Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 3, 1993 TAG: 9301030060
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bill Brill Staff
DATELINE: DURHAM, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
CALDWELL WILL NOT HAVE IT EASY
Wake Forest's hiring of Jim Caldwell brings to three the number of black head football coaches in Division I-A, and gives the ACC its first minority boss.That the Demon Deacons would hire a black coach is hardly a surprise. While Wake Forest president Thomas Hearn likely would not mandate such a move, his position as a leader in the NCAA and a member of the Knight and Presidents commissions made this a predictable decision by new athletic director Ron Wellman.
What this is, however, is a Catch-22 situation.
Last year, there were no black head coaches among the 106 I-A schools. Since the end of the season, Temple hired Ron Dickerson, defensive coordinator at Clemson, and Eastern Michigan elevated Ron Cooper.
Temple is the worst program in the nation. The Owls did not beat a I-A team last year and have no history of success. However, Temple also is an inner-city school, with a sense of desperation now that it is in the Big East, and the choice of Dickerson was excellent.
It may be that the hiring of Caldwell, quarterback coach for seven years under Joe Paterno at Penn State, is inspired. But the odds are long against him.
Wake Forest's track record is not much more distinguished than Temple's. In the ACC's 30 years, the Deacons have had more winless league seasons (seven) than winning seasons (six).
Even with this year's 4-4 record, the Demon Deacons barely have won 30 percent of their ACC games since the league was formed in 1953. The only championship was in 1970.
However, Caldwell inherits a program that just won the Independence Bowl and beat Clemson and Georgia Tech.
The realistic view is that what happened in '92 was an aberration, rather than what Caldwell should expect to produce.
One of the reasons no black coach has succeeded in I-A is that no black coach has been given a chance at a perennial power. Of the relatively few minority coaches, only Dennis Green could be considered a success, and he didn't stay at Stanford long before going to the NFL.
Caldwell not only will be burdened by Wake's winning record this year, but the significant loss of star players, among them quarterback Keith West and All-America tackle Ben Coleman.
While what Bill Dooley's team accomplished this year was amazing, it is necessary to recall that 13 months before, the Deacons snapped a 16-game conference losing streak that was more typical of their history.
Caldwell could have difficulty forming a coaching staff as effective as Dooley's. You could make a case that Dooley had the best, and most experienced, staff in the ACC.
Wake probably was the only team in the nation that had two former Division I head coaches serving as assistants - John Gutekunst (Minnesota) and Eddie Williamson (VMI).
There also was continuity. Sandy Kinney had been with Dooley since his North Carolina days. Cliff Yoshida followed Dooley from Virginia Tech. Defensive coordinator Bob Brush had been with Dooley in Blacksburg. Jim Webster played for Dooley at North Carolina more than 20 years ago.
Whether Caldwell will retain any of the Dooley assistants is unknown. Williamson already has joined the North Carolina staff.
Although Dooley announced his resignation in August, it was more than four months before the Deacs named a replacement. That will make recruiting, always a problem, more difficult.
Caldwell inherits a difficult situation. Certainly, it would be nice to see more black coaches, but, more important, successful coaches.
Like Dickerson, Caldwell is playing against a stacked deck.