ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 13, 1997 TAG: 9701140029
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
TED CAIN will be introduced today as VMI's 27th football coach.
Ted Cain, North Carolina State's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, will be introduced today as VMI's new football coach, The Roanoke Times has learned.
The VMI athletic department has called an 11 a.m. news conference at the Reading Room of the Marshall Library on the Lexington campus to introduce Cain as its 27th football coach.
Cain, 44, convened the Keydets coaching staff for a 5 p.m. meeting Sunday. Anticipating it would be a long one, he told them to bring their dinner. The coaches set about rearranging the offices, with the offensive coaches moving to the defensive coaches' office in Clarkson-McKenna Hall, and vice versa.
Cain is replacing Bill Stewart, who resigned Dec.12 amid allegations he used a racial slur in speaking with a player. Stewart's assistants all have been given new contracts which run through the next football season. Cain also has brought in two additional restricted earnings coaches.
Cain also met with the coaching staff last Thursday and was offered the job Friday. Cain and his wife, Susan, spent part of the day Friday looking at schools in Lexington for their two children, Matthew and Erin. He decided to accept the job Saturday.
Like other VMI coaches, Cain has a military background. He spent two years in the mid-1970s as a first lieutenant and platoon leader in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Fort Benning, Ga. In 1977, he returned to Furman University as a graduate assistant coach. He played tight end at Furman from 1971-'73.
Cain came to N.C. State in 1986 to help former coach Dick Sheridan rebuild the Wolfpack football program. Under Cain's direction, the program's passing game enjoyed its most successful period in school history. Single-season records for touchdown passes and passing yardage were broken under Cain's watch. N.C. State had seven of its top 10 all-time passing games with Cain coordinating the offense.
Cain's hiring comes one month after VMI's search began. The Keydets' search committee spoke to approximately a dozen candidates. Other leading candidates for the job included VMI assistant head coach Donnie Ross and defensive coordinator Chip Garber.
Cain has not yet met the team. VMI's students return Monday night for the spring semester, and Cain is expected to meet the team for the first time on Tuesday.
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