Coaching Search Continues

In the midst of Vermont's search for a new coach, I have been on a four day, 2,300 mile road trip back to Vermont (I took a bizarre route to make sure I saw some old friends). That is the my excuse for the lack of coverage detailing UVM's ongoing coaching search. Sporting Vermont recently ran a great piece covering this subject, and, as that article points out, John Fantino has also done a predictably good job keeping the Catamount faithful up to speed.

So here's what we know: former Lonergan assistant John Becker is the interim head coach -- a great choice because he helped keep recruits committed to UVM, and he has helped keep current players from transferring (so far). Keep in mind how many schools would love to have Brian Voelkel, Luke Apfeld, or Sandro Carissimo and their three years of remaining eligibility. We know that Middlebury coach Jeff Brown is not interested in the job. As our friend Oscar, who writes for America Least, pointed out, Brown has a really good situation at Middlebury. You have to respect coaches who know that good is good enough. Just ask Dan Munson. Or Billy Gillespie. Or Jeff Capel. It's a long list, and those are only a few high profile cases of coaches who sprung for "better" coaching jobs that turned out to be a whole lot worse. We also know that Hajj Turner, Lonergan's top assistant, will be headed down to GW with Lonergan.

Other than that, several names have been thrown around as possible candidates to take over at UVM. Don't count Becker out, but I would personally be surprised if he landed the head coaching job without the "interim" part attached to the title. He was not even Lonergan's top assistant, and though he has legitimate experience coaching at the Division III level, you would think UVM would look for a bigger name. It will be interesting to see how it unfolds.

Sure is nice to be back home in Vermont.