The simplest explanation for a question or problem is usually the best answer.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t come up with that. Credit Occam\u2019s razor. It\u2019s been around for centuries, and in most cases, it works.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll apply that theory to the firing of Dave Simmons as McNeese\u2019s head basketball coach.<\/p>\n
After 12 seasons, Simmons simply didn\u2019t win enough games, and college basketball on any level is a business about winning and losing. \u201cIn our profession, you have to win games, and we didn\u2019t get to the tournament (this season). That would have been a big plus, to get to the tournament. We didn\u2019t win enough games. It\u2019s our job as a coaching staff to put together a good product and win basketball games,\u201d Simmons proclaimed in an exclusive interview with Lagniappe.<\/p>\n
In his first public comments to the media, Simmons told me he wasn\u2019t really surprised by the decision \u201cbecause you can\u2019t control the things out of your control and out of your hands.\u201d Following two straight seasons with under-10 wins (9-20 in 2015-16 and 7-22 in 2016-17), Simmons knew he was under the gun to win this season and post a record good enough to withstand the glare of critical inspection.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew it would be a big year on the win and loss column going in. Obviously, that was McNeese\u2019s decision. Some things I can worry about I can control and there are things I can\u2019t control. Based on the administration\u2019s decision, I am not the coach at McNeese,\u201d Simmons said.<\/p>\n
His Cowboys competed early in the season with non-conference big boys Houston and San Diego State \u2014 both NCAA Tournament teams \u2014 along with North Carolina Central, also in the tournament. McNeese hung close to NIT Tournament qualifier and 25-game winner U.L.-Lafayette in the CajunDome as the Cowboys were working their way toward the conference schedule. Simmons takes a measure of pride in pointing out McNeese notched a nine-point win on the road against SLC Tournament finalist Southeastern Louisiana, handing SLU one of their three league losses. (The Lions missed an NCAA bid themselves\u00a0after losing to Stephen F. Austin in the SLC finals.)<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably the difference between me sitting here with or without a McNeese shirt on today is one or two losses. Two or three possessions. One or two free throws. We had opportunities to win more games. We were still young, and most coaches didn\u2019t want to face us because when we played well, we were very good. I thought we had an opportunity if we got to the tournament, but we didn\u2019t get there,\u201d Simmons said flatly.<\/p>\n
For some reason beyond me, McNeese athletic director Bruce Hemphill chose not to hold a press conference to announce the decision to fire Simmons and to use that forum to at least thank the long-time Cowboys coach for his 12 seasons and hard work. Instead, the university released a three-paragraph statement, which included this from Hemphill.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would like to thank coach Simmons for his commitment to McNeese and to his student athletes. Following a comprehensive evaluation of the men\u2019s basketball program, I believe that it is time to move in a new direction. We appreciate coach Simmons\u2019 work in improving our basketball team\u2019s Academic Progress Rate.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a pretty cut and dried cutting of the cord and comes straight out of the AD\u2019s handbook of clich\u00e9d statements on making a coaching change.<\/p>\n
It was an unceremonious firing to say the least. Simmons deserved better.<\/p>\n
That doesn\u2019t mean the move and decision were unwarranted. The wins and losses didn\u2019t add up in favor of Simmons, and the 58-year-old veteran coach knows that. His final season ended at 11-17 overall, with the team tied for eighth in the SLC, with an 8-10 record that left them just short of making the post-season tournament. His overall 154-211 record weighed against him in the end.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwelve years is quite a long time for any coach in the type of profession we\u2019re in. It\u2019s been good. No complaints. There are some things you can look at, and what you could have done differently and better, but it\u2019s always like that when you look back with 20-20 hindsight.\u201d<\/p>\n
With that same hindsight, it could have been handled differently, and not with a press release under the cover of a Sunday night. A 30-minute afternoon press conference to face the microphones and cameras; show some appreciation after a decade-plus of coaching; shine a spotlight on the program by announcing a national search for a successor; would not have been that difficult.<\/p>\n
What has been difficult is establishing a consistent winning culture \u2014 building a foundation of success that would springboard from one season to the next, and, of course, fill more seats at Burton Coliseum.<\/p>\n
Simmons has been at the center of this culture conundrum at McNeese since being named head coach in 2006;\u00a0 longer than that if you count his years as an assistant coach under Steve Welch in late 1980s and early \u201890s, when he helped guide the Cowboys to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.<\/p>\n
He marked only two winning records over those 12 years, with the best season coming in 2010-11, when the Pokes went 21-12 and won the Southland Conference regular season title, earning Simmons SLC Coach of the Year honors.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a grind to win games year in and year out. But many in leagues like the Southland and Sun Belt struggle to get above .500 because they have to play a bevy of guaranteed money games against bigger schools on the road to help subsidize the budget. To get your team above water, you almost have to dominate your conference schedule to make up for early season losses. That\u2019s hard to do consistently in the SLC, because the league teams tend to beat up each other and split home and away series.<\/p>\n
The Southland also seems to have a winning bias toward the Texas-based schools because of their larger size and money to match. Bigger budgets do affect wins and losses; that\u2019s evident with Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin\u2019s recent success in football and basketball respectively.<\/p>\n
Head coaches from SLC teams in Louisiana have to work harder and log more hours raising money and figuring out ways to beef up the budgets. Just ask McNeese\u2019s Lance Guidry in football and Justin Hill in baseball. James Landreneau, heading up the highly successful, nationally ranked, Cowgirls softball program, is not immune, along with men\u2019s and women\u2019s golf, track and field and tennis coaches.<\/p>\n
Simmons won\u2019t come out and say that playing at Burton Coliseum was a heavy burden on the program, but he does admit he had to overcome challenges of inconsistencies about where and when the team could practice; scheduling conflicts at Burton; and, of course, those long stretches of road games.<\/p>\n
That, coupled with internal and state cuts to an already depleted budget, didn\u2019t help with trying to keep up with the Joneses in Texas.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery sport and coach at McNeese would say they need more money for their program, but with basketball, I would say they need more budget for salaries, recruiting and the whole gamut. For the next coach, they need to invest in that area. I know the administration knows that, but they need to find a solution,\u201d advised Simmons.<\/p>\n
The new multi-purpose, on-campus arena opening later this year will solve a number of issues \u2014 most notably by offering a consistent and nearby place to practice, play and market the basketball programs. Simmons is understandably disappointed that he will not have the chance to lead the Cowboys into a new era with the multi-million-dollar arena.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery coach will want to open a new facility. I know the impact of it. You\u2019re close to campus. Your students can get there. You can create a culture involving the students and get a buzz from that. That was one of our goals at the beginning of the year \u2014 to be the coaching staff to enter the new arena and set the culture for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Simmons, a native of DeRidder, smiled with pride, citing the fact he coached through three athletic directors (Sonny Watkins, Tommy McClelland and Bruce Hemphill), along with three school presidents. He will point to that SLC championship season in 2011 as a coaching milestone. But he\u2019s prouder of the number of players he\u2019s helped to successful careers in professional basketball overseas, in business professions, coaching, education and, of course, of the number of student athletes he\u2019s guided through graduation, and the role he played in setting up the next chapter in their lives as productive citizens, husbands and fathers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all about the kids. The passion they brought every day. You look back at that, and now they are not kids any more, they are men. So, when they come back in the office, it\u2019s a hug and \u2018How are you doing?\u2019 and \u2018How\u2019s the family doing?\u2019 We rarely talk much about basketball,\u201d Simmons says.<\/p>\n
You can sense the pride and glow this veteran coach possesses when he speaks of educating and coaching young men on basketball, and above that, teaching them life lessons they will carry long after their playing career ends. \u201cIt\u2019s a bond you build. [You\u2019re] brothers in arms. I tell them to always stay in touch with each other, because you never know when a call will help lift someone up. Those things don\u2019t add up to wins and losses, but for me it adds up in life.\u201d<\/p>\n
To a person, everyone I have spoken to about Simmons will tell you what a nice guy he is and will talk about the class and grace he carries. He ran his program by the book for 12 years without a hint of controversy. Simmons benched or suspended players who needed harsh intervention, and offered a comforting shoulder for those in need of his counsel.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s philosophical about the decision to replace him, saying \u201cthe grass may be greener for you here or greener somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Simmons, that somewhere else is still up in the air as far as his future in coaching is concerned. But he won\u2019t be unemployed for long. \u201cThere\u2019s opportunities out there, I\u2019m sure. The good Lord will move me in a direction, and that\u2019s where I\u2019m going. If this is where he wants me to be, then that\u2019s where I will be. Hopefully, it\u2019s still in coaching and helping young men. The 12 years in being a head coach is a lot of valuable experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t spend that many years wearing the blue and gold without getting those colors embedded in your heart. Simmons was quick to note that McNeese and the area have been very good to him and his family, and the returning players will always be connected to him. He will leave here wanting and wishing the best for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are a fraternity in coaching, and chances are I may know the guy that comes in. We are still a fraternity, and I want them (the Cowboys team) in a good position. I am still part of those kids in the McNeese program, and I want them to do good and be successful,\u201d Simmons pledged.<\/p>\n
You can\u2019t coach that kind of grace and class.<\/p>\n
Rick Sarro\u2019s perspectives and commentary can be heard on Soundoff 60 nightly, Monday through Sunday evenings, at 9 pm; broadcast on Suddenlink channel 4.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The simplest explanation for a question or problem is usually the best answer. I didn\u2019t come up with that. Credit Occam\u2019s razor. It\u2019s been around for centuries, and in most cases, it works. I\u2019ll apply that theory to the firing of Dave Simmons as McNeese\u2019s head basketball coach. After 12 seasons, Simmons simply didn\u2019t win [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":278,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[64,33],"yoast_head":"\n