Reno Ferri resigns

[GP1]

First off.....before all else.....anyone who knows Coach Ferri is fully aware of his dedication to Zips Football and the University as a whole! Anyone who has come in contact with Reno knows he is a stand up guy with the greatest of intentions. He's a West Point graduate, an Army football alumni with integrity and honor. His passion for coaching is evident. I find it very disheartening that those of you who have an opinion regarding his "resignation" are falling short of knowing any facts at all about what has taken place here. Does anyone find it coincidental that a new AD comes into town and people start getting investigated for level 2 recruiting violations with no proof or hard evidence that a violation has even occured? Let's take a look at the bigger picture here.....could the new AD be looking to "set the mood" in order to eliminate the entire football staff upon completion of the 09 season? Has Coach Ferri become the fall guy in the grand scheme of getting rid of the whole coaching staff? The sad truth of the matter is that Coach Ferri has no voice here. How unfortunate.Regardless of the agenda the new AD has, it doesn't change the fact that he tried to tarnish the integrity of a young coach at the beginning of a very promising coaching career. I know Coach Ferri will most definitely come out of this experience not just with a humble heart, but with more passion and desire for leading young athletes than ever before! Coach Ferri will most certainly come out on top of this one. And I wish him all the success that being a collegiate football coach has to offer.

Momma, on the one hand I agree that we are all speculating about what happened. It's a board forum, wherein people do that. On the other hand yours is the second post that infers that the new AD is up to no good, setting up an honorable coach in order to not only get rid of him but to supply the excuse for getting rid of the staff later on. I would suggest that you are speculating just as much on that point, and I would also argue that based on the Zips' performance on the field so far, the AD needs absolutely no "other" justification to let the entire staff go at the end of the season, beyond the simple fact that after 5+ years of JD and Co, the team is a disaster on the playing field. Why would Wistrcill need any more than that to remove any of the coaches at this point?STZ

Fans sometimes think firing a coach is like firing a regular employee where it takes months of back-up paperwork to fire them. Inreality, there are "outs" in the coaches contracts that are exercised when they are terminated. They can be fired at any time for any reason.I'd also like to clarify that my brilliant question raised on this thread. It's not that the new AD is up to no good, it may be that he is an overreacter. If that is the case, I worry about the guy being the AD. If this indeed turns out to be nothing, the new AD has made a huge mistake with Reno. Will his next big exective decision be to suspend KD for throwing an empty diet soda can in the trash instead of the recycling bin? Let's keep an eye on this guy. Something smells funny and it may be nothing, but let's be careful.

My problem is that this team has become such a mess that we don't know the extent of the problems at this point. Is it in the coaching? Are the right players being recruited? Are there other currents and undercurrents that are badly dysfunctional?

I think there are three problems with the team and the mess is easy to clean up at this point because there is talent on the team.1. The Zips are like the Dallas Cowboys. They have a lot of talent and not all of it is a fit for what they are trying to do. The Zips recruiting in recent years was like an NFL team that drafts "the best player available" instead of what they need. Draft what you need, not what looks good.2. JD's LOYALTY made him keep the last OC around too long and he was a drop back/traditional offense guy who didn't know what he was doing with the new offense. There is no rythm to the Zips offense and it has been years in the making. Someone else needs to come in and get things straightened out.3. JD's STUBBORNNESS with the 3-3-5 has created a soft culture on the team. It's not that the players are sissys or anything, it's that they are not being put in a position to be successful. This 3-3-5 has made the defense a "soft" defense and the offense is unable to knock anyone off the ball because the only time they compete against a physical team is in games.The Zips badly need a culture change. The problems are not in the talent on the field. The only way to get a culture change is to change the coach because he is too loyal and stubborn to change it himself.

[tbozeglav]

First off.....before all else.....anyone who knows Coach Ferri is fully aware of his dedication to Zips Football and the University as a whole! Anyone who has come in contact with Reno knows he is a stand up guy with the greatest of intentions. He's a West Point graduate, an Army football alumni with integrity and honor. His passion for coaching is evident. I find it very disheartening that those of you who have an opinion regarding his "resignation" are falling short of knowing any facts at all about what has taken place here. Does anyone find it coincidental that a new AD comes into town and people start getting investigated for level 2 recruiting violations with no proof or hard evidence that a violation has even occured? Let's take a look at the bigger picture here.....could the new AD be looking to "set the mood" in order to eliminate the entire football staff upon completion of the 09 season? Has Coach Ferri become the fall guy in the grand scheme of getting rid of the whole coaching staff? The sad truth of the matter is that Coach Ferri has no voice here. How unfortunate.Regardless of the agenda the new AD has, it doesn't change the fact that he tried to tarnish the integrity of a young coach at the beginning of a very promising coaching career. I know Coach Ferri will most definitely come out of this experience not just with a humble heart, but with more passion and desire for leading young athletes than ever before! Coach Ferri will most certainly come out on top of this one. And I wish him all the success that being a collegiate football coach has to offer.

