Fairland Non-Renews Coach Wilcoxon

fhsfan · Post by **fhsfan** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 11:17 pm

The Fairland Board of Education, by a 3-2 vote, has dismissed Brent Wilcoxon as the football coach at Fairland High School.

There were several players in attendance at the meeting who are saying they will be transferring including Lamb, Hatfield, and Bloomfield.

footballfan · Post by **footballfan** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 11:35 pm

Wow...surprising move by the BOE, wonder who will be putting in for this job? The players have a right to be upset but should let some of this blow over befor making any irrational decisions.....

california kid · Post by **california kid** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:14 am

Tartanblue · Post by **Tartanblue** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:26 am

wow, this is going to be a fun couple weeks to see who gets what job

bucking red · Post by **bucking red** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 9:12 am

First off I want to thank Coach Wilcoxen for everything you have done for the boys. I never have seen kids so upset about loosing a coach. The board made a terrible mistake IMO. If those 3 boys transfer it will be along season for FHS in football and basketball. Coach had a lot of support their tonight from players,parents and people from the community. Who spoke on why he should stay . Not one person their spoke against him. Where were all his critics? I believe the board already has someone in mind. Some of the board members attended very few games.They have no idea of what went on this season. Coach Wilcoxen got a raw deal! :mad:

fhsfan · Post by **fhsfan** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 9:51 am

Bucking Red,

Why would they leave over Coach Wilcoxon being dismissed? Do they have that little regard for their other coaches? Basketball, Track, Baseball, etc...

BlindWhiteHat · Post by **BlindWhiteHat** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 10:08 am

Players can be very loyal to a coach. Maybe these players are more excited about playing football than any other sport so they are willing to transfer over football without regard for the other sports.

Shame to see Coach Wilcoxon go like that. I'm sure he'll land on his feet somewhere.

JohnKnight · Post by **JohnKnight** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 10:13 am

He was not dismissed, he was non-renewed. It can happen to any coach anywhere any time. It is really sad that all that is needed to get rid of a hardworking man is 3 votes by people that don't even seem to care what he does for the kids of the community.
There are no guarantees in Coaching except that;

when you win it is great athletes and when you lose it is poor coaching.

MTSWNGRVSG · Post by **MTSWNGRVSG** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 10:17 am

Like the old saying, "The day a coach is hired he is also fired, just the date has not been filled in."

Some older coaches will say that you have not coached untill you are fired or ran out of a job.

bgmonster · Post by **bgmonster** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 10:19 am

Let's be very careful about what we say about these kids now. They sat for two hours last night waiting for their school board to come back and tell them that despite all their blood, sweat, and tears, their coach was being canned. Some of them are looking to trade their athletic skills for scholarships. That's one thing the Board failed to consider in their decision last night but Coach Wilcoxen has always been mindful of. Huff, Cardwell, Fuller, and many others had opportunities to play after high school thanks to Wilcoxen's labors post-season. Some took advantage of the opportunity and some didn't. I'm sure that any decision to change schools will be a very difficult decision for the kid and his family.

sportsnut mom · Post by **sportsnut mom** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 10:43 am

I too would like to thank Coach Wilcoxen and his staff for everything. In my son, they instilled the fire to play football and work hard. If the board was telling the truth and believe that winning is important and undisciplined athletes are to be dealt with then which coach is next? I haven't watched a game that didn't involve a little temper from someone be it coach or player. Therefore, IMO, those were not the reasons for a non-renewal-but 3 board members already have an agenda to fullfill. All I have to say winning season or not somebody has big shoes to fill. Thanks again to the Fairland Football coaches-you made a difference in one life that I know of.

local superstar · Post by **local superstar** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 11:04 am

Too bad, good luck to Coach Wilcoxen in the future.

bengalfan76 · Post by **bengalfan76** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 11:08 am

JohnKnight wrote:He was not dismissed, he was non-renewed. It can happen to any coach anywhere any time. It is really sad that all that is needed to get rid of a hardworking man is 3 votes by people that don't even seem to care what he does for the kids of the community.
There are no guarantees in Coaching except that;

when you win it is great athletes and when you lose it is poor coaching.

Coach Knight you are correct all it takes is the right one or two parents to complain and 3 board members will move in a direction of the minority not what is best for the majority. I have seen this go on in every school in Southern ohio in every sport. That is why we need county wide systems (BOE) less good ol boy problems.

sportsnut mom · Post by **sportsnut mom** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 11:09 am

JohnKnight wrote:He was not dismissed, he was non-renewed. It can happen to any coach anywhere any time. It is really sad that all that is needed to get rid of a hardworking man is 3 votes by people that don't even seem to care what he does for the kids of the community.
There are no guarantees in Coaching except that;

when you win it is great athletes and when you lose it is poor coaching.

well said, But many athletes left leaving last night's meeting feeling had they not dropped a pass, or made a tackle, ect. there would be no problems.

JohnKnight · Post by **JohnKnight** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 11:52 am

I know Coach Wilcoxen, I played against him in high school, I met with before he got the Fairland job and gave him some ideas and discussed Football. I also know that he is a very passionate, caring man. That sometimes is viewed as bad by some who don't understand football. The bad thing is that those are the people that get to hire and fire(nonrenew) Football Coaches.

SilentE · Post by **SilentE** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 11:55 am

12 wins and 28 losses in four years speaks volumes, too much talent for this kind of record

bengalfan76 · Post by **bengalfan76** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:06 pm

What are the break downs during those 4 yrs?
12-28 doesn't say much other than maybe the program was in shambles when he got there and has it moving in the right direction.

They play in a very tough league
rock Hill , cole grove, peake have had some success over the past 4 years making the playoffs. Too much talent over the past four years too have that record. That is very subjective to whom you are talking too.

SilentE · Post by **SilentE** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:12 pm

he took over a 7-5 playoff team, then went 2-8?(possibly 3-7), 3-7, 2-8, 5-5

bengalfan76 · Post by **bengalfan76** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:20 pm

looks like he has the program moving in the right direction. How many seniors graduated after that playoff season.

bgmonster · Post by **bgmonster** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:48 pm

It's easy to be a Saturday morning quarterback. Here's the thing - the kids believed in the guy and wanted him to stay. The parents supported him. That speaks volumes. And is finishing 5 and 5 a losing season? That depends on who you ask. This team has featured freshmen and sophmores in key positions since Wilcoxen took over the team and players and parents alike felt like this was the year everything was going to come together. But in typical Fairland fashion, politics played out. I'm afraid that this time, the personal interests of a few may mean the demise of a program. Keep riding the back of that 7-5 playoff team. It's to be this program's biggest accomplishment.