FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[aueagle]

Simon Fraser joined D2...sorry.

[BayernFan]

so.... any scuttlebutt on why Walker quit so suddenly.  Did he do something wrong?  Looks like a "Resign or be fired" type of thing to me.

[LGHistorian]

Still a great deal of speculation at this point.  New coach Long said he was told Walker resigned for personal reasons.  Walker is a Crawfordsville HS grad so both local papers tried to contact both Walker and DePauw for comment and calls were not returned.  There was an indication although no guarantee that DePauw would issue additional info yesterday but have heard of none as yet.  There is also speculation that it might have been over a disagreement concerning athletic policy.  

For inquiring minds like ours the timing of the announcement couldn't have come at a worse time but as far as the parties involved in this it came at the right time - the weekend - when offices are closed and people can get away in quiet quarters.  It gives everyone a chance to regroup and to decide on what and when to respond to questions.

[wabco]

A pattern here?  Coaches abruptly resigning?  ...

It wasn't Walker or his predecessor coach ... both - from all reports - decent men.  It is a testimonial to the ultimate darkness of DePauw...

A place which buries, hides, and guards and electrifies (Blackwater-style) the Bell ... is simply NOT a good place to work.

[DPU3619]

I understand your point in regards to the joke, wabco, but you may have missed some of the reports regarding Tim Rogers.

[wabco]

Wes


Was just having some fun.  It think this DePauw team may be as good as has been in a number of years.  It deepens the mystery as to why a sudden departure under those circumstances ... unless (one potential answer) the administration became too great a day to day interference/burden at the same time a good anvancement opportunity suddenly opened up ... which opportunity would not have been as compelling at this very last minute with a person happy in his place with the team that appears to be coming up on the horizon.

As to Tim Rogers, he has landed as football coach for the Catholic Central HS Cougars up here in Grtand Rapids, MI.  His beginning was a disaster but he seems to have grown into the position and most recently guided his team to the playoffs and produced some Div I-ers in the process (the way you get to the playoffs in the first place).

[DPU3619]

I'd wager that if the opportunity were good enough, it doesn't much matter how you feel your current administration treats you nor what your current team's situation is.

[Duster72]

Nice article about Wabash recruit Vann Hunt:

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/preps/articles/2009/08/08/20090808sportsdreams0809.html


Looks like he averaged just under 6 YPC last season. 

[bashbrother]

Lets hope Vann Hunt, hits the ground running as fast as another Arizona RB that made it to Wabash.  

[LGHistorian]

Rumors are surfacing that Walker has accepted another job elsewhere.  I know better offers come around that require quick decisions and leaving your previous workplace with little time to find a replacement.   It still makes me wonder though.  A coach with very little ties to a school can do this and it leaves nothing to the imagination.  A coach with strong ties to the school, graduate, fellow family members are grads, leaving 1 week before practice starts.  Then you begin to wonder if things were beginning to sour between administration and coach.

Whatever it was and if it is a new job then good luck to him.  I know people at DePauw and Crawfordsville would be relieved to hear it was merely a golden opportunity at advancement and not a problem in life that must be dealt with.

[BashDad]

If Walker did indeed accept a new job, I have trouble (real, real, "september-11-was-an-inside-job" kind of trouble) believing it was the impetus for his resignation. Here's a young guy, a '99 Tiger alum, who has TWO head coaching positions at a school he loves dearly. I just don't buy that this close to the season's beginning, that the guy's gonna bail and take another job.

I've heard other, more far fetched rumors and while I hesitate to believe them fully, I surely don't (and won't, should it be spun that way in the coming days) believe he was covertly brokering a deal elsewhere.

People are treading lightly, as is probably appropriate, but I'll stoke the fire and offer my money on some serious screw up that would involve an ambitious young coach, stretched thin. Dude effed up, methinks.

[Li'l Giant]

If Walker did indeed accept a new job, I have trouble (real, real, "september-11-was-an-inside-job" kind of trouble) believing it was the impetus for his resignation. Here's a young guy, a '99 Tiger alum, who has TWO head coaching positions at a school he loves dearly. I just don't buy that this close to the season's beginning, that the guy's gonna bail and take another job.

Depends on the job, I suppose. I love the place I've worked the last 6 years and am pretty loyal to my partners but if the governor called and asked me to fill a vacancy on the Texas Supreme Court I'd be moved out of this office by midnight.

[BashDad]

And not tell anyone?

Walker resigned without telling his defensive coordinator or his players. I still don't buy it.

[DPU3619]

I don't blame him if this is the course of action he chose to take in accepting another job.  I'd hightail it on out of town and not tell anybody because I know they'd feel jilted by a guy with all the credentials you mentioned.  You better get the hell out of town in a hurry if you're an alum and you bone your school by leaving with 8 days before camp. 

Here's the thing:  When you coach two sports, the hiring season is always going to screw your school.  If you take another job, you're going to screw your program in one of the two sports.  I'm sure DePauw only allowed him to take on the HFC position originally because they thought they had the next Coach Nick on their hands.  This guy was going to be there for 30 years and have the stadium named after him when he was done. 

All that said, I'm getting the feeling after this first business day since the resignation that there is more here than just he accepted his new job and quit.  Still something else here.  I've been told by several folks that he did indeed take the new job. You would imagine that it took him longer than the weekend to complete the entire hiring process.  I hate to speculate, but I'm guessing the school was none to pleased about his intentions.

[wab64]

Nice article about Wabash recruit Vann Hunt:

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/preps/articles/2009/08/08/20090808sportsdreams0809.html


Looks like he averaged just under 6 YPC last season. 

       The Arizona piece was fantastic about the presentation of the College and Vann's reaction to the place, as fantastic as we hope to be when he suits up. I do note that he has grown 2 inches and gained 8 pounds from his appearance in the 2009 Wabash roster. Spin happens