Baylor coach Roberts fired
Posted: Monday December 07, 1998 10:20 AM
WACO, Texas (AP) -- Baylor hired Dave Roberts as its football
coach because he was considered a top recruiter with a creative
offensive philosophy.
On Sunday, Roberts was fired, apparently because the program
wasn't improving in either area.
The Bears went 2-9 in each of Roberts' two seasons. Athletic
director Tom Stanton said Roberts would be reassigned and a search
for a replacement would begin today. No candidates were immediately
identified.
"We're at the bottom right now, so there's only one way to go
and that's up," sophomore cornerback Gary Baxter, the first
Roberts recruit to earn all-conference honors, told the Waco
Tribune-Herald. "Everyone faults coach Roberts, but it's really
not coach Roberts. Most of the time it's players and other things.
But it just so happens he's the head coach, and he's got to take
the blame for everything."
Stanton informed Roberts of his decision in a meeting Sunday,
and later met separately with the assistant coaches and players.
Roberts told the team of the move shortly before Stanton spoke.
"It's kind of a shock to us to hear him say that he wasn't
going to be with us for next year," said junior lineman Tyshaun
Whitson, a Roberts junior college recruit. "He talked to us for a
few minutes about the situation and told us to have a good season
and keep working hard in the classroom."
Speculation of a replacement centered in recent weeks on former
Alabama coach Gene Stallings, who retired to his ranch outside
Paris, Texas, after leaving the Crimson Tide two years ago.
Stallings has reportedly denied having any contact with
representatives of Baylor.
The school issued a four-sentence statement about the change,
noting that because Roberts is still under contract, the school
said he would be reassigned to "other responsibilities at the
university."
Roberts was hired following the firing of Chuck Reedy after
Baylor went 4-7 in 1996. Roberts beat out Navy's Charlie Weatherbie
and current Arkansas coach Houston Nutt for the job.
Roberts, who developed a reputation as a great recruiter during
head coaching stints at Western Kentucky and Northeast Louisiana,
had spent the previous three seasons as Lou Holtz's offensive
coordinator at Notre Dame.
He brought a commitment to install a wide-open passing game, but
the Bears struggled offensively in his first season and stalled
this year with inconsistent play at quarterback and offensive line.
They finished near the bottom of the national rankings in both
offense and defense en route to a third straight last-place finish
in the South Division of the Big 12.
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