Ben DeLuca fired

[scoop85]

E-mail sent out by Andy Noel:

"Dear Cornell Lacrosse alumni, parents and friends,

Earlier this morning, I relieved Ben DeLuca of his duties as head coach of Cornell Lacrosse. As many of you know, a decision to replace a coach is never an easy one and I trust that you will all understand that we did not make this decision lightly. Thanks in advance to the many of you who will extend Coach DeLuca support as he deals with this difficult outcome.

Offensive coordinator Matt Kerwick has accepted the role of interim head coach and will provide strong leadership as we move forward toward the 2014 spring season and defensive coordinator, Peter Milliman, will continue to lead the Big Red defense. A national search will commence immediately.

Our team members, especially seniors in their final year representing Big Red Lacrosse, must receive our continued support and commitment as they compete to leave their mark in program history. Every difficult challenge provides an opportunity to grow, sometimes in unforeseen ways. Resilience, optimism and unity are critical at this time and the umbrella of staunch support, consistently provided by our alumni and friends, provides a foundation that is needed and appreciated very much."

Andy

J. Andrew Noel, Jr.
Meakem-Smith Director of Athletics
& Physical Education
Cornell Athletics
Teagle Hall
Campus Road
Ithaca, NY 14853"

[ugarte]

Wow. He must have been caught lying or covering up the hazing incident.

[Rita]

E-mail sent out by Andy Noel:

"Dear Cornell Lacrosse alumni, parents and friends,

Earlier this morning, I relieved Ben DeLuca of his duties as head coach of Cornell Lacrosse. As many of you know, a decision to replace a coach is never an easy one and I trust that you will all understand that we did not make this decision lightly. Thanks in advance to the many of you who will extend Coach DeLuca support as he deals with this difficult outcome.

Offensive coordinator Matt Kerwick has accepted the role of interim head coach and will provide strong leadership as we move forward toward the 2014 spring season and defensive coordinator, Peter Milliman, will continue to lead the Big Red defense. A national search will commence immediately.
...... (rest of the letter deleted)......

Is this fallout from the hazing incident(s) earlier this fall?

[Trotsky]

It aint good.  That's harsh language for a professional communique.  Note to self: do not use Andy for job reference...

[Townie]

Ben bordered on incompetent.  He angered many recruits and parents with poor communication and follow-up; I know this first-hand.  His recruiting efforts have been weak, and now that the Pannell/Mock class is gone, I don't expect them to remain dominant.  Clearly Tambroni was the force behind their strength.  Nothing personal against Ben, but I'm glad Andy fired him, and hopefully the program will be able to move forward again.

My sincerest best wishes go to Ben and his family.

[Redscore]

Ben bordered on incompetent.  He angered many recruits and parents with poor communication and follow-up; I know this first-hand.  His recruiting efforts have been weak, and now that the Pannell/Mock class is gone, I don't expect them to remain dominant.  Clearly Tambroni was the force behind their strength.  Nothing personal against Ben, but I'm glad Andy fired him, and hopefully the program will be able to move forward again.

My sincerest best wishes go to Ben and his family.

This is complete BS.  What a ridiculous post, incompetent, glad he was fired, and you end with your sincerest best wishes?  The whole hazing incident was a crock of **** and a witch hunt.  This was nothing more than a personal dislike combined with some spoiled brat kids and their parents creating a situation where a good guy lost his job.  How the heck does this help Cornell going forward.  If I'm a top coach or recruit, there's no way I want to come here given this crap.
Thanks for screwing up a proud, incredible tradition filled program Mr. Noel.

[margolism]

Given the unusual timing of this announcement, it would appear that something recently happened or was uncovered, leading to his dismissal.  If it had to do with the September hazing incident, my guess would be that new information surfaced that was damaging.  Then again, it could be something completely different, but obviously extremely serious.  

I thought Ben was a good coach, based on his high winning percentage, at least. Given that he is an alum and has strong metrics behind him, I am sure that this firing was not taken lightly.  I would also imagine that the AD and administration recognized the potential backlash that would result from his dismissal, and still felt this was necessary.

[Townie]

Ben bordered on incompetent.  He angered many recruits and parents with poor communication and follow-up; I know this first-hand.  His recruiting efforts have been weak, and now that the Pannell/Mock class is gone, I don't expect them to remain dominant.  Clearly Tambroni was the force behind their strength.  Nothing personal against Ben, but I'm glad Andy fired him, and hopefully the program will be able to move forward again.

My sincerest best wishes go to Ben and his family.

This is complete BS.  What a ridiculous post, incompetent, glad he was fired, and you end with your sincerest best wishes?  The whole hazing incident was a crock of **** and a witch hunt.  This was nothing more than a personal dislike combined with some spoiled brat kids and their parents creating a situation where a good guy lost his job.  How the heck does this help Cornell going forward.  If I'm a top coach or recruit, there's no way I want to come here given this crap.
Thanks for screwing up a proud, incredible tradition filled program Mr. Noel.

