Coaching Carousel

[bballfan03]

Lol. Schaetzle and Stark were assistants under Reilly. The current Gannon AD fired Reilly. So, there is no way she’s hiring a former assistant of a head coach she fired or she would have hired one of them to replace Reilly. Besides, Schaetzle has never been a head coach and was an ass’t on a horrible Canisius team (10-20). Witherspoon is just lucky Canisius announced he will be returning for another year. And Stark coached D’Youville to a stunning 4-21 record last year. So why would the Gannon AD ever hire either one of them?

Were either of them active coaches though the year Reilly got canned? If not, i wouldn't say it's a definite no if they applied. But I don't think either of them would be strong candidates.

[bballfan03]

For all his baseline barking, Cleary is an extremely laid-back, quiet guy. He was a good coach and recruiter when you look at it with his chickensh*t budget and "vintage" facility. He could land somewhere but his wife is the track coach at Edinboro, so he'll stay local until she can look, too. I was told he's being paid through July 1 but he was done on Friday.

same for KJ... most schools do contracts on a fiscal year basis. Regardless when your season is, your contract tends to be July 1, XX through June 30, XX.

[Fightingscot82]

With all due respect to both of you, I have a hard time believing this one. Fort Lauderdale to Erie isn't a common career move. "From area" is Grove City. Coming "home" would be dependent on whether his family is still in the area. I lived in Erie County for 6 years and change and while the summers are nice, the area leaves a LOT to be desired.

A name I've heard thrown around for Edinboro is LeMoyne assistant Ben Swank. He is an Edinboro grad and son of former women's coach Stan Swank.

I'll be shocked if Kevin Reynolds isn't with a PSAC West team next fall. Speaking of, we still haven't heard anything about Clarion.

I'm going to eat my words on this a bit...

Jordan Fee's dad played ball at Edinboro, so maybe that's someone they get? I think it depends on where mom & dad live. If they've relocated to Florida, he ain't moving north. If they're still in Grove City, then its a possibility.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I'm going to eat my words on this a bit...

Jordan Fee's dad played ball at Edinboro, so maybe that's someone they get? I think it depends on where mom & dad live. If they've relocated to Florida, he ain't moving north. If they're still in Grove City, then its a possibility.

That's just a risky proposition for him. Yes, it's a HC job but his stock is rising. Also, Lauderdale Jesus isn't going to coach forever down there. Perhaps Fee is in line for the Nova job.

With the mess at Edinboro, I'd guess you're going to get a very young (green) HC or a retread looking for one more dance.

Fee would surely want to play that Nova/WL style. With no scholarship money I don't think he could pull it off. You need 10 quality players to make that work effectively.

A name from the past surfaced as being interested in a PSAC job ... Jim Boone (i.e. your retread looking for one more dance).

For our younger generation, Boone has quite an elaborate history in the PSAC (albeit a very long time ago).

[Fightingscot82]

That's just a risky proposition for him. Yes, it's a HC job but his stock is rising. Also, Lauderdale Jesus isn't going to coach forever down there. Perhaps Fee is in line for the Nova job.

With the mess at Edinboro, I'd guess you're going to get a very young (green) HC or a retread looking for one more dance.

Fee would surely want to play that Nova/WL style. With no scholarship money I don't think he could pull it off. You need 10 quality players to make that work effectively.

A name from the past surfaced as being interested in a PSAC job ... Jim Boone (i.e. your retread looking for one more dance).

For our younger generation, Boone has quite an elaborate history in the PSAC (albeit a very long time ago).

Fair. I just checked, both announced within an hour of each other, Gannon's job is posted already but Edinboro's is not.

[hawks16]

If you're Edinboro or Gannon, would you kick the tires on Steve Piotrowicz? He was a two-year player at Gannon after playing two years at Behrend, an assistant at IUP, worked in administration at St. Bonaventure and is the head coach at Cathedral Prep. Led CP to the 2021 Class 5A state title and had them in the state semifinals this year. He's 76-24 over four seasons.

[IUPalum]

If you're Edinboro or Gannon, would you kick the tires on Steve Piotrowicz? He was a two-year player at Gannon after playing two years at Behrend, an assistant at IUP, worked in administration at St. Bonaventure and is the head coach at Cathedral Prep. Led CP to the 2021 Class 5A state title and had them in the state semifinals this year. He's 76-24 over four seasons.

No! He’s no longer the coach at Prep either. The guy has had no “real” job for two years while coaching an approx $6000 coaching job. He’s telling players he quit for a 100 grand job and inside admin told him to leave but are allowing him to save face do to underlying issues. Also, Joe basically booted him from IUP too.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

If you're Edinboro or Gannon, would you kick the tires on Steve Piotrowicz? He was a two-year player at Gannon after playing two years at Behrend, an assistant at IUP, worked in administration at St. Bonaventure and is the head coach at Cathedral Prep. Led CP to the 2021 Class 5A state title and had them in the state semifinals this year. He's 76-24 over four seasons.

Is 76-24 really that much of a wow factor at ECP? He's not exactly dealing with what most high school coaches endure (up and down cycles of local athletes).

I'd be shocked if a PSAC school would hire a guy who was basically run out of a high school job.

But ... given the state of Edinboro, they just may hire whomever they can get cheapest. They basically wanted Cleary to do car washes on the weekend to pay his salary lol.

I'd hope to see Cleary on staff somewhere this coming season. There are jobs in the PSAC West that are like Erie Cathedral Prep. It's not hard to win 20 games at IUP or Mercyhurst. You just have better players (and the money to buy said players). Put Lombardi or Manchel at Edinboro and see what they can do with 1/3 of the money. It's not easy to do what Cleary did for a long time -- and he had a couple good teams now and again. Building a whole roster with 4 (or less) scholarship equivalencies and having to compete with IUP and Mercyhurst is no small task. Could Cleary have done more to raise money? Hard to say.

