Coaching Grades

How does Rip Scherer rate after three years?

by Dennis Freeland

oaching college football has to be the toughest management job in sports. Counting players, assistant coaches, trainers, managers, and the video crew, the head coach at a Division-I football school oversees 150 or more people. It’s like being the general of a small army.
Unlike pro football coaches, the college coach cannot waive his tailback when he’s tired of him. More importantly, he can’t sign a new tailback on a moment’s notice. The college coach has to deal with alumni and boosters. He has to recruit.

PHOTO BY DAVID SOWELL

Justin Mumm, his wife Becky, and their 2-year-old son, Alex at Senior Day.

And he has to worry about academics – who’s going to class and who’s not.
Unlike his colleagues in college basketball, the college football coach cannot turn around a losing program by signing one or two players. In football it takes two or three solid recruiting classes to right a listing ship. In college basketball if you lose on Saturday, you have an opportunity to bounce back on Tuesday or Wednesday. The college football coach doesn’t get to bounce back – it’s once a week, and with only 11 games there isn’t much room for error.
It’s a difficult job, though it definitely has its benefits. The pay is good, the perks can be outstanding, and you get your picture in the paper along with your own TV and radio shows. And, to be sure, college coaches know what they are getting into when they sign the contract.
At the University of Memphis, the college football coach has an additional job: He is expected to sell tickets. At least that’s what they told Chuck Stobart in 1994 after he finished his third consecutive 6-5 season in front of only 23,000 fans. It was a mistake. In fact, university president V. Lane Rawlins has admitted that he regrets making the comment about attendance. But Rip Scherer arrived in Memphis under those circumstances. Part of his job was to get out in the community (something Stobart didn’t do) and play an exciting brand of football that would bring fans to the Liberty Bowl.
So Scherer set out on the chicken-and-mashed-potato circuit, speaking to every group that asked. For the past three years he’s done as much speaking as he has coaching. That, too, was a mistake, but you can’t blame Scherer – he was just following orders.
After seeing Ron Cooper fired at Louisville last week, Scherer probably has a different perspective. “I’ve got to change my focus some,” Scherer vowed this week following his second consecutive 4-7 season. “I’m going to be less of a PR agent and more of a football coach. I just feel like I have to be a little more hands-on with our players.”
The lesson Scherer has learned is an old one: “People are going to come see you if you win,” he says. “It doesn’t matter how many groups you speak to, they are not going to come see you if you don’t win.”
Stobart was fired for being stubborn; that’s the simple truth. That’s the lesson Scherer can learn from his predecessor. When things aren’t working, you have to make changes. “Ground” Chuck refused to utilize the offensive coordinators who were forced on him by the school’s administration. He continued to run the football, even when it was obvious that he had neither the offensive line nor the running backs to be successful running. That is why he was fired.
In his final three seasons, Stobart was 18-15. In his first three seasons, Scherer is 11-22. Of those 11 wins, only two came against quality opponents – a 19-16 win at Missouri last year and, of course, the 21-17 victory over Tennessee last November. Scherer is 1-5 against SEC schools and 2-13 on the road. Attendance has not improved. The university announced 17,243 for the season-ending game against Southern Miss. Even if that number is accurate, it’s still 6,000 or so less than the small turnout for Stobart’s last game.
But all of that begs the question. Is the University of Memphis football program better off today than it was at the end of the 1994 season? Has Rip Scherer laid a foundation that will allow him to put winning teams on the field during the next two seasons?
The coach says yes. “We’ve come a long way in attitude, work ethic, and commitment. Those are things that don’t show up on Saturday afternoon sometimes,” he says.
Then, just as he did last year after the final game of the season, he made a promise: “The early turnovers hurt us. Between now and next August we are going to get that solved.”
The promise last year was to make the offense better. The coach accomplished that, almost exclusively through the efforts of quarterback Bernard Oden, who broke the single-season passing mark with 2,249 yards and accounted for 20 of the 27 touchdowns the team scored. Overall the Memphis offense moved up to 81st in the nation, nothing to brag about, but considerably better than the last three seasons when the Tigers ranked below 100.
Turnovers are a sore point with Scherer, who believes in playing error-free football. But Memphis turned the ball over 26 times in 1997, seven in the fourth quarter and 15 in Tiger territory.
The problems with the Memphis offense were inherited by Scherer: a weak offensive line and no running backs with breakway speed. Gerard Arnold did an adequate job, rushing for 613 hard-earned yards. But Arnold is 5-8, 208 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.6, both factors which limit the former walk-on.
