Players took news of Wolford's departure 'hard,' athletic director said

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown State athletic director Ron Strollo met with members of the football team Tuesday to deliver news that many had already heard the night before: Eric Wolford will not be returning as head coach next season.

While the announcement shouldn’t have come as a shock, that didn’t make it any less difficult on the players, according to Strollo.

“They took it hard,” he said at a news conference on Tuesday. “I was aware of that before the decision was made. Our kids loved playing for Eric and they loved playing for their assistant coaches, so it was a quiet group today that I spoke to.

“Quite frankly that’s what you’d want,” Strollo said. “If I went in there and said we’re making a change and I saw smiles, I’d be really worried about what we were doing here.”

The decision to fire Wolford leaves Strollo with the task of finding his third head football coach in 14 years as the university’s athletic director.

The Penguins have made the playoffs only once since former head coach — now university president — Jim Tressel left for Ohio State.

That shortcoming, ultimately, was why Strollo felt a change needed to be made.

Read more about the firing and its aftermath in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.