Momma, on the one hand I agree that we are all speculating about what happened. It's a board forum, wherein people do that. On the other hand yours is the second post that infers that the new AD is up to no good, setting up an honorable coach in order to not only get rid of him but to supply the excuse for getting rid of the staff later on. I would suggest that you are speculating just as much on that point, and I would also argue that based on the Zips' performance on the field so far, the AD needs absolutely no "other" justification to let the entire staff go at the end of the season, beyond the simple fact that after 5+ years of JD and Co, the team is a disaster on the playing field. Why would Wistrcill need any more than that to remove any of the coaches at this point?STZ

STZ, JD & Co may not be getting the job done on the field, but is that a good enough reason to interrupt an ENTIRE season of play by eliminating a coach? It disrupts any chance of having any kind of success this season. Not to mention, Coach Ferri will most definitely be walking the streets jobless for a few months before coaching jobs open up in January. That does not seem like a well thought out decision to me. Let's think about those athletes for one minute.....isn't that what playing college football is all about? Think about what impact this situation may have had on you during your college football career....if your coach, whom you admired and respected was forced into a resignation two games into a season? These young men will move forward and continue working towards as many W's as they can get because they are resiliant and they have been working hard since the off season to achieve excellence. Momma

I sincerely hope that you have read the news story because, as we all know, Reno resigned under his own terms. In no way was it ever implied, nor should it be assumed at this point, that the AD forced him out. All that had been done up to this point (and to our knowledge) is that there was an open investigation internally regarding potential recruiting violations by Reno. As CK mentioned more than once, these violations appear to be minor in comparison to what we are used to hearing about recruiting violations in the news. I am saddened that he made the decision to leave, and will respect him as a person for doing it when it wasn't even called for. Do we know the entire story, whether there was some "forcing" going on? No, but assuming anything right now is purely speculation. If anything, I believe Reno resigned because he felt that doing so would help the university out the best. He probably knew that staying while being investigated for recruiting violations may make things extremely hard for this year's recruiting. I truly believe that the AD had no hand in Reno's resignation and that all he is trying to do is follow procedure with the investigation.

[GP1]

I truly believe that the AD had no hand in Reno's resignation and that all he is trying to do is follow procedure with the investigation.

If our procedure is to suspend coaches for extremely minor violations while the issue is being investigated, we need to revisit our procedures.When the AD throws a young coach under the bus and leaves him hanging to the point that the guy has to resign, I don't see how he couldn't have his hand in it either directly or indirectly. I have a feeling the new AD has really stepped in it here by throwing probably the only coach that could be considered a "fan favorite" under the bus.Another question...If this guy is a marketing genius, how come he could not see an overreaction to a minor situation in this case as a public relations disaster?

[g-mann17]

If our procedure is to suspend coaches for extremely minor violations while the issue is being investigated, we need to revisit our procedures.

Yep, I mean why would you tell a person who is just forgetting to put in one bolt in each car to completely stop what he's doing until they see if it's a problem?He works in recruiting, if there was even an ounce of suspicion that he is doing something wrong you have to stop it so that there are as few exposures as possible. That is just common sense. A violation is a violation and if there are a number of violations then that becomes something major. From all accounts Reno was a great guy with a very good work ethic. There are several reasons he might have decided to step down. Anywhere from feeling that he was burnt by the AD to just trying to save face. The fact is, we have no information other than "investigating possible recruiting violations" and "Reno Ferri resigns". Everyone is trying to make wild connections between the two things. We have every right to speculate, but remember that, it's just speculation.

[GP1]

If our procedure is to suspend coaches for extremely minor violations while the issue is being investigated, we need to revisit our procedures.

Yep, I mean why would you tell a person who is just forgetting to put in one bolt in each car to completely stop what he's doing until they see if it's a problem?

I hate to be the overreaction police again, but here it goes. If you forget to put a bolt in a car, someone can get killed. If you forget to use the right color pen, your company might lose it's ISO 9000whatever status and you get written up. Investigation is needed for the former and not for the second. From all accounts, Reno forgot to use the right color pen.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I truly believe that the AD had no hand in Reno's resignation and that all he is trying to do is follow procedure with the investigation.

If our procedure is to suspend coaches for extremely minor violations while the issue is being investigated, we need to revisit our procedures.When the AD throws a young coach under the bus and leaves him hanging to the point that the guy has to resign, I don't see how he couldn't have his hand in it either directly or indirectly. I have a feeling the new AD has really stepped in it here by throwing probably the only coach that could be considered a "fan favorite" under the bus.Another question...If this guy is a marketing genius, how come he could not see an overreaction to a minor situation in this case as a public relations disaster?

