It’s a common scene all around Huntington Avenue this week: students burning the midnight oil, huddled over rarely cracked text books in a last minute mid-term exam prep.
What might come as a surprise, however, is who is lumped in with the masses: Dave O’Brien. Yep, that Dave O’Brien. Northeastern Director of Athletics Dave O’Brien.
He might not look the part, but he’s getting quizzed just the same. O’Brien, who was hired just prior to the 2002 football season after former AD Ian McCaw bolted for UMass, is facing his first real test at Northeastern this week with problems facing the Northeastern football program.
A quick recap:
* Monday, Feb. 9 — Football coach Don Brown, who guided Northeastern through its greatest season in the history of the program and first ever trip to the NCAA Division 1-AA tournament, unexpectedly left school for Atlantic-10 rival UMass-Amherst.
* Saturday, Feb. 14 — Former linebacker and a key member of the 2002 A-10 championship group Joe Gazzola passed away unexpectedly. While not necessarily a headline grabber, Gazzola was a player’s player and a man his teammates both liked and respected. He was close with the coaches and athletes, many of which are still in the program.
O’Brien proved his mettle at previous institutions, namely Temple University and Long Beach State University, but has yet to face any real adversity here.
Sure, he’s dealt with issues like student apathy and a lack of dough, but when he came to Northeastern he inherited everything major about Husky sports that lives through till this day.
He happened upon all the facilities currently employed by Northeastern (except the new academic center). And, although he’s working to move football on campus and put more hoops games in Matthews Arena, neither of those issues are as immediate as the current dilemma.
He also inherited the coaches that have brought about a renaissance in Northeastern sports. Coaches like track’s Sherman Hart, whose women’s squad just won their second consecutive America East indoor competition. Or Ron Everhart, who has the men’s basketball team poised for its first trip to the NCAA tournament in nearly a decade. And don’t forget Roy Coates’ swimming and diving group, with their half-decade of conference dominance.
And then, of course, there was Don Brown.
Brown, a well-spoken and charismatic leader, guided NU from the pit of Atlantic-10 football to its current height (last year picked to win the national title by Street and Smith’s Magazine). Quite a climb, quite a leader, quite a coach … and now, quite a hole.
An article in the Boston Herald last week gave a list of possible suitors to the NU throne, including Dartmouth defensive coordinator Robert Talley, Harvard offensive line coach Paul Murphy and a pair of unnamed candidates from O’Brien’s former employer of Temple. Personally, I like Fordham coach Dave Clawson.
For the most part, the athletes on the football team felt confused, betrayed and shocked by the departure of Brown. Most, if not all, weren’t even informed of the exit firsthand and pretty much all of NU’s top talent came to the school because of Brown’s coaching prowess.
Bottom line, whoever O’Brien chooses will have to be adept at handling turmoil, be a friend to the players while they need him and have a killer game plan to return Northeastern to the top of the mountain.
Not to mention, he’ll need to shoulder the team through some emotionally trying days in camp (which is rapidly approaching) and walk the balance between discipline and giving his players space. A tall order, especially when jumbled up with the issues facing the team.
All of this, coupled with the pain involved with the loss of a friend, is staring O’Brien down as he prepares to enter his third year at the helm.
Which leads us to our present state.
Pencils down, Dave. Whaddaya got for us?
In the box:
When I said “It’s all over but the cryin’,” on the radio during the second intermission of the hockey game against Merrimack on Friday night, I had no idea how true my words were.
They came out flat, looking far from what they should’ve been: a team desperately wanting to make the playoffs. Then, on Saturday, they dug themselves into a 5-0 hole just three minutes into the second period.
Now, four points behind Boston University for the last playoff spot in the nine-team Hockey East, it appears NU is destined for another finish in the cellar.
I think I speak for most around the NU community when I say: Way to be, boys.
But, at least the Dog House is guaranteed that in two years, NU will never finish in ninth place again — of course, due to the advent of tenth place with new Hockey East member Vermont joining the ranks. Finally, an end is in sight.
— Jack Weiland may be reached at [email protected]. He can be heard every Wednesday from 12-1 p.m. on WRBB FM’s “Newstime.”
