Coach Benson Resignation Thread

[GIGAFAN99]

ntbhoyas said:

I think this decision was overdue.

I think "overdue" is overused in situations like these. This guy got us to the Patriot League and spearheaded the new stadium like you say.

I thought it was a perfect time for Esherick (following losing season to show we're serious, New Big East structure secure, Roy and Jeff coming in). This is similar with Benson (last in offense but new AD and a new stadium, Ivies on schedule). It was a good move at this point.

But let's not forget the first part of Benson's career. He was very important to rebuilding Hoya football.

[hoyaboy1]

I for one hope the new coach comes from outside the program.

[g2]

If there was an interim coach announced, I'd hold out hope for the assts. "National search" is footballspeak for a new staff.

[whitestripe]

I happen to know of a guy at Akron that will probably be the leading candidate if he wants the job.

[Joe Hoya]

I am willing to take the job. I'll have graduated by May (hopefully), I've seen plenty of football games, experienced many winning seasons following the Eagles, and I led Georgetown to back-to-back-to-back National Championships in my third through fifth seasons of NCAA Football 2005. I expect to hear about my interview anytime now, Mr. Muir.

In all seriousness, good luck to Coach Benson wherever he goes or in whatever else he decides to do.

Also, where did we hear that Coach Uzelac was leaving? Or is he not (as of yet) and I'm misunderstanding what everyone is saying?

[fmrhoya]

whitestripe,

I really hope you are not referring to that ever so wise ex QB coach/OC who in his infinate wisdom thought that there were quarterbacks on the roster that were better than Dave Paulus.

There are a number of good candidates out there, and I think someone with no previous affiliation to Georgetown would be the way to go. We need a fresh start and a clean slate.

Coach and I had a rocky relationship, but his intentions were always noble, even if his methods were not always effective. I think that a D-coordinator job at a 1-A school would be ideal for him. He has a great defensive mind and I think will be a much more effective coach without all the administrative bs & pressure of being the head man. I wish him nothing but the best in his football career.

[SFHoya99]

joehoya said:

experienced many winning seasons following the Eagles,

No, thanks. I'd like to actually run the ball once or twice.

And since I grabbed 12 straight national titles with GU on simulate after having built up the team from a "cupcake" roster, I think I should be lead recruiter.

[lichoya68]

i am very sad to see coach benson go.. i think he was a tremendous person.. i know there are probably good reasons.. but on a personal level it think was one of the most class acts to be at georgetown.. two things i believe i will always remember.. and respect him for .. first how he dealt with the loss of his infant child and also had the team deal with it.. and second.. i think it was kim simmons if thats her name ..who when she first came talked about how coach benson reached out to help her personally and professionly ..and she said what other college football coach would do that for a new womens lax and field hockey coach . he even baby sat her child once in a pinch.... so i know nothing of football.. but ill always remember him as a class act .. tremendous hoya.. and very good person.. sorry the football did not work out.. and we are moving on... which its been decided we need to do . but go hoyas... go coach this is one hoya who will always respect you

[RBHoya]

By all accounts, Benson is a really good guy who did a lot of good things for the program before I took an interest in it. I think it's pretty obvious from this year's team that he knows defense. I am sure that there is a nice Coordinator position out there for him somewhere, and he will do a real nice job at it.

But I have to say that I am intrigued by the direction in which the program can potentially go now. I too am hoping we get a new coach from outside the program, someone who can inject some excitement and life back into the program. From what I know of Mr. Muir, I think he'll make a good choice. I'm interested to see how this shakes out.

[Joe Hoya]

Well SF, if I get the job, you're hired.

We DID run the ball...ALOT...over the last four years. We could use a little of the "air-it-out" mentality in the coaches box, although I favor a more balanced attack.

I coulda won more titles, I just started playing College Hoops 2K5 instead .

