Tuesday, November 24, 2009
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MEETS THE PRESS: Ron Strollo, YSU’s athletic director, talks to reporters after Jon Heacock’s resignation as football coach. Strollo said Monday he is immediately launching a national search for a successor.
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Former YSU coach Jon Heacock durng 11-14-09 game with Illinois State.
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YSU's Athletic Director Ron Strollo addresses the resignation of YSU's Head Football Coach, Jon Heacock, at a press conference Monday afternoon. Heacock announced his resignation Sunday. The following video is the press conference in its entirety. Strollo addresses issues like expectations, the search for a new coach and answers other questions from the media.
By Rob Todor
YOUNGSTOWN — Ron Strollo sat behind a bank of microphones and in front of one of the largest contingents of media he’ll ever witness as Youngstown State athletic director.
The first order of business Monday: to apologize for the cold that’s enveloped his head.
The second, and of far more interest to the aforementioned gathering: Just who is going to be walking the sidelines as head coach of the Penguins in 2010?
“We’re looking for someone with some high energy and someone that can bring Division I experience with a national recruiting background,” he said. “To compete at the level that we need to compete at recruiting is going to be really critical.”
How about another Jim Tressel?
“Well, gosh, obviously you are,” laughed Strollo. “There’s going to be a lot of good coaches that are going to be interested in this position. It’s really trying to figure out if this person is a good fit here, and is this situation a good fit for them?”
Strollo repeatedly affirmed his respect for departing coach Jon Heacock and intimated more than once that “sometimes you hire a good coach, and it just doesn’t work out, for whatever reason.”
“Jon faced a huge challenge [succeeding] Tressel,” he said. “Ultimately, in 2009, we had high expectations and we didn’t reach them.”