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  • Georgia Southern Fires Coach

    Wow I am stunned.

    http://i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=74605

    Head Coach Mike Sewak Fired at Georgia Southern


    David Coulson, I-AA.org senior columnist

    Georgia Southern athletic director Sam Baker confirmed at an afternoon press conference that he would not be renewing the contract of Mike Sewak as the Eagles' head football coach.

    Baker also announced that Sewak's staff had been fired.

    “After considerable thought and reflection, I decided our football program needs to go in a different direction,” said Baker. “Mike has directed the football program in a professional manner and been a positive ambassador for Georgia Southern. However, our expectations for the football program have not been met. Therefore, I feel it’s time to find new leadership for our storied program.” . . .

    Ironically, Baker had announced a four-year extension for Sewak just three months ago.

    At the time, Baker told the Macon Telegraph:

    "Mike's set for four years. State contracts are for one year and the Southern Boosters add a three-year extension. We got it all worked out this summer."

    Sewak was fired despite taking the Eagles to the I-AA football playoffs for the third time in four years as coach. Georgia Southern finished its season on Saturday with a 50-35 first-round playoff loss at No. 4 seed Texas State. . . .

    The Eagles, fielding one of their youngest teams in several years, were 8-4 this season and tied for second in the Southern Conference with a 5-2 mark.

    Sewak was the Southern Conference coach of the year just last season and had compiled a 35-14 record overall and a 15-7 mark in the SoCon, with two league championships. But he is the first permanent head coach since the restart of the Eagle program in 1982 not to win a national title. . . .

    Sewak was an assistant coach at Georgia Southern under legendary coach Erk Russell in 1985-86. He coached running backs in 1985 and defensive backs in 1986, both national championship seasons for the Eagles.

    But Sewak and Russell had a falling out two years ago when Sewak fired Russell's son Rusty as the defensive coordinator. Rusty Russell had been a finalist for the head coaching job when Sewak was hired in 2002.

    Erk Russell had disassociated himself from the Georgia Southern program and hadn't attended an Eagles game in the past two seasons. He even missed the game against Furman this year, when GSU celebrated the 20th anniversary of its 1985 title win over the Paladins. . . .

    The shocks waves were quick around the Southern Conference on Tuesday morning and the response was negative. In the weekly SoCon football teleconferfence, Jerry Moore, at 17 years the dean of the league's coaches, called the move "a real bad deal."

    This is the second time in the past nine years that Baker has fired a head coach that has taken a team to the playoffs. Tim Stowers, now the coach at Rhode Island, led the Eagles to a 9-4 record and the quarterfinals of the playoffs in 1995, only to be let go.

    Stowers coached GSU to a national championship in 1990 and took the Eagles to the playoffs four times in six years.

    There is no immediate word on where Baker will look for a new coach, though it is possible that he might make overtures to someone from Johnson's staff at Navy. . . .



    Crazy stuff, glad it isn't us.

    Go State! ;D






  • #2
    Re: Georgia Southern Fires Coach

    To me, this makes the Solich situation at Nebraska look tame! I guess the lesson is don't fire the son of a former great coach unless you win the national championship yearly.

    I'd like to hear some thoughts from some of the GSU people that visit this board.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Georgia Southern Fires Coach

      That's the down-side to a storied program with high winning percentages and titles. At least Joe Paterno is showing why it might pay off to wait a few years..

      Here is a link to the thread on AGS:

      http://www.anygivensaturday.com/foru...ead.php?t=5871

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Georgia Southern Fires Coach

        That's just crazy. The guy was 35-14 in four years. Some of the discussion makes it sound like the AD has a buddy in line for the job or something. Nice.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Georgia Southern Fires Coach

          I think JackTwice hit the nail on the head.

          Go State! ;D

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Georgia Southern Fires Coach

            IS THE GRASS ALWAYS GREENER!!!

            2002 11-3 rushing386ypg total470ypg 35points pg

            2003 7-4 rushing336ypg total415ypg 28points pg

            2004 9-3 rushing373ypg total497ypg 49points pg

            2005 8-4 rushing370ypg total450ypg 38points pg

            Here’s my worry - if you push to hard the pressure can lead to shortcuts. We won 6 of 8 NCs with no NCAA violations- what now?