[jerseyhoyafan]

I heard today Coach Benson resigned and that about a week ago Coach Uzelac was terminated and Coach Perry has left to go to Hofstra. Can anyone shed any light on this. Thanks

[WesCoast]

If coach Perry joined the staff at Hofstra, he's moved on to greener pastures... and a good coaching opportunity:

Hofstra press release, Hempstead, NY --
"Dave Cohen, defensive coordinator at the University of Delaware, has been named Hofstra University Head Football Coach, Pride Director of Athletics Jack Hayes announced today. Cohen, who becomes the seventh head football coach in the program's 65-year history, replaces Joe Gardi who retired at the end of the 2005 season after 16 years at the helm.

Cohen, 39, widely-regarded as one of the top I-AA defensive coaches in the country, returned to Delaware for a second stint in 2002 after serving on the Blue Hen football staff for five seasons from 1994-98 as linebacker and defensive line coach. His defensive schemes played a big part in Delaware posting a 15-1 record and capturing the NCAA I-AA national title in 2003."

[halum]

Benson did a lot for the program and did a great job. He seems to be a good guy and pushed a lot for the future of Georgetown football.

Unfortunatley I think things in his personal life in the last two years took away from his work and focus on the program. Not such a great guy in our eyes - He did have some other priorities other than football the last few years. We wish him well and hope that he has success in his future football experiences.

Edited. Note to readers: A coach or player's personal issues are generally off-topic for this board. Thanks for your assistance in this matter.--Admin

[FormerHoya]

FLHoya put this in another thread in the HoyaBlue Suggestion Box, but I like it, and I think it oughta be reposted here:

Coach Benson spoke at Hoya Blue's opening meeting in 2001, my sophomore year at Georgetown. It was actually a pretty good speech, although I probably appreciated his dry/sarcastic style more than most people. Great guy though from almost every account I hear.

The Homecoming game my freshman year when we beat Butler 57-56 in OT remains the best college football game I've seen in person. And I was at Harbin Field in 2002 for Georgetown's first Patriot League victory, a 32-31 victory over Bucknell:

With 13 seconds remaining in the game and the Hoyas trailing 31-26, senior quarterback Dave Paulus connected on a 19-yard lob pass with junior Walter Bowser in the back left corner of the endzone. The completion capped an 81-yard drive that included two fourth-down conversions. When a last gasp by the Bison fell short, the Hoyas stormed the field and showered Head Coach Bob Benson with Gatorade, wildly celebrating their first win against a Patriot League team since defeating Holy Cross 34-16 in 1999.

www.thehoya.com/sports/102902/sports1.cfm

The funny thing is, despite the poor records for the six years I've been coming to GU Football games, there were a decent number of legitimately great finishes: the above two, the 15-13 Duquesne win (the margin being a blocked PAT returned for 2), and the Fordham and Duquesne games this year come to mind.

But there's never really was that connection between the football team and the student body. The HB opening meeting the following year brought us the infamous "nobody cares about the football team" comment. And, I swear, try as they might, and I know they did cause I was there, even this year's group of Hoya Blue never could get something beyond themselves and a few friends to actually come to games besides Homecoming and the first half of Brown/MSF opener. It was a frustrating thing to be at the second to last home game this year and it's the same 20 students at the game and nobody's coming to the Hoya Blue BBQ and people are openly questioning whether the whole thing's even worth promoting.

Now that's not Benson's fault. There's a bunch of reasons why GU football is an enormously tough sell--from the lack of an institutional committment to students who just don't like football to students who like BCS Conference football on TV to, of course, losing records.

But through all of that, there's been one person who's been the single best salesperson this school could have ever asked for its football program. And that's Coach Benson. I want to echo what Austin said--even if our record on the field is less than modest, this program is where it is right now, playing in a new (well, getting there) stadium, in Division I-AA, in a much better I-AA conference than the year before I came to GU, b/c of Bob Benson. He deserves thanks for that at the very least. And for me personally at least I'd add for some pretty nice endings to some games.

Wish he'd been around for when the team finally does break through, but I'm not shocked at all that the hammer fell when it did.

