'Pressbox': Grobe could be cure to Deacons' ills
By Sean Blue
Senior Reporter

> February 1, 2001

This university has never been known as a football school. It probably never will be either. Athletics Director Ron Wellman, however, did make an attempt to change the university’s football reputation from that of a doormat to a competitive program last December when he hired Jim Grobe as the new head football coach.

Grobe has had success at transforming poor programs into winning programs, but the question is whether that same success can be achieved with the Demon Deacons.

There are many obstacles that Grobe will face in his endeavor to build a program here in Winston-Salem, the foremost being the current team. Grobe inherits a young team with a wealth of talent. However, that team was recruited by former Head Coach Jim Caldwell. Caldwell evoked loyalty and trust from his players. The current Deacon squad came to this university to play for Caldwell and his system. Now they have to learn a new system and play for a new coach. How the team responds to Grobe will be the biggest indication of whether or not this university is capable of being a consistent winner on the football field.

If the team buys into his philosophy and system and works hard they should have no problem eclipsing last season’s 2-9 record and possibly even producing a winning record in Grobe’s first season. If they don’t respond well to Grobe then there’s no telling how next season will end up. If Grobe fails to produce a good season next year then he will have difficulty in recruiting the players necessary to build a strong program. One of the biggest assets to recruiting is how the team plays. Players want to go to universities where they have a chance to win. If they view the Deacons as a team that’s incapable of winning. then the recruits will go elsewhere.

Another big hurdle Grobe will have to face is the tough academic reputation of this university. As if recruiting wasn’t difficult enough it becomes even tougher to find players that also have the capabilities to survive in a tough academic school like this one. Grobe doesn’t just have to recruit good players; he has to recruit men capable of succeeding in the classroom and on the field. This is no easy task.

Grobe cites his success at recruiting at Ohio University as preparing him to do the same thing here. Granted Ohio University is a good school with a strong academic reputation. However, it’s not as tough as this university. This university is rated as having one of the highest workloads in the country and there isn’t a vast array of easy classes from which to choose. When an athlete comes to this university they have to be prepared to work extremely hard in practice then go home and work hard at academics. I believe Grobe realizes how difficult the task is, but I also believe it’s far more difficult than what he faced at Ohio University.

Another major hurdle Grobe will have to face is competing in the ACC. In the Mid American Conference, there was a definite distinction between two teams. They either were in the upper tier with teams like Marshall, Toledo and Western Michigan or in the lower tier with the likes of Kent State, Buffalo and Bowling Green. The ACC is different however in that it contains a lot of parity. With the exception of Florida State there has not been a consistent tough team. Sure Virginia, Clemson and Georgia Tech generally fare well, but they have lacked that consistency outside the conference and in the bowl games. Also, this university does not have any cupcakes to play against like Ohio had in the MAC. In the ACC, we are the cupcake.

I do think, though, that this will be the least difficult task for Grobe. At Ohio he did turn a perennial loser into an upper tier team in just six years. If he can do well with recruiting and leading the current players then the competition in the ACC should not be a problem.

Overall, Grobe has long and difficult road ahead of him. He most likely will not experience immediate success. Building a program takes time. He needs the time to teach the current players his system and time for both the coaches and players to adapt to each other. He also needs time to recruit players to build on the talent he already has.

In any case I believe that Grobe definitely has the knowledge and skill to build a program at this university, but it won’t be easy. I wish him the best of luck in his endeavor.