FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[TheHerst2and4]

Some more recruiting news, Amherst reportedly recently recieved a commit from Ryan Silva who comes from a good football bloodline, oldest brother Steve was an All-American at Holy Cross and in some NFL camps, and older brother Jamie was an All-American at BC/now playing with the Colts
It will be interesting to see how he develops
http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/recruiting/tracker/player?recruitId=72050&season=2010&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncf%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fplayer%3frecruitId%3d72050%26season%3d2010

[Trin9-0]

I hear that Wes will be making its coaching decision after spring break (March 22nd) that's just over 3 months from the day Hauser was fired.  I'm sure the Cards will be bringing in a gem of a recruiting class.

Also, I'm not sure how credible the source is but a player on last year's squad told me that a former Washington Redskins assistant interviewed for the job as recently as last week.

[nescac1]

As someone who lives in the DC area, trust me, Wesleyan does not want anyone who has had anything to do with the Skins during the past decade ...

[dman]

from the williams website, wesleyan hired williams' head football coach, mike whalen as its new football coach and asst. athletic director......

[mariner75]

It's his alma mater.......but still a surprise.

[LiveforSaturdays]

Great get for Wes!!

[Trin9-0]

What a great hire by Wes! I have to imagine he was their #1 choice (unless you count Belichick). Even though the cupboard may be bare Whalen brings instant credibility and should do a great job provided he can get the institutional support needed to recruit against the top teams in the league.

Personally, I'm shocked that he would leave such a great job at Williams but it looks like he's getting a pretty sweet deal.

Congrats to the Cards... But now what is Williams going to do? At this late stage you'd figure they'll name an acting head coach and then conduct a national search at the end of next season.

[LiveforSaturdays]

He will be the AD there within 5 years. That was the kicker for the deal.

[nescac1]

In addition to the administration opportunities, he gets a chance to build his own legacy at Wesleyan, his alma mater, rather than just building on Coach Farley's at Williams, where no matter what he did (and he did a fantastic job, never finishing worse than 6-2, one undefeated season, a strong record vs. Amherst, the big Gameday win), he could never top Coach Farley.  I would guess he's been promised some power in admissions as well, because Wesleyan will need some strong recruiting classes, and fast, if it ever hopes to be competitive with its big rivals, Amherst, Williams, and Trinity.  Congrats to Coach Whalen on a great opportunity and I wish him well ... the Little Three is going to be a lot more fun soon, I would think. 

Any thoughts on candidates for the Eph head job?  Both the offensive and defensive coordinators, like Whalen before them, are currently head coaches of other teams at Williams, so they might be the most obvious choices, if continuity is valued. 

Whalen leaves the team and program in fantastic shape.  Last year the team was a few plays from being undefeated despite both of its senior star captains missing most of the year due to injury, plus several other key guys going down.  I believe that 19/22 guys who started vs. Amherst (again, several seniors were out) return next year, including every single skill position guy and the entire defensive front seven.  A lot of frosh had to play sooner than expected last year but the experience should really help for this season.  Plus, I hear the Ephs have a loaded group of recruits coming in (I imagine most are ED, so no threat that they'd follow Whalen), a few of which I've posted here, particularly strong at QB, WR, and RB. 

[LiveforSaturdays]

Whalen introduced

http://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2010/03/09/whalen/

[frank uible]

That ought to shut up them ever smugly and never modestly voluble Ephs at least for a minute or two.

[Trin9-0]

Things just keep getting better for Wesleyan. Jack Siedlecki will be the O.C. and Williams alum Dan DiCenzo who is one of the best recruiters in the NESCAC will be joining Whalen in Middletown.

The Cardinals are going to be legit in two years (if not sooner). 

[tmerton]

Wow - now that's career planning.  As someone who toured some of the NESCAC schools a few years ago (Ephs (Coach Farely let our bus tour), Amherst, Mids and Bowd) and has continued to watch them, it looks like a great deal for Wes.  Good luck.

[nescac1]

Any word on candidates for the Williams job?

[Rick Vaughn]

If Williams is planning on promoting from within (like they did with Whalen), then the coaching decision will likely not be announced until after the spring season is over.  If Barrale and McCormack are both shooting for the job, then it would be very difficult for them to coach to their best of their ability for the Eph baseball and lax teams while preparing and interviewing for the football position.

With the success Maker has had in just two years with the hoops team, I wouldn't be shocked to see Williams go outside the Williams community to hire.