FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[smedindy]

It wouldn't surprise me if he didn't put a cover sheet on his TPS reports, but perhaps Robby was frustrated after yesterday and called out the administration for handcuffing his recruiting by their short sighted decisions on, well, everything, and said a few things to them?

It's not like no other school in the NCAC is expensive, or has academic standards, or has challenges attracting male students. We all know Kenyon has had issues with administration support. Is DPU trying to emulate the Lords in football? Because in a league where even when it's down (as it is this year) at least everyone is making an effort. Hiram has over 40 freshmen. Kenyon itself has won two in a row.

Ye Gods.

[wally_wabash]

Rivalry ribbing aside here, there is nothing good about this news.  Who knows why football has become such a problem area down there. 

[Bishopleftiesdad]

All I can say is shocking. Smedindy, said it the other sports do well, look at baseball,won the regular season and almost won the tournament.

[Wabash Hokie]

Article from the school newspaper.  Not much new info but calls out the "revolving door" that is the head coaching position.


http://www.thedepauw.com/sports/head-football-coach-robby-long-dismissed-sunday-morning-updated-1.2902133

With two games in the loss column and a new coach at the helm (the Defensive Coordinator that engineered such a great game plan against Witt), I think the Dannies will go either 2-8 or 3-7 this year with Wash U, Kenyon and Denison as their only potential victims?  Thoughts?

[Dr. Acula]

"When you look at someone who is the head coach of a program, whether it's here or somewhere else, they certainly have the on the field responsibility, but they certainly have administrative expectations as well."

"The thing to stress is that we started the conversation in the spring time," Baker-Watson said. "We met regularly and talked regularly about those expectations and the timeline to complete them, and he just didn't do what he needed to do."


What kind of admin responsibilities does a football coach (who is not the AD) have that warrant firing him 3 weeks into the season??  This is baffling to me as an outsider.

[wabashcpa]

Article from the school newspaper.  Not much new info but calls out the "revolving door" that is the head coaching position.


http://www.thedepauw.com/sports/head-football-coach-robby-long-dismissed-sunday-morning-updated-1.2902133

With two games in the loss column and a new coach at the helm (the Defensive Coordinator that engineered such a great game plan against Witt), I think the Dannies will go either 2-8 or 3-7 this year with Wash U, Kenyon and Denison as their only potential victims?  Thoughts?

Kenyon is the only lock in my opinion, and Long's firing has little to do with that opinion.  Just more dysfunction among a dysfunctional group.

[bashbrother]

3 weeks into the season......  that is bad.. real bad.

Witt took them completely apart,  but...... You don't fire your coach in the third week of the season if you have any sense UNLESS  some major violation of policy occurred.

Again....  where is Hester?   The program is in total free-fall.  Sad... very sad.

Unbelievable....

[BashDad]

I'm guessing it's the same thing as the others.  They asked him to do something that they probably didn't have the legal ground to ask him to do, so they fired him with some smoke screen.

What does this mean, Wes?

[smedindy]

Article from the school newspaper.  Not much new info but calls out the "revolving door" that is the head coaching position.


http://www.thedepauw.com/sports/head-football-coach-robby-long-dismissed-sunday-morning-updated-1.2902133

With two games in the loss column and a new coach at the helm (the Defensive Coordinator that engineered such a great game plan against Witt), I think the Dannies will go either 2-8 or 3-7 this year with Wash U, Kenyon and Denison as their only potential victims?  Thoughts?

I don't think they'll have much fight against Denison and Wash U. The LG's defense took that game (and the ball) away from the Big Red, but against a weak D like DPU I think Denison has too many horses. Wash U. is 0-3 but they've played one of the best schedules in D-3 thus far (two undefeated teams and Whitewater). Heck, I'd think they'd have issues with the Lords. Kenyon's playing with some heart.

[Geezer Citizen]

The DPU coaching situation is really befuddling. The Dannies cannot seem to put any fun in their dysfunctional situation. Remember the mystery surrounding the Walker firing? Local Danny alums are convinced that the administration in particular and this particular curret female AD do not want to help the football program in any shape, manner or form. I cannot conceive of Tom Mont or Ted Katula putting up with this bovine feces. With their pull with the alums, heads would roll, and it wouldn't be heads of football coaches.

[BashBacker#16]

I am still at a loss as well guys.  Man.  I've heard (2nd hand) that the AD is a real peach to work with and who knows, maybe she is trying to flex her clout or something.  I can't help but think the Prez wasn't heavily involved and he has to be bumming about the negative perception and bad pub that will come with this move.  Just makes you wonder and I have nothing factual - just thinking out loud.  I do wonder if something happened.  Did Long lose it in the locker room?  Did he blast a kid at half?  Did he put his hands on a player?  Was there a big blowup amongst coaches in front of the staff???  All of these could have happened.  It will come out in time, don't think it can't.  As mysterious as the Walker firing was, this is entirely different.  In fact, I wonder if Coach Long will go on the offensive at some point?  Doesn't this put a HUGE MARK on his name and reputation??  Can you imagine trying to find another job now?  It's whacked.  Even though it is DePauw, you can't help but feel for the players (just a little).  Someone mentioned a coach considering taking a job at DPU, can you imagine a recruit (that is serious about his football career) and why they would consider DPU?  This is damaging on many fronts.  I bet the story, rumors, and speculation will carry on for a long time!

I wanna know what happened.  I think it also fuels the speculation that Stevie Baker-Watson had such a lame release!

For what it is worth, Robby Long was a great guy and I have mentioned that on here in the past.  I know that doesn't have anything to do with his coaching abilities but he was/is a likeable guy.

[bashbrother]

What a weekend in D3.... 

First the almighty UWW Warhawks get beat at home by a program that has only won 22 games in the past 10 years and now Depauw fires their coach.   

Craziness.

[BashBacker#16]

Maybe she'll tweet something??     @tigerprideAD - looks like she couldn't get the webcast to pull up last night so we know she wasn't in Springfield.

As an alum and former player, it makes me pretty thankful for what we have at Wabash.  Where's Breckenridge when we want his perspective??

[BashBacker#16]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8388817/depauw-tigers-fire-coach-robby-long-failure-fully-comply-school-policies

[Li'l Giant]

After having digested this a bit, and reading what's been posted, I have to mention two things:

One, I agree with Wally that despite our usual rivalry-induced ribbing, this is not something that I enjoy seeing. I believe this hurts the rivalry. Our rivalry doesn't necessarily require that both teams be good, but it requires they be at least moving in the same direction. Part of what makes our rivalry so great is the tight series record. Yes, there have been streaks. But as much as I'd love to see us get Depauw back for that 5 game streak in 96-00 I don't want it like this. Not because they've cratered and flushed another 2-3 years down the crapper just be-effin-cause. I feel like Depauw's administration isn't fulfilling their end of the bargain in being involved in a historic and wonderful rivalry like ours.

Second, like 16 mentioned I feel sorry for the kids on the team. When was the last time Depauw graduated a senior class of football players who had played all four years under the same coach? By my math it looks like that would be the guys who played in Coach Mourouzis' last season as seniors. That was 2003. Look at that again. 2003. I'm sorry but that's just awful. It's awful for those players, their families, for the coaching staff, for the university and for our rivalry.

Nobody wins here. Nobody.

Damnit Depauw, get it together.