That is the issue. The alleged "compliance issue" is known by UA. I know for a fact that it is "minor," as defined by the NCAA. There are those who say "a violation is a violation." Ok...then murder and jaywalking are both crimes. If you walk out of the office @ 5pm with a Company Bic pen behind your ear...well...that's theft. I hate the fact that the University has elected to keep the investigation hush hush. It has become a public relations disaster. Not because of the alleged violation, but because of the way it is being handled.

[ZachTheZip]

His resignation is effective starting November 1st. Until that time he will remain suspended pending the investigation.

[dreal1scout]

First off.....before all else.....anyone who knows Coach Ferri is fully aware of his dedication to Zips Football and the University as a whole! Anyone who has come in contact with Reno knows he is a stand up guy with the greatest of intentions. He's a West Point graduate, an Army football alumni with integrity and honor. His passion for coaching is evident. I find it very disheartening that those of you who have an opinion regarding his "resignation" are falling short of knowing any facts at all about what has taken place here. Does anyone find it coincidental that a new AD comes into town and people start getting investigated for level 2 recruiting violations with no proof or hard evidence that a violation has even occured? Let's take a look at the bigger picture here.....could the new AD be looking to "set the mood" in order to eliminate the entire football staff upon completion of the 09 season? Has Coach Ferri become the fall guy in the grand scheme of getting rid of the whole coaching staff? The sad truth of the matter is that Coach Ferri has no voice here. How unfortunate.Regardless of the agenda the new AD has, it doesn't change the fact that he tried to tarnish the integrity of a young coach at the beginning of a very promising coaching career. I know Coach Ferri will most definitely come out of this experience not just with a humble heart, but with more passion and desire for leading young athletes than ever before! Coach Ferri will most certainly come out on top of this one. And I wish him all the success that being a collegiate football coach has to offer.

Momma, on the one hand I agree that we are all speculating about what happened. It's a board forum, wherein people do that. On the other hand yours is the second post that infers that the new AD is up to no good, setting up an honorable coach in order to not only get rid of him but to supply the excuse for getting rid of the staff later on. I would suggest that you are speculating just as much on that point, and I would also argue that based on the Zips' performance on the field so far, the AD needs absolutely no "other" justification to let the entire staff go at the end of the season, beyond the simple fact that after 5+ years of JD and Co, the team is a disaster on the playing field. Why would Wistrcill need any more than that to remove any of the coaches at this point?STZ

Fans sometimes think firing a coach is like firing a regular employee where it takes months of back-up paperwork to fire them. Inreality, there are "outs" in the coaches contracts that are exercised when they are terminated. They can be fired at any time for any reason.I'd also like to clarify that my brilliant question raised on this thread. It's not that the new AD is up to no good, it may be that he is an overreacter. If that is the case, I worry about the guy being the AD. If this indeed turns out to be nothing, the new AD has made a huge mistake with Reno. Will his next big exective decision be to suspend KD for throwing an empty diet soda can in the trash instead of the recycling bin? Let's keep an eye on this guy. Something smells funny and it may be nothing, but let's be careful.

I would agree entirely if the team/players had been executing on the field. On paper it surely appears that UA is recruiting increasingly talented players, but we aren't seeing any dividend for such on the field. Are they more talented? Is it all on the coaching? Didn't Ferri also coach the running backs? Please don't misunderstand my points. Any one of us could become victimized at work, in life, etc. If Ferri has been unfairly victimized in this situation then shame on the AD. I would assume that it will be tough for Ferri to stay in coaching after this, and that is truly sad for him. My problem is that this team has become such a mess that we don't know the extent of the problems at this point. Is it in the coaching? Are the right players being recruited? Are there other currents and undercurrents that are badly dysfunctional? The only thing most fans can really judge is the play on the field, and this year this is among the very worst teams in the entire country. STZ

You're IMHO out of your mind if you truly believe "among the very worst teams in the entire country". I think we proved otherwise in our season opener against "Our B..ch" PSU. Not too many teams can say/prove that they would be any more competitive agaisnt PSU than we were.Yes, we've had some dissapointing losses. It's still early in the season. GD people, get it together. A real fan shows love even when the sky seems to be fallin. I think ZN needs to offer more encouragement to our team, as I'm sure that some team members do read these comments. Spreading/believing a positive attitude really can inspire the team to play to the best of their ability. That's all it takes. If we play to our capabilities, we will win. We are the Champions. we are the champions, no time for losers, cause we are the Champions of the MAC. F our opponets. We're gonna kick some donkeys!

[g-mann17]

That is the issue. The alleged "compliance issue" is known by UA. I know for a fact that it is "minor," as defined by the NCAA. There are those who say "a violation is a violation." Ok...then murder and jaywalking are both crimes. If you walk out of the office @ 5pm with a Company Bic pen behind your ear...well...that's theft. I hate the fact that the University has elected to keep the investigation hush hush. It has become a public relations disaster. Not because of the alleged violation, but because of the way it is being handled.

