fact that we aren't hiring a search firm tells me we are going inside the program, but even with that there are a lot of emotions and complex things to work through.

[BubbaDog]

I would imagine RJ had some idea of what was coming or at the very least had planned for this eventuality. I also think you're doing yourself an injustice if you don't at least look outside the family. You should reward loyalty and commitment to the program, but you don't just give someone the head job based on that, you must consider much more. It is also a good idea to get a fresh outside voice occasionally. The current famy may be good but it can become stale and stuck in its ways.

[Eric Deutsch]

For those of you seeking an offensive change, look at how this offense has changed since my last year (2007). 2nd year doing anything out of the gun, to where we are now. We are throwing the ball more, formations and movement is way more than it was then, and the speed is faster. I think if we continue to make small changes to the offense, as we have, we’ll be right where many of you envision it. Wofford is a special place and it take special people to be willing to put the work in to make it successful, but we all know that.

To add to this, we started experimenting with some limited shotgun earlier, but it was more for the 2 minute drill. About the only time I remember using it was vs. App State in 2002 when Gabe Jackson ran a draw up the middle 60-something yards to win at The Rock with under a minute left. If you had told me after 2004 that in 10 years this offense with the same coaching staff would be running primarily from the shotgun, I'd have laughed at you. The offense has evolved with the times and has kept its "personality" at the same time. I imagine it will continue to evolve, just as the wishbone became the wingbone became the ...gunbone? whatever it is now.

To say that our coaching staff needs to someone from the outside to "fix" the team is ridiculous in my opinion. You may not like the grind of the option combined with a bend but don't break defense, but can you really argue with the results in the last 15 years? The fact that we have been so successful has made it seem commonplace and expected. This is the first time in our school's history we have had back to back 10 win seasons and back to back quarterfinal appearances and you want to change it? That seems preposterous.

Wofford needs a head coach who understands what makes up Wofford football players. It's not about being the fastest or the biggest or the best. It's about being willing to execute your assignment and put everything you've got out on the field for the guy next to you on the field and in the classroom. We need someone who will continue Coach Ayers legacy of looking beyond the football to the education, the discipline, and the love. Tough love at times, but always love.

I fully expect that when Coach Ayers retirement party is announced, you'll see hundreds of former players from around the country return to pay their respects. He has impacted all of our lives for the better, disregarding football completely, and has made us better human beings. I truly hope that our next coach is able to provide the same impact.

[Ruckus]

Well said, Eric.
I have heard we are/have hired a search firm. Don’t know if that’s true or not.
I dare say this decision is the most important event in RJ’s tenure at Wofford and will define in many ways his stint as AD. He has never had to make a design like this with as much riding on it.
Problematic IMO is that any vision which guides this decision is likely to change in some degree when RJ himself retires which won’t be too long away.

[youngterrier]

To be clear, I'm not advocating abandoning a run-first approach to the offense, nor am I advocating someone totally new.

I think the option has a hard ceiling in the quarterfinals, maybe the semifinals if we are a talented enough team and I think the best approach (as #3 said) is constant evolution.

As for hiring a new coach...I'm not against putting up the facade that we're doing a national search. Having said that, if Ayers wants Lang as the new guy and told the media that, I think Lang wants it too. Give it to Lang.


It's really really dumb to delay this decision into the new year. The amount of uncertainty and tension that's on this thread can be an indicator of tension among other people closer to the program. Not good, very bad.

[dude]

I don’t really know Wade Lang – only spoken to him a few times. He strikes me as a serious-minded and intelligent guy. Very dedicated to Wofford and its football program.
If he wants the job and Mike Ayers thinks he should get it, then what is truly the case against him? That’s a serious question.

Is it that he’s not a super-charismatic person, like Ayers? OK, maybe that’s a concern. Obviously, Ayers’ force of personality would seem to have been a significant part of his success. But I think it is a fallacy to think that ONLY a coach with major charisma can be a winner. Reserved guys can succeed, too, I believe. They might have to draw on other strengths, but I think they can lead and win.

So I think the questions become: Is Lang respected by the players? Is he respected by the coaches? Can he recruit (again, might not have the magnetic personality of Ayers…but can he identify talent, win the trust of kids, parents, high school coaches – and build/keep a staff that does the same?)?

Is he well-organized? Is he a big-picture thinker? Which is also to say – OK, some people might think he’s called some bad plays from time to time or been unimaginative in some games -- that's probably fair. And some, clearly, aren’t big fans of the option attack. But for those of us who are basically comfortable with the offensive approach at Wofford, is Lang, despite criticism that perhaps inevitably comes an OC’s way at times, a smart football guy, overall?

Also, by the way, while Lang might be seen as just a “caretaker” – and maybe that’s not a bad thing – I’m not sure that’s altogether true. Couldn’t he coach 10-12 more years?

Curious what guys who know more about it than I do think. Because, with Ayers' comments in the paper today, I'd say that if Lang wants the job, then that is a MAJOR endorsement.

[mudrat43]

My only concern in the upcoming vetting process for a new HC, is that for the want to "stay the same" and "this is the Wofford way" mentality, a top line coaching prospect is denied an opportunity. If the HC pick wants to keep everything the same...fine with me! If he wants to tweak it some here and there...fine with me! If he wants to change it completely...fine with me! I have stated in prior blogs, AS A FAN, I like a more balanced, wide open offense. Mostly, I like winning football regardless of the scheme. Finding the best candidate is a most difficult task, and I'm hoping the powers that be use every resource available in their search.......Go Terriers!

[wocomouth]

I'm basing this on a few conversations with folks I consider to be in the know:

If you think MA told RJ, you're sadly mistaken. There are MAJOR trust issues in our athletic department between the head coaches and the AD.

We will screw this search up bc of the feeling our president and AD have.....that the institution is too inbred. When was the last time a Wofford person was hired or promoted internally? Every department in the college is slowly being run by folks who didnt graduate from Wofford. Don't believe me? Look it up in the college directory.