Western Illinois athletic director Paul A. Bubb told Prairie State Pigskin that “over 40 candidates” have applied for the Leatherneck head football coaching position. (Photo by GoLeathernecks.com)
By Dan Verdun
Western Illinois director of intercollegiate athletics Paul A. Bubb said Tuesday that he hopes to have Leatherneck football’s next head coach in place by Dec. 8.
“I can easily say that we’ve had over 40 applicants for the position thus far,” Bubb told Prairie State Pigskin Tuesday afternoon.
WIU fired head coach Myers Hendrickson Nov. 19 after consecutive 0-11 seasons. The Leathernecks have lost a school-record 24 straight games dating back to 2021. That was also the last time WIU won a Missouri Valley Football Conference game.
Bubb said that applicants to replace Hendrickson are “a good, broad mix of candidates.”
“It is a Division-I head coaching job,” he said. “The fact that we’re moving into a new conference (is appealing). It’s an opportunity for a new start.”
Bubb, who took over as WIU athletic director in June 2022 after serving as the school’s executive director of development since 2018, described the range of applicants.
“It runs all the way from people that are coaching in the NFL, position coaches, people that are coaching at the college level. Some with head coaching experience, some with coordinator experience,” he said.
The process
Bubb said a search committee is examining the list of applicants and narrowing it down to a group of finalists that will be brought to campus.
“We’re following university procedures,” Bubb said. “When those people (finalists) come to campus, they actually go through a pretty vigorous day of meeting with a number of constituents.”
Bubb added that the interview process includes input from student-athletes, former players, community residents, Leatherneck Club members, university administrators and athletics staff.
As a veteran athletic administrator, Bubb certainly has ideas of what makes a viable candidate.
“I look at and give high value to someone who has been a head coach before,” Bubb said. “I think at this level you not only want someone who knows the game and what he wants to do, but also has the ability to put together and manage a staff that can execute that game plan for you.
“So to me, that ability to manage a staff is as important as what your philosophy is on the type of team you want, offensive or defensive or whatever.”
Social media chatter
No sooner had the news of Hendrickson’s dismissal broken that one national media outlet posted speculation about candidates on social media.
Bubb dismissed such conjecture.
“Well, I don’t read social media. I’m not sure what’s being reported out there,” he said. “What I can tell our Leatherneck fans, and what I’ve told people all along, is this is a Division-I head coaching job and there are going to be good, qualified candidates looking at this (position) that have the type of experience that we want. Those are the people that I see being critical in helping us move forward.”
In the interim
Following Hendrickson’s dismissal, WIU announced that Brandon Kreczmer, a former Leatherneck player who was an assistant on Hendrickson’s staff the past two seasons, would serve as interim head coach.
The 35-year-old Kreczmer told Prairie State Pigskin that his role “is to hold the ship together until we name our next head coach.”
Kreczmer played linebacker at WIU from 2006 through 2010. He earned All-MVFC honorable mention accolades his senior season, a year in which the Leathernecks advanced to the second round of the playoffs.
“I have a lot of passion for this university and program as I am an alum and former player,” he said. “I bleed purple and gold and want nothing more than to see this program be successful.”
Bubb and Kreczmer met with the team on Monday.
“I have met with the players and told them that next season starts now,” Kreczmer said. “We have to finish the semester strong in every aspect, which includes in the weight room and in the classroom. I am going to hold them accountable and told them they have to hold themselves and their teammates accountable as well.
“I am here for the student-athletes. They are what make the program special, and I am just making sure we are in a good place for when the next head coach is named.”
One of Kreczmer’s biggest challenges will be retaining the commitments of WIU recruits as the Dec. 20-22 Division I early period signing dates approach.
“The commits that we have have stayed committed to us. That was my first line of business when I was named interim,” Kreczmer said. “I reached out to them immediately and reassured them we were committed to them, and we need them to help our program moving forward. I plan on having home visits with them next week and hopefully we will get them signed here in a few weeks.”
There is also the task of keeping current WIU talent from leaving Macomb via the transfer portal.
Quarterback Matt Morrissey, one of the bright spots for the Leathernecks this past season, announced Monday on social media that he was entering the portal as a graduate transfer.
Morrissey, who transferred to Western from Northern Iowa last year, earned All-MVFC accolades earlier this week. The Montini Catholic graduate passed for 2,014 yards and 13 touchdowns this fall.
Kreczmer said that while eventually he has aspirations to be the Western Illinois head coach, now is likely not the right time.
“(With) where we are as a program, I believe we need someone with experience at the D-I level,” he said. “I think the title of head football coach at WIU is an intriguing job and will draw a lot of interest. We have been successful here before, and I know we can be successful in the future.”
Dismissal decision
Bubb said several factors played into Hendrickson’s dismissal.
“You look at not only the win-loss record,” Bubb said. “(Other factors included) the academic areas where we’re at right now, the recruits we’re bringing in. The ability to retain those recruits. It’s a wide picture that we look at when we evaluate where the program is.”
Bubb did not like the direction the program had turned.
“You’re almost looking into a crystal ball to see where we’re at now with the people that we have in place,” he said. “Can we get to where we want to go? And that is what probably got me (most). I just didn’t see that we were going to be able to get there with the direction we were headed.”
Hendrickson, a former WIU player and graduate, was hired in December 2021. He had previously served as head coach at Kansas Wesleyan, an NAIA school, where he compiled a 31-5 record.
Hendrickson did not respond to requests from Prairie State Pigskin for comment.
Changing times
Western Illinois was a charter member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which formed in 1985 as the Gateway Athletic Conference. WIU won or shared five league titles, the last of which occurred in 2002.
A recent story by the Waterloo-Cedar Falls (Iowa) Courier said WIU had the lowest budget of the 12 MVFC programs. According to the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database, WIU spent $3,104,498 on its football team in 2022.
The median FCS spending was $4,291,398 in 2022, according to the database.
Six MVFC teams qualified for this year’s FCS playoffs. Four exceeded the FCS median (North Dakota State, North Dakota, South Dakota State and South Dakota). The final two – Southern Illinois and Youngstown State – were within less than $100,000 of the median in 2022.
WIU announced in May that it was moving to the Ohio Valley Conference for football in 2024 – and all other sports from the Summit League this past July.
Dan Verdun is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin. He has written four books: NIU Huskies Football, EIU Panthers Football, ISU Redbirds Football and SIU Salukis Football.
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