            SEWAK-to many mistakes bad calls at the wrong time?
             
            Georgia Southern Football - Out weighed, but seldom outplayed
            www.gsufans.com

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Georgia Southern Fires Coach

              I dont believe for a second that this decision was solely that of the AD. There is always this guy they call President or Chancellor, which ever applys to GSU,  who ends up calling all the shots.  The cryptic language here is: "However our expectations of the football program has not been met."  I would think you would have to have access to the coaches contracts and maybe copies of internal memoranduims to fully grasp the meaning of expectations. Obviously it does not end with wins and loses, there is much more to the expectations aspect. Finding that part out would require a Watergate break in and chances are you would be caught by the campus police. ;D

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Georgia Southern Fires Coach

                Originally posted by JackTwice
                To me, this makes the Solich situation at Nebraska look tame!  I guess the lesson is don't fire the son of a former great coach unless you win the national championship yearly.

                I'd like to hear some thoughts from some of the GSU people that visit this board.  
                In Solich's case AD,. Steve Pederson, swung the axe, but he did not do the chopping without approval from the UNL Chancellor. I think the same was probably true with the GSU coach. Something here was not going in the right direction, and the stats GSU Talon cited may be the answer. The defensive coaching people were possibly not getting the job done and maybe gave up too many points. I suspect there are other matters involved that will never be revealed. I dont think GSU will have a problem filling this job.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Georgia Southern Fires Coach

                  I think we SDSU should expect more than 6-5, but GSU's situation really puts things in perspective. There obviously is a very fine line between realistic and outrageous. It's interesting to see Navy guys being thrown out already as replacements. It seems they are not going to go in an entirely different direction....option

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Georgia Southern Fires Coach

                    Originally posted by SD-STATE
                    I think we SDSU should expect more than 6-5, but GSU's situation really puts things in perspective. There obviously is a very fine line between realistic and outrageous. It's interesting to see Navy guys being thrown out already as replacements. It seems they are not going to go in an entirely different direction....option
                    QUICK tell me about NAVY!

                    Thats not what Im hearing but would be very happy with that.


                    Georgia Southern Football - Out weighed, but seldom outplayed
                    www.gsufans.com

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Georgia Southern Fires Coach

                      More info for those who care:

                      http://www.sylvaniatelephone.com/art...ries/top02.txt

                      Go State!  ;D

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Georgia Southern Fires Coach

                        There is no immediate word on where Baker will look for a new coach, though it is possible that he might make overtures to someone from Johnson's staff at Navy. . . .
                        It's right there, the very first post in this thread. I don't make this sh..stuff up.
                        David Coulson, I-AA.org senior columnist
                        What ever it is worth

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Georgia Southern Fires Coach

                          This is a dangerous situation! At Nebraska, it's a big enough program where there are large dollars for the coach along with numerous perks, but even with that you have to be careful. You fire Solich who was 9-3 (I was in favor of that one), now there are people asking for Callahan's head after only one recruiting class. If they fire him, what big time coach in there right mind is even going to look at Nebraska which has one of the most storied traditions in college football.

                          Georgia Southern is a long way from Nebraska in stature. They may really struggle to find a high caliber coach after a firing like this.

                          By the way, Solich may be available very soon!

                          SUPERBUNNY
                          MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM, BIZUN!!!

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Georgia Southern Fires Coach

                            This is a dangerous situation! At Nebraska, it's a big enough program where there are large dollars for the coach along with numerous perks, but even with that you have to be careful. You fire Solich who was 9-3 (I was in favor of that one), now there are people asking for Callahan's head after only one recruiting class. If they fire him, what big time coach in there right mind is even going to look at Nebraska which has one of the most storied traditions in college football.

                            Georgia Southern is a long way from Nebraska in stature. They may really struggle to find a high caliber coach after a firing like this.
                            I totally agree.

                            A coach going into GSU situation would have to be an extremely confident individual.

                            Comment

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