Anyone know if the Duke coach is stepping down/retiring ? I heard a totally unsubstantiated rumor from two disreputable sources that John Kerr - current Harvard Coach and former Duke player - is going to be their new coach.
Well, if Rennie is stepping down, I'd just haveta say "it's about time". He's been a fine, long-serving coach, but I think the intricate tactics used in the game today have perhaps passed him by.
This is the first I have heard of this rumor, in terms of it happening now. However, multiple times from multiple sources, I have heard that A) John Kerr, Jr. would like to coach at Duke. B) Duke would prefer to keep it in the family and Kerr was Player of the Year on their NCAA title team, so that's pretty in the family. C) That Duke has trouble attracting and keeping top assistants because they all know that when the old man does step down, they don't have a much of a chance to succeed him because of A and B. I've never heard this officially but I've heard it enough times from people in the know to figure there must be some merit to it. (Of course, by that rationale, that Richard Gere gerbil story is true!) Here are my thoughts. I would be surprised if he stepped down now. If Rennie was gonna walk away, why announce it in March? Why not give the new coach as much time on the job as possible to get going? Rennie has been doing this a long time. Along with Yeagley, Fred Schmalz at Evansville and Jim Lennox at Hartwick, Rennie has been at his current gig since the 70s. Yeagley is retiring after this year, and Schmalz and Lennox stepped down after last season. So, with so many of his contemporaries walking away, I could see Rennie doing the same thing. But, I would more likely expect to see it happen after the 2003 season than now. One other thing regarding Kerr - his wife, Tracy Kerr, is the head coach of the Providence women's team so if John, Jr. takes the Duke job, his wife is gonna have to quit her post as well. That means that if he gets the job now, three different group of freshmen will be playing for someone who didn't recruit them. I just don't see that happening. That said, when the Duke job does open up, I don't see Tracy's job getting in the way of John, Jr.'s. Tracy is a former UVa All American so she knows what it would mean to coach in the ACC and there are enough top colleges in the Triangle area - ACC and otherwise, plus the Courage plus top youth like CASL that she should be able to get a gig fairly easily. Plus, the cost of housing is MUCH cheaper in Carolina than it is greater Boston! BTW, if Rennie does step down, the Dean of ACC Coaches in terms of seniority would then be none other than our favorite (deservedly so) whipping boy, George Tarantini! SPeaking of which, with Lennox and Schmalz moving on and Yeagley stepping down, if Rennie does walk away, who will be the longest tenured coach in Division I men's soccer?
I hope he is done. I spent three years at the school and was not at all impressed with the tactics shown by the team. There was some talent on the teams I watched (B. Kelly, Ali Curtis, E. Whitfield). I think he is a very overrated coach. With an athletic legacy and facilities like Duke I would say the team has underacheived in the last ten or so years.
Rennie Rumors The impression is that Rennie is not looking at retiring for some time. He seems to have a very comfortable position there, and with some pretty good recruiting classes lined up, he should be at the helm to see the Blue Devils return to prominence in the ACC. John Kerr would be a great replacement in the future, but he is still getting his feet wet in college coaching. I believe that the Harvard job is his first coaching job, and he has done reasonably well in his first 2-3 years. Other candidates would have to be Ken Lolla (Akron head coach and US U-15 coach) and current assistant Mike Jacobs (former Iona head coach and top recruiter for the Blue Devils). With MLS job security being what it is, I wonder if Mike Jeffries would be interested in this position as well?
sandon's speculation there is no way that richard gere's gerbil is being considered for the Duke job. my sources say he has a shitty outlook on everything.
Re: Rennie Rumors Kerr's first season at Harvard was 1999 so this fall will be his fifth season as a head coach. I think that makes him seasoned enough to coach in the ACC. Compare his time as a head coach to the number of seasons as a college head coach that these coaches had before landing as a head coach in the ACC. Trevor Adair (4) Sasho Cirovski (2) George Gelnovatch (0) Jay Vidovich (0) Kerr was also a far more accomplished player (Milwall, US national team, MLS) than any of those four. While none of them have grabbed the brass ring, each of those coaches has been successful in their ACC gig, even to the point that you could argue that they've been more successful than John Rennie in the same time span. So, I don't think it's accurate to say that Kerr isn't seasoned enough to become the Duke coach. There's no way they go outside the family and hire a non-Duke graduate when there are so many qualified Dookies available. It's just not the school's style. So, regardless of how good a coach Mike Jacobs is, he is unlikely to get the job whenever the old man steps down. Lolla is definitely a potential replacement and being highly-regarded enough by Bruce Arena to get the U15 gig isn't going to hurt his chances. But, in 10 seasons at Akron he's only made the NCAAs twice, which is pretty underwhelming, especially since his contacts with the youth national team should be allowing him to get better players. Jeffries is an intriguing candidate and he's certainly the most qualified. But, A) I think he'll be successful enough in MLS to stick around awhile and B) I'm not sure his personality is suited to college coaching. Coaching 18-22 year olds requires a lot of motivational and interpersonal skills and that's not Jeffries strength as a coach. Jeffries has a very solid eye for talent, is very organized in training and is a good game-day tactician. But, his teams are often flat and it appears he hasn't quite figured out how to get them to run through walls. His approach seems to be "you're a pro, you should show up ready to play hard." Perhaps he would adjust this attitude with collegians, but I doubt it. Two other Dookies who may get some consideration is Tom Stone, the current coach of the WUSA's Atlanta Beat and former American men's coach Bob Jenkins. Stone was a member of the 86 title team and was a great youth coach before coming to the Beat. While most of his experience coaching is with women, I wouldn't rule out him being interested in returning to Durham. Jenkins was a Duke All American in the early 80s. He was Bruce Arena's assistant at UVa in the late 80s and early 90s before going to American, where he had several good years before abruptly quitting and moving to Vermont. He is now a USSF staff coach and Gelnovatch's assistant to the U18 team. Not sure why he left AU but if he still has the coaching bug, I could see him returning to Duke. As I said in my first post, I have heard nothing to indicate Rennie is stepping down, now or after this season. But, I would be surpised if it is before this season and whenever he does step down, I'll be surprised if he isn't replaced by John Kerr.