Football: Windsor begins search for coach

Happy Monday, Kyle Walters. Your table is ready.

To the surprise of pretty much no one — the Super Bowl parties hosted by certain Lancers football alumni are probably gonna be a bit more jovial — the door is open to the Windsor Lancers having their next football coach in place in time for training camp in August. The nightmare scenario that involved being forced to use an interim coach this fall since 13-year head coach Mike Morencie was intent on staying on the job until June 30 seems to have been averted. Morencie, à la George Costanza at Play Now, will be staying on, but they're working around it. It's win-win-win for a program that does struggle to put three wins together most seasons.

That seems win-win for Windsor, since it can now take applications right at a time when most coaching staffs in the CFL and CIS are taking form. Greg Layson, as you would recall, suggested Walters, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers special teams coach who was previously at Guelph, would be ideal for the job. He took the Gryphons to a Yates Cup berth (their only one since the OUA went to 10 teams), has mad recruiting chops and knows from competing with That School To The East of Windsor.

Who knows if that is how Windsor is leaning, but that is a good place to start. Whoever takes over will have no excuses for not producing a competitive team. The Lancers are arguably Ontario University Athletics' biggest football underachiever when one factors in its facilities, recruiting territory, modicum of past success (although it's been a while) and academic programs. It is successful in many major team sports, so why not in football, and why not with Walters?

It does beggar credulity that right up until the end people variously tried to claim he couldn't be fired based on his record or split hairs over the timing. Losing records, of course, never rest entirely on the coach. It stops with the highers-up. However, you know the saying, if you're not a part of the solution ...
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3 comments:

  1. Actually, a new coach will be able to conduct spring camp also.

    Agreed...that Windsor should be a much better football program. Locally, there is some very good talent although some of the talent is too good...and heads off to the NCAA.

    A new coach needs to be connected to the GTA and Niagara region while "owning" the local CIS prospects.

    There is no reason why Windsor can't be a consistent 5-3/6-2 type program.

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  2. So here's the understated headline of the day:

    "Etcheverry interested in Canadian university coaching gig"

    Here's what Gary Etcheverry says:

    - “I’m interested in any opportunity to be a head coach at a (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) program. And I will tell that to anyone who wants to discuss an opportunity with me.”

    - “When I hear that they’ve had three winning seasons in 30 years, I’m not surprised that the best local players are going somewhere else to play. Good football players aren’t looking for a place to play. They’re looking for a place to win.”

    - “A lot of times with university programs, the problem is that the university doesn’t know how to get out of the way of itself. They’ve got to let the guy you’ve hired to run the program do his job and don’t forget why they hired him.

    “I’m extremely interested in this job if they are willing to go about it the right way.”

    Uh...any questions?

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  3. Yeah, I'm getting $20 down on Etcheverry. Although it is not clear if he is done in Saskatchewan, even with Richie Hall getting the defensive coordinator job ... although would he stay in a different role? Apparently the Riders are working on keeping him.

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