Dave to Valpo as Head Coach

[RichHParticipant]

Per Footballscoop this AM, Dave headed to Valpo as HC. I cannot express adequately how much I hope this is wrong

[KingfitheParticipant]

You R dead right! He is gone – I can assure you of this. And yea unfortunately considering he is the best coach – teacher and communicator on the staff. Being a HC will be a nice move and a step up – plus I believe he has to see what has been happening on the other side of the ball.

Many are hoping there is going to be movement on the D side of the ball since they have been outmatched here the last 2 years and it is only getting worse. The Laf game was a travesty and really put the icing on the cake. A novice could see the D had no clue – players out of position in alignment and players playing out of position for not only this game but the whole season.

Roberts and Wilcher cannot get it done – cmon CO DC’s this never works plus either one of them does not have the overall knowledge to get it done. Bot – he is going thru the motions and punching the clock / may have been good in his day but that has passed him by.

More to come.

[MillerParticipant]

Going to one of the weakest teams in THE crappiest league……………nice step down. Most head coaches at schools like that dream of being an OC in a league that gives schollies,wins games,and not an embarrassment to the FCS. When the only game you win is in OT vs Campbell????????????? Chick took the first opportunity out of town for reasons that need to surface and be explained.

[TMHParticipant]

Wow…there is a lot of bitterness here.
Personally Chick’s situation reminded me a lot of Pat Santoro. Pat was a very loyal assistant coach and many thought the key to our success during the Strobel era. Eventually, however, he took the job of head coach of the underperforming Maryland program and resurrected it. Eventually, Greg stepped down and pat was the only one truly under consideration and returned.
Perhaps, the same analysis could be said for Matt Logie in basketball.
I have no idea what Andy’s future plans are but in the meantime Dave will test his mettle as head coach. I personally wish him nothing but the best and expect he will do a great job. He will be missed here.

[RichHParticipant]

Pretty much agree. I think what we are seeimg is not bitterness but rather a search for the untold story. Theory being there must be more here as why would a rising star like Dave go to worst program in FCS.
U prefer the OTJ training you propose for his eventual return.
In any event, our issue s/b what happens now with our staff.

[vanParticipant]

Dave gets some HC experience and waiting in the wings to return to south mountain and the next HC once Andy moves on!

[sundayamqbParticipant]

Good news/bad news …

Great for Dave — he deserves an HC job. Bad news for LU; challenge will be finding someone who can raise the bar in a year when we’ll need to rebuild at RB, QB and WR — at least to the level we have come to expect, and when other teams clearly are rapidly on the rise. Good timing for Dave.

With Clawson’s departure from Bowling Green, yet ANOTHER LU assistant gets an HC job, albeit as an interim at BGSU: Adam Scheier.

From the BGSU website:

“Prior to his time at BGSU, Scheier spent seven seasons overseeing the special teams units at Lehigh, was also responsible for the wide receivers position for four years, in an offensive system much like Coach Clawson implemented for the Falcons. Scheier also spent three seasons as Lehigh’s running backs coach.

“In 2008, the Lehigh wide receivers finished with the top two spots on the team’s reception list, led by Mike Fitzgerald, who had 51 catches, including 11 touchdowns.

“In 2007, the Mountain Hawk receivers helped Lehigh average over 200 receiving yards per game, while seven players hauled in a touchdown reception, and seven different receivers caught at least ten passes. 2005’s receiving corps – under the direction of Scheier for the first time – was one of Lehigh’s best in recent memory. Four players amassed over 300 receiving yards, and 11 different players caught a touchdown pass.

“The special teams units were consistently productive under the direction of Scheier. In 2008, kicker Jason Leo connected on 8-of-13 field goal attempts, while averaging 43.0 yards per punt. Lehigh’s punt unit finished both the 2008 and 2007 seasons ranked third in the nation in net punting. During his career, Leo became one of 10 football players in league history to earn four consecutive all-league honors. Leo’s recognition marked the ninth straight year as a special teams coordinator that Scheier has mentored a kicker or punter to all-league status, a group that includes three All-American nods. In addition, Lehigh’s kickoff return unit led the league and ranked in the top 15 nationally three times in the last four years and Scheier coached punt return units to top 15 finishes three times in his years as a coordinator.”