[Ship69]

Is 76-24 really that much of a wow factor at ECP? He's not exactly dealing with what most high school coaches endure (up and down cycles of local athletes).

I'd be shocked if a PSAC school would hire a guy who was basically run out of a high school job.

But ... given the state of Edinboro, they just may hire whomever they can get cheapest. They basically wanted Cleary to do car washes on the weekend to pay his salary lol.

I'd hope to see Cleary on staff somewhere this coming season. There are jobs in the PSAC West that are like Erie Cathedral Prep. It's not hard to win 20 games at IUP or Mercyhurst. You just have better players (and the money to buy said players). Put Lombardi or Manchel at Edinboro and see what they can do with 1/3 of the money. It's not easy to do what Cleary did for a long time -- and he had a couple good teams now and again. Building a whole roster with 4 (or less) scholarship equivalencies and having to compete with IUP and Mercyhurst is no small task. Could Cleary have done more to raise money? Hard to say.

After winning with Lombardi as an assistant at IUP, Chris Fite moved on to a bare cupboard at Ship. He went 3-23 in his first year with the Raiders. He basically said when you're with a winning program for a while you have a tendency to believe that a lot of your success must have to do with your coaching genius. But going through his first year as the head guy at Ship quickly jolted him out of that thinking. A mediocre coach can do a lot of winning if he has exceptionally talented players, but even a great coach has trouble winning with weak players. Fite obviously went out and got himself some players over the next few years.

[hawks16]

But ... given the state of Edinboro, they just may hire whomever they can get cheapest. They basically wanted Cleary to do car washes on the weekend to pay his salary lol.

You're more connected than me, but can't this also be said about the IUP women's basketball coaching search of 2022? Three applicants, one used it for leverage, two duds...and then you end up with a guy who's only coaching experience was as a nepo baby on his dad's staff?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

You're more connected than me, but can't this also be said about the IUP women's basketball coaching search of 2022? Three applicants, one used it for leverage, two duds...and then you end up with a guy who's only coaching experience was as a nepo baby on his dad's staff?

That's a tricky topic. No doubt.

It all goes back to the timing. Tom really screwed them over by leaving in dang near August. With all the union procedures, it takes time to actually hire somebody in the PASSHE.

Gannon (private) will have a new men's coach hired before Edinboro advertises its opening (just as an example).

Getting back to IUP: Tom left in the last week of July -- which, is about the worst possible time a coach can leave. For starters, as IUP found out, your applicant pool is going to be very small. Your 'quality' applicant pool is going to be even smaller. The new school year is right around the corner. Sitting coaches are ready to roll. You just aren't going to get a lot of people looking to make a change in September (by the time IUP hired somebody).

In all fairness, Craig Carey had his moments this year. He inherited a bare cupboard. He had a couple good starters and that was it. No bench. No depth. No time to recruit. Nada. He went 18-10. At most places, that would be considered a great season. Here, unfortunately for him, it was seen by many as a disaster. He rolled the dice on the Robert Morris transfers at mid-year. What we also have to remember is he runs an up-tempo system. That requires players recruited specifically geared to play fast. He inherited Tom's (slow) roster (again, in September). So, there's only so much he could do with the hand he was dealt.

He needs to work on some things. His interactions with officials (i.e. working the refs) was awful. They just blew him off all year. His subbing was also a train-wreck. But, again, no depth.

I've heard every theory on Tom's departure. Some say he jumped off a sinking ship. Some say he really did just want to retire. Regardless, a couple people know the truth -- and, none of them are on this message board.

I can tell you this: Carey is liked within the athletic department. The fan base occasionally liked him. He's not Tom. He's not a talker and he doesn't go around shaking hands and kissing babies. Tom was great at talking to fans, etc. Tom's recruiting also started to take a nose dive his last couple years. His best teams were largely made up of Dow's recruits. His latter teams were very slow and his slow-as-a-turtle offense was wearing on boosters. His record against Cal was horrendous.

Personally, I'm shocked they didn't at least open the position. If they do in the coming weeks, you have to ask what the freak took so long (as they haven't played a game in 6 weeks).

If I was betting at this point, I'd say Carey is the official HC of the women's program.

[Fightingscot82]

Edinboro job is *finally* posted. An oddly simple job description, too.

[hawks16]

On salaries ...

Friend of mine is the Youngstown State men's hoops beat writer and just tweeted this out. Jerrod Calhoun just inked a new contract extension. He's set to make $300,000 in base salary, up from $213,848 this season.
Compare that to $191,282 that Joe Lombardi makes as the IUP men's head coach. Tom was making $126,000 last year. Cleary for the Edinboro men was at $91,000 and Jermaine Cole was at $49,616 as the interim women's coach at Clarion.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

On salaries ...

Friend of mine is the Youngstown State men's hoops beat writer and just tweeted this out. Jerrod Calhoun just inked a new contract extension. He's set to make $300,000 in base salary, up from $213,848 this season.
Compare that to $191,282 that Joe Lombardi makes as the IUP men's head coach. Tom was making $126,000 last year. Cleary for the Edinboro men was at $91,000 and Jermaine Cole was at $49,616 as the interim women's coach at Clarion.

Calhoun was linked to a lot of openings. I'm surprised he wasn't snatched up.

[IUPalum]

Edinboro job is *finally* posted. An oddly simple job description, too.

I’ve got a hunch who might get hired. It’ll be a joke of a program if he is.