Montana State Pres Pulls the Plug on the Football Coach
Mega kudos to Montana State University President Geoff Gamble and Athletic Director Peter Fields, who last Friday fired Mike Kramer, head football coach, for cumulative player problems – not the proverbial smoking gun that more commonly sinks players and coaches.
The president and the AD, who we know well from past collaborations in Bozeman, take football very seriously, despite the modest recognition they receive. Five players have been arrested on drug charges in the last year, and one for murder. Fields said he finally had enough and fired the coach, calling the arrests a “crisis in leadership” and a “black cloud.” Gamble, a veteran no nonsense president, said “perception is reality” and MSU is being painted with a broad brush because of the arrests. So voila, no more coach.
Could such a brazen move be taken at top division one schools in the PAC-10, SEC, Big Ten or other conferences where big time football rules the roost? I doubt it. Money talks in those cases, and intestinal fortitude is as rare as bowl championships at the Bozeman university.