Something to think of though--whoever the next coach is, maybe it's time to really think hard about how to build support in the student body for his team. Hoya Blue does such a great job in its relationship with the basketball program, and had great success with soccer this year. I hope that the next football coach can do even a fraction of what JT3 did for building excitement around the program and getting students back into the MSF...for, uh, the first time.

[mit0313]

Edited. See above.--Admin

[RockawayHoya]

I was at that Duquesne game; I believe it was Byron Anderson, who lived on the same floor as I did freshman year in New South, who took the blocked PAT back for the winning margin. Quite a game.

As for Coach Benson, I remember hearing him speak at least 2 or 3 times at functions like NSO/Hoya Blue/etc. over the years, and I can remember being extremely impressed by the man each and every time. I didn't follow the football team as closely as many others on this board, but it was evident that he was great both for the Georgetown football program as well as the university. Wish him nothing but the best.

[FormerHoya]

This from the Gridiron Club:


Dear Hoyas,

By now I am sure most of you have heard the news that Coach Bob Benson has resigned after 13 seasons as Head Coach of Georgetown’s football program. On behalf of the Gridiron Club, I would like to extend my deepest thanks to Coach Benson for all he has done for Georgetown Football and Georgetown University.

In the past few days, I have had the opportunity to speak with many former players, alumni and parents. The overwhelming sentiment has been that everyone truly enjoyed the Georgetown Football experience under Coach Benson. Coach Benson’s accomplishments on the Hilltop are many, including winning league championships, setting numerous individual and team records, entering into the Patriot League, competing against Ivy League opponents and putting the bricks in the ground for our new stadium. Father Leo O’Donovan once spoke at the Gridiron Club Reception at the BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Tournament and called Coach Benson an ambassador for the University. Coach Benson will certainly be remembered in the history of Georgetown Football.

I spoke to Coach Benson this week, and although there is a lot of emotion surrounding his decision, he feels that he and the program will both benefit from his move to explore other opportunities. He made it very clear that he fully supports Athletic Director Bernard Muir and the future of the program.

I also spoke to Georgetown Director of Athletics Bernard Muir, and he is committed not only to Georgetown Football but also to, “Winning the Patriot League.” Muir has initiated a national search and hopes to have a coach selected in the near future.

Coach Benson had a profound effect on the Hoya program, but, more importantly, he had a profound effect on his players. He made the football experience fun for the student-athletes, alumni, parents and fans. We wish him luck in his future endeavors.

On behalf of the Gridiron Club, Thank You Coach Benson!

Sincerely,
Chris Murphy (B‘93)
Gridiron Club President
[e-mail]

[ntbhoyas]

In response to GIGAFAN99: I think "overdue" is an accurate description.

He was the head coach during the MAAC years, when the gtown name alone brought in enough talent to beat most other teams in the league (teams with semi-competive basketball in DI who wanted to keep their football teams). But he clearly didn't prepare the team well enough for the new league, where football is taken more seriously. Georgetown has a dismal in-conference record that hasn't improved with recruiting, assistant coaching changes, or a new MSF. 6 years without any promise of improvement is not the "perfect time" to leave. it's overdue.

Not that he hasn't contributed, he has. he definitely played a part in bringing the new field to gtown, and convincing georgetown that a move to the PL was a good idea. But he didn't bring the team with him. I think he is a great fundraiser and has a good eye for the future, but a head coach in the PL has to be more.

In esherick's 6 years, he had a winning record and took the team to the sweet 16, and still is conidered unsuccessful as HC at gtown. Benson hasn't had a winning record since gtown got to the PL, and his record against PL teams in the MAAC was almost as good as it is now. give the guy credit, but lets not get carried away.

Like I said in my first post, I'm looking forward to a new coach and watching gtown play competitive football in the PL. gtown took a positive step towards that goal by starting the search for a new head coach.


