Coaching Carousal: And Then There Were None...For Now

The list of D1 job openings remained at one for all of 10 days, more or less, but after bumping back up to 2 with the resignation of Ohio University head coach Tim O'Shea (to bring Bryant University's D2 program up to D1), it looked as if the job market was opening up again. The Bobcats wasted little time though, and just days after Mississippi Valley State closed out the 3^rd longest search this offseason, Ohio U. named John Groce, an Ohio State assistant coach, as their new head coach...

Homecoming...
Ohio University head coach Tim O'Shea has made no secret about his desire to coach at a northeastern college. A native of Rhode Island, O'Shea broke into the coaching ranks even as his collegiate career (at Boston College) ended. Holding 5 jobs at 4 different New England colleges over the 16 years after his graduation in 1986, O'Shea took the Ohio job in 2001. After winning the MAC championship in 2004-05 and taking the Bobcats to the NCAA (first round loss to Florida), O'Shea bagan to agressively pursue openings at Providence, Seton Hall, Bucknell, among others, over the past three offseasons. O'Shea accepted Bryant University's offer to lead their program up from D2 to D1 status. With a contract whose length should be enough to see him through the first few years, Bryant is slated to join the NEC after a "probation" period. It will be interesting to see if O'Shea can replicate the success of his Ohio Bobcat teams at Bryant.

Delta Devils Catch a Wildcat...
Mississippi Valley State ended it's 64 day search for a head coach to replace recently departed James Green (bound for Jacksonville State) by appointing former Kentucky basketball player Sean Woods as their new head coach. Woods started as an assistant at TAMU Corpus Christi and then moved over to Texas Christian, moving up from positions in Basketball Operations to an assistant coaching position.

The Bobcats pounced...
And grabbed Ohio State assistant John Groce as their new head coach. Given Tim O'Shea's very public pursuit of open coaching positions throughout the Northeast the past 3 off seasons, it comes as no surprise that Ohio University AD Jim Schaus had a short list ready. Groce, like his predecessor, had a long career as an assistant with stops at a number of top calibre programs.

By the Numbers...
Ohio University marked the 43^rd vacancy this off season. Closing out in just under a week has to be a plus for keeping the Bobcats on track this off season. If the last cycle of the coaching carousal is a good guide, there will be another 6 openings over the next 6-7 weeks. After pauses in June, July and August of 2007, vacancies opened, about half arising from exigent circumstances, the balance due to malice (employer or employee originating...). Two coaches left to pursue NBA jobs, Skip Prosser passed away unexpectedly and a fourth coach was terminated after a judicial process. I suspect however, that number may be a bit high. The most active period for openings was again during the 5-6 weeks between the end of the regular season and the Championship Game. In each of the past 2 seasons 60% of the jobs came onto the market during that period.