The University should have talked about it, you are right.But a violation is a violation. Each of those things you mention have penalties that accompany the severity of the crime. You walk out with a Company Bic once, no one notices, you do it every day then you're gonna get fired.That's what I want to know. Did he text a kid outside of communication time, or did he text 50 kids outside of communication time?When I said there is no such thing as a "minor violation" I meant it. A minor violation implies that there is a non severe penalty associated to it. However; once you have one minor you draw the eyes of the NCAA and everything you do is now suspect. That is how FSU got caught, that is how Marshall got caught, that is how Washington got caught, was a "minor violation" then the NCAA ended up finding more. I fully believe we have a clean program, but part of having a clean program is making sure we don't take "minor violations" lightly.

[GP1]

When I said there is no such thing as a "minor violation" I meant it. A minor violation implies that there is a non severe penalty associated to it. However; once you have one minor you draw the eyes of the NCAA and everything you do is now suspect. That is how FSU got caught, that is how Marshall got caught, that is how Washington got caught, was a "minor violation" then the NCAA ended up finding more. I fully believe we have a clean program, but part of having a clean program is making sure we don't take "minor violations" lightly.

Just for the record, the rules of the NCAA are such that only a lawyer can understand them. In fact, the University compliance officer for athletics is a lawyer. How do we expect a football coach to know 100% of the rules when I bet the compliance officer has to look them up from time to time. With that being said, there are going to be violations from time to time and that is what the self reporting process is for.OK, so there is a non-severe penalty associated with a minor violation. Tell that to Reno....

[g-mann17]

Just for the record, the rules of the NCAA are such that only a lawyer can understand them. In fact, the University compliance officer for athletics is a lawyer. How do we expect a football coach to know 100% of the rules when I bet the compliance officer has to look them up from time to time. With that being said, there are going to be violations from time to time and that is what the self reporting process is for.OK, so there is a non-severe penalty associated with a minor violation. Tell that to Reno....

We expect a football coach to know 100% of the rules that affect the world in which he operates. He was a major player in recruiting, he has to know the recruiting section of the NCAA rules. Besides look at the Ohio Revised Code, no person can no every law in there, but if you violate one you are still subject to the punishment indicated therein.Additionally the language in the NCAA rules and regulations may only be "fit for a lawyer" but I can assure you that the compliance personnel for the athletic department have those rules that pertain to a given job broken down into lay-man's terms. I have nothing against Reno, I was surprised and dismayed that he stepped down. But no one knows what the University's internal rules are in regards to violation of NCAA Policy.

[tim123]

I myself have done some research and what the Coach did would not warrant anything but missing a week of recruiting in December. I personally feel that someone has a hidden agenda. I hope Coach can put this behind him and go forward with the attitude that I've witnessed as nothing but class. Let's all focus on the job at hand and that is getting better as a football team. Go Zips!!

[infofan]

I believe Reno to be a very honorable and loyal guy. But his ultimate loyalty is to his wife and kids. Isnt it possible that he sees the handwriting on the wall that a coaching change is coming ( possibly following season). And hes just removing himself from a bad situation and taking some of the heat off others. In turn he is free to pursue his next career move. In no way am I saying hes running away from situation. But NCAA would look favorably on a pro-active stance which it appears we have .

[Dr Z]

Isn't it possible that he sees the handwriting on the wall that a coaching change is coming ( possibly following season). He is just removing himself from a bad situation and taking some of the heat off others. In turn he is free to pursue his next career move.

I think that is a possibility. I hope he wants to continue his college coaching career, and wish him luck.

[RootforRoo44]

I truly believe that the AD had no hand in Reno's resignation and that all he is trying to do is follow procedure with the investigation.

If our procedure is to suspend coaches for extremely minor violations while the issue is being investigated, we need to revisit our procedures.When the AD throws a young coach under the bus and leaves him hanging to the point that the guy has to resign, I don't see how he couldn't have his hand in it either directly or indirectly. I have a feeling the new AD has really stepped in it here by throwing probably the only coach that could be considered a "fan favorite" under the bus.Another question...If this guy is a marketing genius, how come he could not see an overreaction to a minor situation in this case as a public relations disaster?

I dont know if you've noticed but our Athletics department completely throughout is about the worst bunch of marketers in college sports. It would be no surprise that we hired another "supposed marketing genious" that turns out to be just more of the same.

[GP1]

I dont know if you've noticed but our Athletics department completely throughout is about the worst bunch of marketers in college sports. It would be no surprise that we hired another "supposed marketing genious" that turns out to be just more of the same.

I can see what you are saying and I don't disagree. I've never really agreed with the marketing direction of UofA and I've left many brilliant posts on this board saying that.