[KingfitheParticipant]

It is official

The most crucial Off Season for Lehigh Football in years with both staffs in disarray and holes to plug on both sides of the ball on the recruiting trail.

But – most importantly is taking care of and working with the athletes you currently have and this is where their is the disconnect. Dave was very well liked and respected by the players as opposed to the overall sentiment about the coaches on the Def side.
You cannot count on any freshmen they sign for next year or transfer for that matter. The players you have are precious – they are the investment you have made. One better work with them and develop them.

On Offense – this has not been a problem but now it will be.

Defensively – there are major issues as I stated already. One being players not knowing what they are doing. IMO combination of “doing to much on def” and “doing a poor job of teaching”!

I don’t need to hear that Lehigh does not have the athletes – they are smart and they can handle more complicated defenses. Is it better to know what you are doing and react which what playing defense is? Or not be sure on what you are doing and let a man run free because you were thinking to much!
It is not rocket science!

Lastly – this has already impacted recruiting and will continue to do so on both sides of the ball.

[KramerParticipant]

While Dave will be missed, no team or staff lives and/or dies by one coordinator or coach. I have confidence that Coach Coen will fill the OC vacancy with a quality replacement (I have no reason to believe otherwise). We have the players to compete, and we will recruit quality players this year. We were 8-3 this year, and we beat some good teams, including Princeton and UNH. It stinks that we lost to LC, but they were hot st the end of the year.

I really don’t think there’s reason to panic here.

[RichHParticipant]

The calm voice of reason. Thanks K. Agree. Loss of Dave is major. Andy has grown here and I think he can handle this issue to minimize impact on program. I do not see this program and staff in disarray. Dont forget this was a rebuilding yr for us. 8-3 not bad. All our expectations were raised by OOC run. Came back to earth in PL losing to 2 hot teams and FU.
Loss will be challenging. Right now recruiting next class and a new OC top priorities. Lets see how it goes before we judge too much.

[RichHParticipant]

LoRe interviewed Andy. Not going to change offense.Wants someone who can run it. Not a guy great at wishbone. His phone blew up yesterday with people interested in the job.

[MillerParticipant]

which Head Coach at a high school would Andy offer the OC position to get recruits? If LU doesn’t get a pure passer,then scrap the Chick offense. THATS why he left. He never would have left after Lums JR season. The players love both Roberts and Wilcher, hope they figure a way to change things up to make the D work next year.

[KingfitheParticipant]

Agreed Dave will be missed and can be replaced as all coaches can. However, regardless of who it may be (hopefully not some so called HS guru from the area) but a good college coach that has credentials and understands recruiting at the Patriot League level.
Per the D – it is in shambles and I can assure you that if a vote were taken both DC’s would not get a vote of assurance for their coaching and defensive calling abilities.

Let’s look at the last 2 years – we have left the PLC on the table vs Colgate and Laf and the D has gotten progressively worse. Could have been 4 PLC in a row and literally a dynasty.
The D is very complicated and they do way to much. (This is not football on Sunday) Plus, just because we have smart players (some will say we need to make up for lack of athletic ability as well) – this is baloney! Bottom line if a player knows what to do and gets lined up correctly he has a shot. However, if he is unsure and his align is not correct than forget about it – he is done. There is not enough time in the day to teach and rep all the defenses and techniques they are doing vs the offenses they are seeing.

I am not always a stat guy – but when one looks at the D Stats they are horrible and it is a wonder this team won 8 games.

For anyone that believes everything is OK – you are kidding yourselves.

By the way – Laf was not a hot team! If they were so hot they would have given New Hampshire a game. Laf is avg at best – we blew it! If we played avg D that game we would have won however we came out with some new scheme and Laf knocked us off the ball and threw the ball over our heads.

[MillerParticipant]

The last 4 games of Defense were a change towards the right direction. The kids on defense DO believe and will always fight,but need a NG,or change to a 4-3. The defense WILL not be the problem next season, with the young LB core, they will be fine. I would worry more about WHAT or WHO will lead the offense. You lose about 85% of yards gained.

[RichHParticipant]

Qualified yes. Back end not problem on D. DL must be solved.
Pick a QB, stick with him so new OC can work the O.

[Author]

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