More ramblings about Tiger football

Thursday, November 30, 2006

My apologies go out to former Nevada head football coach John Skeans in what appeared to be me jumping on a man when he's down in a column a couple weeks back.

I was unaware of the head coach resigning the night before (silly me, not attending the school board meetings in my spare time) and had I known he was going to step down, the column about how a change needed to be made would have never made it to print.

It looked tacky at least and that is where I apologize. I do, however, stand by what I said, and it doesn't matter at this point anyway.

Whether I like Coach Skeans, or not, is irrelevant. It's kind of funny to hear about personal vendettas and such, seeing as I did nothing but give the man the benefit of the doubt for three seasons while taking a wait-and-see approach.

Sometimes you have to look beyond personal likes or dislikes and view something for what it is. That's my job at least.

Now what there is, is a vacancy. The highest profile job in Nevada High School athletics is now open. Come one, come all.

Don't get me wrong, I love basketball. Particularly on the high school level. But nothing brings a community together faster than football. It's the most popular sport in the nation, and Nevada is no exception.

Football is so popular there have been studies done linking the success of universities to the success of their respective football teams.

Schools that have dropped football have seen drops in enrollment. Schools that move up to Division I have seen their enrollment rise. People love football.

In Nevada, people definitely love football.

I've been chided many times for not taking Skeans to task about the lack of success in the football program. Many thought I waited too long, or was in his back pocket. I just wanted to be fair and give the man three years to see his program take root.

That's what I would hope for if I were a head coach. Besides, anywhere you go, coaches that are good will have their programs showing promise by the third year. It's almost a given.

That's why there needs to be a warning sign posted for any potential applicants for the Nevada job. You have one season to get people on your side. That's how long it took for public opinion to turn on Skeans. Whether you supported him or not, by the end of the first season Skeans was already tying his own noose. His head wasn't in it yet, but he had the rope.

I'm not saying a new coach has to come in here and win in his first year, but he had better get the community on his side or it's going to be an uphill battle.

That's why one key attribute for a new football coach has got to be political savvy. It's no substitute for knowing the game, but it will sure keep you around long enough to perhaps stumble into some success.

Another plus for a new football coach would be previous sales experience. The new guy needs to be able to sell the players, parents and boosters on why he is going to be able to get the job done.

Now political salesmen are not my favorite kind of people. But if someone has those two things, along with an eye for talent and knowledge of the game, that should be enough to get this football program headed in the right direction.

One thing I would urge those making decisions to do, is not worry about keeping someone forever. It's perfectly fine to look for somebody who is wanting to leave a mark and then move on to greener pastures. Chuck Shelton is a fine example of someone of this ilk.

Nevada should be a great program for someone who wants to move up fast.

It's no secret that Nevada High School has a couple of classes loaded in male talent. The current junior class and current freshmen both have plenty of potential star athletes.

I'm not discounting the class between them, I am just saying the groups that will be in 10th and 12th grades next season are doubly blessed.

That means someone should be able to have this thing going in the right direction in three years, or when the current freshmen are seniors. It's a golden opportunity.

Success breeds success. If one coach comes in here and does well with Tiger football, the odds of getting someone else who is good to come here will increase.

So even if we become a stepping stone to bigger schools, at least we can reap the benefits of someone stuffing their resumé.

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