Butch Jones New Marshall Football Coach? Why Not Bobby Pruett?

An enormous amount of wind is being blown around in Huntington, W. Va. Many people want to see Central Michigan head football coach Butch Jones come to take over the helm of the sinking ship we call the Thundering Herd.

Am I opposed to Butch Jones? Yes. Yes, I am.

Reason No. 1 one is that we must play the waiting game to see if the Cincinnati Bearcats will take Jones or gamble instead on East Carolina coach Skip Holtz.

The Bearcats job recently became vacant when head coach Brian Kelly went to “greener” pastures at Notre Dame.

The second reason I am against his hiring is that there is a man in Huntington who is very familiar with success and with the Thundering Herd. Coach Bobby Pruett is very interested in the job.

Pruett, a graduate of Marshall University, coached the team from 1996 until 2004 when he retired due to health reasons. During his tenure Pruett had an incredible 94-23 record, two undefeated seasons, a No. 10 finish in the country (I-A), a I-AA National Title in 1996, won six conference championships, and took the Herd to seven bowl games, winning five.

As of late, he was the defensive coordinator in 2008 for the University of Virginia under his friend and head coach Al Groh.

I am not alone in wishing Pruett would get the nod. A group of financial supporters in Huntington said they would pay Pruett’s salary for three years if they would hire him. The problem is that Marshall president Steve Kopp has ruled out any chance of a comeback of Coach Pruett. I do not know what his problem with Pruett could be. He was nowhere near Marshall when Pruett retired after the 2004 season.

Jones clearly is a much younger man than Pruett, however, if youth was the main concern, we could have hung on to Mark Snyder.

It is still unclear in what manner he left the team. ESPN had reported that he was fired, while the Herald Dispatch reported that he resigned. I haven’t heard of a coach resigning and being paid out the three years remaining on a contract.

Pruett coached three Heisman Trophy contenders and two finalists in Randy Moss, Chad Pennington, and Byron Leftwich. Leftwich missed the invite to New York by one man.

When Snyder was hired five years ago to replace Pruett, there were high hopes that the Marshall graduate would be able to replicate the success he had enjoyed with head coach Jim Tressel at Ohio State, which included a national title.

Throughout all the interviewing, job changing, and redirection of programs, you must feel sorry for the Central Michigan Chippewas, Brian Kelly was there for three years compiling a 19-16 record. He was snatched up by the Bearcats and has won two consecutive Big East titles.

Upon Kelly’s departure, the Chippewas hired Butch Jones who is 26-13 in three years, driving them to three bowl games. He is apparently destined to be somewhere else in 2010. Could that be Huntington, W. Va.?

Please visit my Web site where this article was first published.