BOBBY JONES ARTICLE EMAILED TO ME TODAY

Nine is enough


Jones ‘at peace’ with his resignation

April 22, 2008 - By Cory Giger,cgiger@altoonamirror.com
LORETTO — Bobby Jones always believed he was on the cusp of turning things around at St. Francis.
For years he has said things like, ‘‘We’re there, we’re right there’’ when asked how close the program was to winning.
Actually, the Red Flash were never close to being ‘‘there.’’ With an 18-68 record over the past three seasons, they essentially were nowhere.
Jones never figured out how to fix things, and now that burden will fall to someone else.
Jones resigned Monday, ending his nine-year tenure at St. Francis. He compiled an 85-167 record, including this past season’s 6-23 mark.
‘‘I’m very much at peace with this decision,’’ Jones said.
It was, both he and university officials said, a mutual decision. Jones was still under contract to the university, but he wouldn’t disclose if that contract was good through next season or beyond.
‘‘I can’t get into contract details,’’ SFU president Father Gabriel Zeis, citing university policy, said, ‘‘but he did have some time left.’’
Jones had been involved in ongoing discussions with athletic director Bob Krimmel since the Red Flash season ended March 1. The university conducted an evaluation process of the coach and took its time with the decision before announcing it late Monday evening.
‘‘It became a decision that was best for both sides,’’ Krimmel said. ‘‘I’m excited to go on now, and I think [Jones is] excited to go on.’’
St. Francis plans to conduct a nationwide search for Jones’ replacement, but there’s no timetable to fill the vacancy. Krimmel called the next several weeks ‘‘critical.’’
‘‘We want it to move quickly, but we also want to find the right coach,’’ the AD said.
The men’s basketball program is the school’s most marketable asset, and Krimmel said he knows ‘‘this is a very important hire for the university.’’
Jones’ assistant coaches — Rob Krimmel, Joey Goodson and Winston Smith — will remain in place for the time being. Their fate will be determined by the next head coach.
The decision to part ways with Jones has a major impact on the Krimmel family. The dad is the AD, and he had to make a ruling that could directly affect his son’s job.
‘‘I have to go home to his mom at night,’’ Bob Krimmel joked.
‘‘When I took the job,’’ he added, ‘‘we talked about this could happen.’’
St. Francis will form a search committee that will make a recommendation to Zeis, who has a clear idea of what he’s looking for in a head coach.
First, he said the individual must meet the Franciscan values and mission of the university and must be a good representative of the school.
The coach also must be able to instill confidence in the players and engage them to believe they can win.
An ability to market the basketball program successfully will be key. Zeis wants the new coach to be able to excite fans and get them to believe the Flash can win.
The university’s commitment to winning has been questioned because Jones kept his job so long. Zeis assured winning is a priority at SFU.
‘‘I don’t say that we’re going to have a winning season every year,’’ Zeis said, ‘‘but I want to have a majority of the seasons that this coach comes in to be winning seasons.’’
Lastly, the university president expects the new coach to have a universal vision and understand where basketball fits into the grand scheme of things at St. Francis.
‘‘It is a quality job,’’ Zeis said.
It’s also a tough job that comes with unmistakable constraints, and Zeis acknowledged that when saying the school has to be realistic in its search. St. Francis, with an enrollment of 2,000, is a tiny Division I university in a secluded area, making it a tough sell to recruits.
The school also can’t afford to pay a coach big bucks.
‘‘Certain people may want to come and coach here, but they may not be able to because financially it just wouldn’t be in their best interests,’’ Zeis said.
‘‘I take full responsibility for not being able to produce the number of wins that our fans deserve,’’ Jones said.
Jones, who lives in Hollidaysburg, has always been a loyal supporter of St. Francis. He endeared himself to many with his outgoing personality and represented the school well, big reasons why he was able to coach so long despite the poor record.
The Flash reached the Northeast Conference Tournament just four times in Jones’ nine seasons and never won a playoff game. His best chance for success came during the 2004-05 campaign, when a squad led by scoring sensation Darshan Luckey went 15-12 in the regular season. That team had a lot of pieces in place, but it lost in the opening round of the NEC Tournament at Long Island.
‘‘Of my nine years,’’ Jones said, ‘‘that year really bothers me the most. ... That team, I thought we underachieved. That was the year I thought all the hard work, all the recruiting efforts’’ would help the program compete for an NEC championship.
Luckey gave up his final year of eligibility, and the Flash crashed to a 4-24 record the next season. They went 8-21 in 2006-07 before another disastrous campaign this past season.
Jones said he has no immediate plans and will take some time to decide if he’ll get back into coaching or pursue another venture. He also wanted to stress how appreciative he is of the Red Flash community.
‘‘Our fans have been great,’’ he said. ‘‘Having the opportunity to stay here for nine years, I certainly feel very fortunate and very blessed.’’