The answer may be on the recruiting trail. Or it may come in the form of Jeff “Sugar” Sanders, a running back from Florida who did not qualify after signing with Memphis last spring. Scherer says Sanders is “real close” to becoming eligible. The coach hopes he is enrolled in time to participate in spring drills.
“He is a little faster than Gerard and more physical,” Scherer says. “He’s not as fast as Andre Woods, he’s not 4.4 fast, but he’ll be in the 4.5 range when he hits that crease.”
The offensive line, which has been shaky for at least five years, may be on the right track. “I’m not a bit concerned about the offensive line,” Scherer says. “I think the talent level of that group is potentially so positive that it outweighs the lack of experience they will have.” Among the redshirt freshman who will compete for a starting spot next year are Artis Hicks (6-4, 275), David Sherrod (6-5, 310), Jason Austin (6-4, 309), and, of course DeCourye Hampton (6-7, 325), the freshman from Westwood who wasn’t eligible this season. They will battle veterans Ron Sells, Taveres Middlebrooks, Tim Seymour, Lou Esposito, and possibly Travis Whitaker, who Memphis coaches hope will receive an extra year of eligibilty from the NCAA.
The strength of the offense (besides Oden) was the wide receivers. Back next year are Richie Floyd and Damien Dodson. Boo Blevins’ status will be determined at the end of the semester, according to Scherer. Also running back P.T. Jones will be moved to wide receiver.
Overall the offense gets a C- for 1997. But for a few mistakes here and there, the Tigers would have won five, six, maybe seven games. The mistakes keep the grade down, but the improvement gets them above a D.
Speaking of D, the Memphis defense was the surprise of the season, finishing 27th in the nation in total defense (35th in pass efficiency defense; 68th in rushing defense). With nine starters back and several redshirt freshman ready to play, the Memphis defense looks as strong for the future as it has been in the past. Give them a B.
Special teams were an adventure all year. Punting started off strong, but slipped later in the season. Net punting ranked 46th in the country. Kickoff returns ranked 42nd, and the team finally seemed to find a return man in the speedy P.T. Jones. In punt returns the team ranked a surprising 16th, with Damien Dodson settling into that job by mid-season. Overall, however, there were too many misplayed punts, especially early in the season. A punt returned for a touchdown at Cincinnati contributed to that hearbreaking loss. Give special teams a C.
At 4-7 this was a C- team, and that is probably being too generous. The Tigers played hard all season, but they made too many mistakes. Three losses were decided by three points each. If Memphis had played error-free in those games they might be looking at a 7-4 year instead of a 4-7.
And how do we rate the head coach after three seasons on the job? Of the 100 players on the team at the end of the year (including walk-ons), 71 were freshman or sophomores. This year’s senior class was small. Next year’s will be minuscule. Only seven or eight players in next year’s senior class will be expected to contribute. These are the final players left over from the Stobart era.
Scherer’s grade (and ultimately his job) depends on how well the underclassmen perform over the next two seasons. If they are as good as the coach thinks, Tiger football is well on its way to success. If not, they’ll bring another coach to the University of Memphis and ask him to overcome obstacles such as poor facilities and lukewarm community support. That’s the bottom line in coaching. Win or leave.
Like most football coaches, Scherer can be a real hard-ass. Sometimes that may work against him. Players fall into disfavor for one reason or another and are not seen or heard from for long, long periods of time. Rashad Bailey made a couple of starts at fullback early this season and was then relegated to the end of the bench. Scherer says it was because he didn’t practice well and wasn’t blocking well. Against Southern Miss, Bailey reappeared (after Brandon Tucker fumbled) and looked like the decent runner he is, gaining 32 yards on just seven carries.
Then there is the case of Bernard Oden, whose first start was against Southwestern Louisiana on September 16, 1995. Memphis won, but Oden, then a sophomore, made mistakes, threw interceptions. He didn’t start again for 19 games. Was that the right decision? Would Oden have been better this year if he had continued as the starting quarterback through that 3-8 season in 1995? Or was it Scherer’s tough love that brought Oden to this record-breaking season?
That’s what’s so tough about being a head football coach. So many decisions. Scherer came close this year. A play here or there and he might have had the breakthrough season he was hoping for. Recruiting, spring practice, and then it’s off to Oxford to start season number four.
There is one thing I know Scherer is doing better than his predecessor: He’s recruiting kids with character. “There were a bunch of thugs here when I first arrived,” a redshirt senior confided to me earlier this year.
But recruiting kids who have good character is only one part of Scherer’s job. He has to win. The proof is in the pudding and, at the risk of copping out, we give the coach an I.
Tune in next year. n

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