Pittsburg State Finds New Head Coach at Home

PITTSBURG, KS - When the program with the second most wins (457) among all active Division II programs replaces a coach after 20 seasons, it makes the news. When it comes on the heels of his first losing season (5-6) and an arrest for DUI, it's something of a minor sensation.

When Pittsburg State head coach Chuck Broyles was arrested for DUI on November 23, it capped a season most in Pittsburg, Kansas would like to forget. Broyles had announced his intention to stay on as head football coach on Nov. 5, but announced his retirement at a PSU press conference less than a month later on Dec. 2 (Broyles is also the Athletic Director at PSU, but has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of his DUI case).

Broyles' offensive coordinator, Tim Beck, was announced as his replacement on December 9 Beck, who has 22 years of experience as an assistant coach at Pittsburg State had been named acting head football coach when Broyles retired a week earlier.

"I want everyone here to know that I am very passionate about PSU football," Beck said at the press conference introducing him at the new Gorilla head man. "I believe the formula for success is a very simple one: hard work. Every single player and coach on our football team will have great work ethic, and if they don’t have it we will help them obtain it.

"I understand that our team will be measured by wins and losses but our goal is this: improve every day. Improve as a student, improve as a citizen, improve as a teammate, improve as a family member and improve as a player. There are still a lot of improvements to be made after a win," Beck added.

Worthy of noting is PSU's lack of a national coaching search. When a tradition-rich and historic football program like Pittsburg State goes looking for a new coach, one might expect to see a long, exhaustive search for the best possible candidate. Apparently, PSU President Steve Scott felt that the best candidate for the job was already working in the PSU family.

A few other programs have done similar things when it comes to hiring new coaches. Grand Valley State hasn't hired outside of its football family since Tom Beck (no relation to Tim Beck) in 1985 (Tom Beck's assistant Brian Kelly was the next head coach, and Kelly's assistant Chuck Martin is the current head coach).

Regardless of PSU's methods at finding their new coach, the hiring of Tim Beck is a statement in favor of Gorilla status quo. Broyles led his team to 19 winning seasons over 20 years, including a Division II National Championship in 1991 (in only his second season), and championship game appearances in 1992, 1995, and 2004 while amassing a 188-47-2 (.797) record. Beck's job seems clear: keep the winning tradition alive at Pittsburg State.