Larry Blakeney.jpg
Larry Blakeney will retire after the season (Associated Press file)
TROY, Alabama - For the first time since 1991, Troy will have a new head football coach next season.
Larry Blakeney announced he would retire after the 2014 season. The news was delivered to staff and players in a Sunday meeting, which left players shocked and reflecting on how much he cared.
Troy head coach Larry Blakeney won both meetings against former UAB head coach Garrick McGee
Going forward, Troy athletic director John Hartwell laid out some bullet points for finding the Trojans' next head coach. This isn't his first rodeo - he's hired new head coaches for men's basketball, softball, soccer, men's and women's tennis, track & field and he facilitated the upcoming baseball move where assistant Mark Smartt will replace Bobby Pierce when he retires after the 2015 season.
- On the transition and why it happened after five games:
- The process begins immediately, Hartwell said.
- There will be an advisory committee
- As far as financials go
- Hartwell won't limit it to coaches with head coaching or even coordinating experience
- Hartwell would love for someone
How difficult does it seem to replace the school's winningest coach and a community icon? Remember that Blakeney isn't going anywhere. He raised his family in Troy. The 67-year-old will serve as a special assistant to Hartwell and help lead fundraising charges. Remember, Troy has plans on building an end zone facility, which Hartwell said is coming. Blakeney said it's the most important thing for the next coach's success. But if ground doesn't start to break soon, another quote from Hartwell today also speaks volumes: "I kind of like somebody who hasn't always had all the resources."
"It'll be difficult because not only was he the coach, but he loved the school," Troy linebacker Mark Wilson said. "He loved the town. To some people it's just a job, but you can tell coach had the passion. He's been coaching before I was even born. It'll be difficult to find someone to come in and be who he was on and off the field. It'll be easy to find a coach, but somebody with his character ... I'm pretty sure he's seen a lot, so he developed a lot of patience and how to deal with all the different types of players you come across."
So what are the names circulating for the job? Naturally, there were plenty thrown out within minutes of the announcement. Hartwell said he won't interfere with prospective coaches during their regular seasons unless it's a circumstance where someone calls him and says, 'Hey, my guy is interested.' So, the Dec. 1 goal may be tough.
Check out what some national writers said.