North Carolina State University Athletics
The Search For a New Football Coach Continues
12/13/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
Who will become NC State's 32nd head football coach? That's a question not even Wolfpack Athletics Director Les Robinson can answer at this point. Robinson, who is spearheading the search for Mike O'Cain's successor, will only say that he's staying the course.
"I said right out of the gate that the first of January was the target and we're sticking to that goal, give or take six or seven days," Robinson said. "You have to factor in the Christmas period along with the bowl games. The search is coming along very well. The committee has met a couple of times and has given great input."
The eight member advisory committee, which is co-chaired by Robinson and university provost Dr. Kermit Hall, last met on Friday. Once Robinson has narrowed his list of candidates down, he will submit those names to the committee for discussion.
"There will be a stage in the process where there will be three or four names that we'll analyze as a committee," Robinson said. "At some point, we will recommend one name to the chancellor."
Other than revealing that he has spoken with Florida State Associate Head Coach and NC State alumnus Chuck Amato, Robinson has refused to disclose other possible candidates he has met with. The search is not being limited to coaches with Division one head coaching experience.
"I can't say that that is our absolute preference," said Robinson. "We're looking strongly into that pool of 1-A head coaches, but we're not limiting our search and our discussion to those coaches. It's already on record that I have spoken to Chuck Amato along with some of the top coordinators in the country."
One of those coaches is Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen, who showed an interest in the job almost immediately.
And while the search for a new head coach continues, recruiting has come to a near standstill. Offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell and linebacker's coach Joe Pate have been retained to keep an open line of communication with those high school players who had previously committed to NC State.
"Recruiting is very important to us," Robinson said. "I remember when I stepped down as basketball coach, not only did we hold on to the recruits we had signed in the fall, we also held on to some that we were already recruiting. You don't always lose people when you make a change. Many parents of recruits have told me that they are more than willing to wait until January. And whoever that coach may be, he'll have a good month to work on those recruits before the national signing period begins. Time is on our side from that standpoint."
The national signing period doesn't begin until February.
When he was a coach, Robinson was involved in a number of pressure packed, high profile games. But he admits that nothing he has done before compares to this.
"This a major challenge for me professionally," he said. "It's the same feeling I had when I was preparing to play Duke or Carolina in basketball. It's the same type of exhilaration every day. It's preparing for a major game and you know the outcome is extremely significant. I know my role in this can have a major impact on our football program over the next 10 or 15 years."
