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Sperbeck, UNEXPECTED DEPARTURE

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento State head football coach Marshall Sperbeckannounced that he will resign effective today.
In seven years at Sacramento State, Sperbeck posted a 35-44 overall record. During his tenure, the Hornets gained national attention with victories at Oregon State and Colorado. He also coached 10 players to first team all-Big Sky Conference.
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http://www.hornetsports.com/sports/fball/2013-14/releases/20140425i9jbxv

It will be interesting to see more details when/if they come out. Terrible timing but given all the butthurt on these boards about the past and more recent coaching changes I am not surprised something like this happened.

I hope OG is right and it’s nothing major and all this is a preemptive move to get ahead of potential litigation/sanctions. The worrisome thing is schools like ours will face the full brunt of the NCAA even if its minor infractions so we’ll see how this plays out.

Déjà vu for Sears. We can throw away any hope for next season. Sure there is talent on this roster but Sperbeck never got this program over the hump and I wasn’t foolish enough to expect differently next season even if he was still HC. Silver lining is Wanless can take all year to search out a HC. I just hope he doesn’t fvck it up too bad or do anything stupid like trotting out to the local JC and hiring some D1 HC wannabe.

In my short history of Hornet student/alum/fandom Sperbeck brought the most success and notable accomplishments to the program so hats off to him. My history only spans as far back as the Pam laced conclusion of the Volek era and the utter embarrassment of the Moosh era so the Sperbeck era at least provided something positive to enjoy as well as some class and pride that was sorely lacking. This program is undoubtedly a lot better off because of his efforts. Although it would have been nice to see things turnout better, Sperbeck did a hell of a job getting kids to graduate, making sure they stay out of trouble, making positive headlines at Sac State, recruiting talent, and making a hapless program competitive week in and week out.
:clap: :notworthy:
 
My gripe with Sperbeck is that he was never a good enough HC to win more than six games and he threw a bunch of good assistants under the bus to save his own ass. He's not leaving over anything "minor". No one walks away from $400K+ over something minor. Regardless of what I think of him, his untimely departure will hurt the current team and the incoming recruits. They should have just fired him at the end of last season and they wouldn't be dealing with this BS. Can hardly wait to see what you have to say when the smoke clears.
 
OldSchoolHornet said:
My gripe with Sperbeck is that he was never a good enough HC to win more than six games and he threw a bunch of good assistants under the bus to save his own ass. He's not leaving over anything "minor". No one walks away from $400K+ over something minor. Regardless of what I think of him, his untimely departure will hurt the current team and the incoming recruits. They should have just fired him at the end of last season and they wouldn't be dealing with this BS. Can hardly wait to see what you have to say when the smoke clears.
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"Good Assistants" is your opinion.
 
Aileen Voisin had a different write up. Sounds like tension between Petersen and also Wanless. Unsigned letter with specifics about contacts during dead period, longer than allowed phone calls, all to me point to Anthony Parker. He was the only one still around after the firings, and would definitely have an ax to grind.

If the allegations were true, fine. Actions have consequences. I am saying at least have a pair and sign your name and not hide behind an anonymous letter.

If the anonymous letter writer is still on staff, he should anonymously resign. I have no respect for someone that does not have the guts to own up to what they did. If this person is still on staff they ask the kids to stand up and face better teams and show courage to battle. Actions speak louder than words.
 
The Green Hornet said:
Sperbeck's salary was $215,000, not $400,000, but it may have been the highest in the Big Sky.
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I think he was saying with two years left on the contract he would be walking away from over $400,000,
 
Green Laser...your boy hired all of those assistants (some of them came in with him from Foothill) then turned around and fired them because the program couldn't get past the 6-win level. If they weren't quality assistants he should have been fired for poor judgement. It's all a moot point now because he screwed things up badly enough to feel compelled to quit or get fired.
 
I for one see this as a positive. Heard many people complain that Sperbeck rubbed them the wrong way. Also heard that Sperbeck didn't want to fundraise, a big deficiency at the FCS level. Plus he never proved he could win consistently at this level.

If he had a couple of 8 win seasons in his tenure, I might be concerned, but the only bad I see here is the timing.

Portland state is talking about dropping football, wonder if Gonzo used the timing to hamstring the program to make it easier to can a 2-9 team? Besides the BAC there are still porta potties and #10 hex bolts and nylon holding the facility together. No commitment from the school and as always, poor timing.

Don't get warm fuzzies about Sears, he might be an acceptable DC, but his HC experience wasn't stellar at WSU.
 
Sperbeck not wanting to fundraise is a joke. Dinner under the lights, football camps stuff that never happen before. Sperbeck did something wrong for sure. We do not know what that is, he for sure did not do it alone. If you are allowing it to happen you are at fault.
 
OldSchoolHornet said:
My gripe with Sperbeck is that he was never a good enough HC to win more than six games and he threw a bunch of good assistants under the bus to save his own ass. He's not leaving over anything "minor". No one walks away from $400K+ over something minor. Regardless of what I think of him, his untimely departure will hurt the current team and the incoming recruits. They should have just fired him at the end of last season and they wouldn't be dealing with this BS. Can hardly wait to see what you have to say when the smoke clears.
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Your gripe is over the past firing more than anything. Sperbeck never got this program over the hump but he still brought in the best D1 accolades this program ever saw and any reasonable person will acknowledge that fact. Plus Sperbeck cleaned up all the off the field nonsense so that was an added plus. I’m ok with a change as I felt Sperback peaked here, just not happy with the timing.

