“I lost four of my coaches, and that’s about it pretty much,” he said. Wagner speculated that he was fired because of the uncertain state of his staff. Hall would not comment on the motivation for firing Wagner, or say who fired him, adding, “We all spoke with him.” “They called me in and said I’m no longer the head coach.” “That’s not the situation.”Īccording to Wagner, Wayman fired him on Monday at 3:45 p.m. “I think that a lot of people in the town think that we quit because we lost,” Mikhail said Monday evening. Mikhail said that he also spoke with administrators on Monday, and according to Wagner, Case quit Monday morning. When asked who was responsible for hiring and firing coaches, Hall said, “That’s a decision that’s made by multiple people.” Hall also said that she spoke Monday with Wayman about the football program. Hall confirmed that she spoke with Conklin over the weekend and that Principal Jason Wayman spoke with Robinson, but she declined to comment on whether any resignation was official. While some of coaches claimed to have quit, or expressed a desire to resign, there were no official, signed resignations. The squabble continued after the Panthers’ 29-12 loss at Aspen on Friday, and led assistant coaches Conklin, Tim Robinson, Kirby Case and Mikhail to complain to administrators. Wagner also said that he had told administrators and assistants that he didn’t punt since his initial interview, and that he decided to go back to the spread offense after watching film of Miyamura against the double-wing. “I said, ‘I am the head coach and it’s my decision.’” “I never said, ‘I do what I want,’” Wagner said in a text message on Thursday. “All of us coaches told him that, and he said, ‘It’s my team, I do what I want.’” “We told him we needed to punt the football,” Mikhail continued. He showed up later that night and said, ‘You know what? I’m the head coach, I do what I want, and we’re running the air raid,’” Mikhail said.Īssistant coaches also said they disagreed with Wagner’s refusal to punt on fourth downs. “He asked all four of us, ‘What do you want to run?’” Keith Mikhail said. Hall declined to discuss the reasons for Wagner’s firing, but the assistants said the staff controversy stemmed from Wagner’s insistence to run a spread offense and his refusal to punt. Now that the dust has settled, Conklin and the Panthers say they’re ready to move forward.Īthletic director Stacey Hall confirmed Wednesday that Wagner was fired Monday afternoon and that assistant coach Conklin was named interim head coach Monday evening. “What happened yesterday (Monday) is in the past, and we’re moving forward, from today on,” he said.Ĭonklin was referring to the stated resignations of assistant coaches, and later, to the firing of first-year head coach Dave Wagner. Scott Conklin addressed the Panthers football team on Tuesday afternoon as interim head coach, settling days of uncertainty and speculation about the Montezuma-Cortez coaching staff.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |