The Furman Athletic Department is in the market for a new men’s basketball head coach following Jeff Jackson’s resignation on Friday, March 22 after seven seasons with the team.
While Furman reports that Jackson resigned, sources have told CBSSports.com that Jackson was forced to resign, which is reasonable following a dismal 2012-2013 campaign in which the team went 7-24 overall.
Over his seven year tenure, Jackson led the Paladins to an 85-131 record, which included an extremely successful 2010-2011 campaign in which the Paladins won 22 games, resulting in a bid to the Collegeinsider.com tournament.
It also restuled in their first postseason appearance since 1991. However, this successful season would be his only campaign with a winning record and prove to be the peak of his success at Furman, as the program went downhill, winning a pedestrian 15 games in 2011-2012 before hitting rock bottom this 2012-2013 season.
Assistant coach Bob Richey has been named interim head coach while the search for Jackson’s replacement is conducted.
While names of potential candidates for the position have yet to be revealed, the Furman athletics department has made their search criteria clear as they look for a new coach to turn an underperforming and disappointing basketball program around.
According to Director of Athletics, Gary Clark, athletics administration will not be looking for a candidate who would be simply Jackson’s successor, but instead see the process of reviewing candidates “as an opportunity to re-brand Furman basketball”.
While there was no specific timetable given for the search and signing of a new head coach, Clark ensured that the search would start immediately, as the athletic department would begin making contact with potential candidates.
It is currently unclear how the resignation of Jeff Jackson and the hiring of a new head coach will affect recruiting for the program.
While recruits considering Furman who are still yet to make a decision may have second thoughts about coming to a school experiencing a major coaching and staff change, the three recruits in the class of 2013 that have already committed to Furman, have upheld their commitment thus far.
Many fans and people around the basketball program would agree that this change in the coaching staff was inevitable and necessary.
Unfortunately hitting the reset button on the coaching staff does not always lead to immediate success of a program, even if the new coach is a perfect match.
It often takes a few years for a coach’s particular system or style of play to be implemented in a basketball program, as the coach looks to fit the players he inherited currently on the roster into his particular system while beginning to recruit younger players specifically to fit the same system.
Furman anxiously await the selection of our new head men’s basketball coach.
There is no word yet on who may become the next men’s basketball coach, but hopefully the selection will move the program forward.
One can only hope that the athletic department will bring in the best candidate, someone who is capable of “re-branding” Furman basketball into a winning tradition.