To conclude that this was all because of the hazing leads me to believe that you have little intimate knowledge of Ben as head coach, or his weaknesses in that role.  And ad hominen insults cast at the kids and Andy Noel add nothing.  Sure, universities will sacrifice a "fall guy" for incidents beyond their control for the sake of appearances, and had I not witnessed Ben's blatant unresponsiveness I might share your view.  The kid I referred to was initially contacted by Ben, whereupon Ben ignored EVERY response from the kid...for nearly a year.  Seeking to make a decision about the kid's education, the parents went through Athletics administration several times, but still no response from Ben.  It turns out this was not an isolated incident but a pattern; the hazing may have tipped the scales.  The kid was eventually recruited by Syracuse and is now on their team.  Cornell was his first choice, and he had the grades and board scores for a legitimate shot at admission.  By the time Ben contacted him, he'd already accepted Syracuse.  And by the way, this kid is an excellent lacrosse player who received a write-up in Inside Lacrosse magazine for his performance at the Blue Chip camp.  

I know Ben and like him, but I'm relieved he was let go because I believe (as do other lax supporters) that he was detrimental to the long-term health of the program.  Ben has 34 players.  In the last two years he recruited 15 players (6 sophomores and 9 freshmen).  By comparison, Syracuse has 17 freshman.  Of course quality trumps quantity, but his low numbers are symptomatic of his poor follow-up efforts, which show little respect to people making important decisions.  In my view, HE has done more to erode Cornell's status among recruits than anyone.

Finally, my judgment that his performance bordered on incompetence does not preclude me from wishing him well.  I like and respect Ben the man, but based upon my experience of him as recruiter/head coach (and other things I've heard from very trustworthy people), I believe his departure is a positive step for the program.  There's nothing "ridiculous" about that.

[Ken711]

Any thoughts on possible coaches that might be interested in the Cornell job?

[ithacat]

Any thoughts on possible coaches that might be interested in the Cornell job?

I'm guessing Tillman is too expensive.

[billhoward]

Any thoughts on possible coaches that might be interested in the Cornell job?

Cornell rides with Jeff Kerwick, the interim head coach, for the 2014 season. He's not a grad assistant kind of coach; he's Hobart '90 (Jeff Tambroni was '92) with a half-dozen college postings and 15 years as head coach. (Kerwick Bio) Maybe he's good enough to handle the job full-time. Maybe ex-coach Richie Moran, who's eternally young even if he's hit 70, steps into a more significant role as advisor, confidant, and proof that Cornell lacrosse continues on.

It's uncertain who'd jump ship from a full-time coaching position 3 months before the season starts to come to Cornell. It wouldn't help his reputation long-term. So maybe Cornell forgoes 2014 as a strong recruiting year in order to get the best coach possible in May or June 2014 and build for the future. [edit add:] And much as people disliking Andy Noel for making ushers be tough on Lynah spectators who allegedly drop the F-bomb, he does have a pretty good track record on hires. Give or take football, we have about as strong a sports program as any Ivy school.

[shamer2001]

those who follow cuse/cornell lacrosse know exactly the recruit to whom you are referring and it's not a very good comparison.  he is a very good player with good lax genes, but he was not highly recruited even after his pg year.  if ben wanted him, i'm sure he would have returned the attempts.  not a very good anecdotal comparison, esp when you consider ben brought in buczek and donovan and a lot of other very good talent.  a good recruiting class is not defined by its total number either.

the definition of a good coach comes from the results on the field and in the classroom.  ben did nothing but excel in both metrics.  his loyalty to school and players led him to coaching the past several seasons without a contract, but such loyalty was not returned to him.  he deserved better and will no doubt continue to excel wherever he ends up.

[billhoward]

Bloomberg story http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-15/cornell-lacrosse-alums-see-deluca-s-firing-as-threat-to-program.html quotes several players who say they weren't informed about the process or the reasons for his dismissal and that will hurt the Cornell program and relations with lax alumni. For instance, Max Seibald '09: "When you remove someone for reasons that are undisclosed to all of us, it's tough for us to swallow and tough for us to understand." But then there's Mike French '76, Cornell's greatest player ever give or take Rob Pannell '12/'13 '76 and Eamon McEneaney '77: "I don't need to know all the reasons why decisions are made," French, a former partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and owner of the National Lacrosse League's Philadelphia Wings, said in a telephone interview. "I'm a fan, and I trust that there's a process and I trust the people that make those judgments."

It's unlikely Cornell is going to formally detail to alumni the reasons for the dismissal and it's equally likely they'll learn through the grapevine what happened.

(Seems unusual, Bloomberg covering lacrosse, and it's going to get rarer: NYT reports Bloomberg is laying off staff in sports and arts/culture to concentrate on its core, business news. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/19/business/media/bloomberg-lays-off-staff-in-sports-and-culture.html?smid=pl-share )

[TimV]

It's unlikely Cornell is going to formally detail to alumni the reasons for the dismissal and it's equally likely they'll learn through the grapevine what happened.

Strange...they're always so communicative during fundraising time in the spring...:-(

[RichH]

So. Anybody know how satisfied Coach Tambroni and his wife are in Happy Valley?

Sorry. This DeLuca news just reminded me how devestated I was after learning that Tambroni news back then, and now it's hitting me doubly so.