No more than a week following the resignation of longtime head football coach Jim Grobe, Wake Forest University has found its man.
Athletic director Ron Wellman will formally introduce Dave Clawson as the new head coach of the Demon Deacons on Dec. 10. Clawson formerly held the same position at Bowling Green State University, and led the Falcons to the MAC Championship just this past week.
So, what does any of this have to do with Elon University and its pursuit of a new head football coach? Well, a lot actually.
Prior to interviewing Clawson, Wellman interviewed former Elon head coach and current Ball State University head coach, Pete Lembo. He seemed to be the frontrunner for the Wake job until Clawson and Bowling Green upset Northern Illinois University in the MAC Championship game. Lembo and Ball State lost to Northern Illinois in November.
https://twitter.com/WakeFB/status/410415116446728192
Should Lembo have left Ball State for Wake, he most likely would have taken Rich Skrosky and Jay Bateman with him. Skrosky and Bateman are his offensive and defensive coordinators, respectively, and also happen to be prime candidates for Elon’s job. Lucrative new contracts and a pay raise would have made it in both Skrosky’s and Bateman’s best interests to continue with Lembo in Winston-Salem instead of returning to Elon.
While Lembo is considered possibly the leading candidate for the University of Connecticut job, the benefits would not nearly be as good for Bateman and Skrosky to follow him there as it would have been at Wake. The American Athletic Conference (AAC), which UConn is a member of, is not as nationally respected as the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) when it comes to football.
While it’s still possible for them both to continue on with Lembo, this makes it more likely that Bateman primarily would take the Elon job.
Bateman has expressed interest in Elon, and served as defensive coordinator for the Phoenix during the Lembo era. His recruiting ties to the area are strong, and bringing in recruits from the state could be beneficial to the program in the long run. Bateman’s availability on the market may hinge on Lembo and his future, though.
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Another name that has emerged for as a candidate at Elon is Mike Houston, current head coach of Division II Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina. Houston has guided the Bears to a 28-7 mark in his three years, and currently has the team preparing for the NCAA Division II Semifinals on Dec. 14. He won the school’s first South Atlantic Conference Championship since 1994 in his first season and guided the team to its first postseason berth in 50 years during his second year at the helm.
Houston is accustomed to turning programs around, and knows the area and state well. He was the head coach at T.C. Roberson High School in Asheville from 2001-2005.
Jamey Chadwell, head coach of Charleston Southern University, was rumored to be a candidate shortly after the dismissal of Jason Swepson. Kerwin Bell of Jacksonville University and Bowling Green offensive coordinator Warren Ruggiero are the latest names to surface in the Elon hunt.
It’s rather ironic how the situation at Wake Forest and Lembo, who brought the Phoenix national attention during his tenure as head coach, has influenced this coaching search as well. Lembo reportedly interviewed with Connecticut this past week, so his situation with that position will be important to follow.
With this being a critical time for recruiting, Elon should have a coach in place within the next two weeks.
Stay with The Pendulum during the next two weeks as Elon prepares to hire a new head football coach. Keep up to date on Twitter by following @pendulumsports and @elonpendulum.