[/quote]

I think "overdue" is overused in situations like these. This guy got us to the Patriot League and spearheaded the new stadium like you say.

I thought it was a perfect time for Esherick (following losing season to show we're serious, New Big East structure secure, Roy and Jeff coming in). This is similar with Benson (last in offense but new AD and a new stadium, Ivies on schedule). It was a good move at this point.

But let's not forget the first part of Benson's career. He was very important to rebuilding Hoya football.[/quote]

[GIGAFAN99]

ntbhoyas said:

In response to GIGAFAN99: I think "overdue" is an accurate description.

He was the head coach during the MAAC years, when the gtown name alone brought in enough talent to beat most other teams in the league (teams with semi-competive basketball in DI who wanted to keep their football teams). But he clearly didn't prepare the team well enough for the new league, where football is taken more seriously. Georgetown has a dismal in-conference record that hasn't improved with recruiting, assistant coaching changes, or a new MSF. 6 years without any promise of improvement is not the "perfect time" to leave. it's overdue.

Not that he hasn't contributed, he has. he definitely played a part in bringing the new field to gtown, and convincing georgetown that a move to the PL was a good idea. But he didn't bring the team with him. I think he is a great fundraiser and has a good eye for the future, but a head coach in the PL has to be more.

In esherick's 6 years, he had a winning record and took the team to the sweet 16, and still is conidered unsuccessful as HC at gtown. Benson hasn't had a winning record since gtown got to the PL, and his record against PL teams in the MAAC was almost as good as it is now. give the guy credit, but lets not get carried away.

Like I said in my first post, I'm looking forward to a new coach and watching gtown play competitive football in the PL. gtown took a positive step towards that goal by starting the search for a new head coach.

I think "overdue" is overused in situations like these. This guy got us to the Patriot League and spearheaded the new stadium like you say.

I thought it was a perfect time for Esherick (following losing season to show we're serious, New Big East structure secure, Roy and Jeff coming in). This is similar with Benson (last in offense but new AD and a new stadium, Ivies on schedule). It was a good move at this point.

But let's not forget the first part of Benson's career. He was very important to rebuilding Hoya football.[/quote][/quote]

So how long does a coach get when moving to a new league? 1 year? 2?

Benson was signed to a five-year deal with the Patriot milestone. That was pretty fair in my eyes. So after five years, he's gone.

Overdue? I guess if you would have given up on him immediately after moving to the new league. Otherwise, I thought this was handled pretty well.

He wasn't the man for the Patriot League in hindsight. But he deserved a real chance and he got it.

[DFW HOYA]

It's a semantic argument to say that Benson got a "real chance" to compete in the PL.

I have no doubt that if Georgetown competed at the same budgetary level with other PL schools, Bob would have won a PL title. Well, the plain fact is that Georgetown's budgetary level is not even close to the remaining PL schools and probably closer to an NEC school than a Patriot one. It's not impossible to recruit and retain players on a fraction of the budget of your competition and no permanent facility, but it's difficult nonetheless.

And just a comment/clarification for readers from Georegetown or elsewhere who assume Georgetown now has a "new stadium"--it does not.

What it has is 100 yards of FieldTurf and a few more temporary seats than the Fields Formerly Known As Kehoe and Harbin had. There is no stadium yet.

The Multi-Sport Facility (nee Field) was designed for permanent seating, lights for night games, offices, weight rooms, a press area (and not a figurative "box" as there exists today), all in a permanent structure that befits a Division I-AA program at this University. Until the money is raised, however, this does not yet exist.

The worst thing Georgetown can do is assume that the FieldTurf is enough and move on to any number of other pressing athletics needs. Bob Benson (and for that matter, David Sears as well) worked much too hard not to see Georgetown press ahead with a mandate to get this done, sooner rather than later.

This is the Multi-Sport Field:
guhoyas.collegesports.com/genrel/081505aaa.html?pic=1

This is the Multi-Sport Facility:
guhoyas.collegesports.com/facilities/gu-multi-sport.html