This departure could very well be more than just “minor” issues. I would think a 10 page letter has more than just a laundry list of minor infractions; also with all the coaching turnover I kind of think a major infraction would have surfaced by now but I guess we’ll have to wait and see what is leaked. Since Sperbeck had 2 years on his contract left (per the Bee), he could have very well just held out and either forced a buyout or stuck around until his contract expired. At least he had the stones to resign (or comply with Wanless/Gonzo’s resignation request) and not pull some shady move like the guy that drafted the 10 page letter.

BTW now that you have had a few more months to think about it, you come up with any qualified Hornet FB alum that should be HC and has the potential to surpass what Sperbeck has done while he was here (both on and off the field)? Given the current circumstances, no reason for you to keep holding out on us.
 
Green Cookie Monster said:
I for one see this as a positive. Heard many people complain that Sperbeck rubbed them the wrong way. Also heard that Sperbeck didn't want to fundraise, a big deficiency at the FCS level. Plus he never proved he could win consistently at this level.

If he had a couple of 8 win seasons in his tenure, I might be concerned, but the only bad I see here is the timing.

Portland state is talking about dropping football, wonder if Gonzo used the timing to hamstring the program to make it easier to can a 2-9 team? Besides the BAC there are still porta potties and #10 hex bolts and nylon holding the facility together. No commitment from the school and as always, poor timing.

Don't get warm fuzzies about Sears, he might be an acceptable DC, but his HC experience wasn't stellar at WSU.
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Sad to say that this came to my mind as well. If this gets bad, can't think of a better excuse than to dump a program that has seen nothing but a few marquee wins at the D1 level.

Regarding Sears, this could work out well for him. He inherits a talented roster with senior leadership and young talent (assuming most of these players stay committed to Sac State) and parlays that against the easiest schedule in the BSC. Hard to imagine he doesn't get the full time gig if he can somehow pull off 7+ wins. Aside from Wanless scrounging at the local JC for an unqualified HC, this is the next easiest hire for him.
 
Well enough that Sperbeck is gone but they one that has to be fired is Wanless. He has done nothing in the community for 10 years to help the program. The Athletic Department is going nowhere because there is no leadership. The guy has alienated almost all of the boosters that are keeping the Stinger Foundation (Huddle Club) alive. He has talked about his retirement. Maybe it is time for the President to help him make his decision on "retiring."
 
Hornetof88 said:
Well enough that Sperbeck is gone but they one that has to be fired is Wanless. He has done nothing in the community for 10 years to help the program. The Athletic Department is going nowhere because there is no leadership. The guy has alienated almost all of the boosters that are keeping the Stinger Foundation (Huddle Club) alive. He has talked about his retirement. Maybe it is time for the President to help him make his decision on "retiring."
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One can only hope. The boosters should start lobbying hard for a new AD. This would be a good time to do so.
 
"at least he had the stones to resign" :lol:

That's hilarious...he was clearly fired. I can hardly wait to see how you attempt to spin this when you find out why he was sent packing.

GCM...you speak the truth on this topic.

It is nice to see people coming around to the idea of firing Wanless. I've been promoting both firings since I arrived at this site and getting a bunch of blow-back.

I don't see this event causing a complete demise of the football program, but if that happens I hope all of the Sperbeck/Wanless supporters out there realize it could have been avoided.
 
OldSchoolHornet said:
"at least he had the stones to resign" :lol:

That's hilarious...he was clearly fired. I can hardly wait to see how you attempt to spin this when you find out why he was sent packing.
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Did he violate any clauses in his contract that would have triggered a termination? Until more details are leaked we just don’t know. If major violations were his demise then he bears full responsibility. I‘ve been pretty consistent on the subject of accountability.

And looks like you are still avoiding the Hornet alum HC candidate question. I wonder why? You seem very opinionated on every other aspect of this program.
 
I have mixed feelings about this.

Like everyone else, I'm most disappointed over the timing. I was looking forward to Sperbeck having one more chance to get this team over the hump. He's been building better and better recruiting classes, with this current one potentially being his best, and, with the returning talent and experience, this looked to be his best ever shot and producing a winner. Now we have this major setback. Hopefully the team will rally together and find a way to exceed what they may have accomplished with Coach Sperbeck.

Having conveyed that, once the dust settles, this becomes an opportunity for the Hornets program to build and expand upon the foundation that has been laid the past 7 years. They just need to make the right moves. This roster has talent and, if the right head coach can be hired, it's possible the program can reach the next level .. something Sperbeck had been unable to do thus far.

I have no idea what current D1 coaches are out there that would be a great fit or would even want the job. Some of you are more in the know about that than I am so I defer to your expertise. I read that Sperbeck's salary was 203K, possibly the highest in the BSC, so hopefully we can entice someone good with that number.

While I mostly agree with SDHornet regarding not hiring a local JC or HS coach, I do think there might be a couple exceptions that could work, if interested.

Troy Taylor over at Folsom played at Cal and for the NY Jets. He still has ties to the Cal program and knows the college game well. He's a QB guru and the architect of the high octane, no huddle spread offense that's made Folsom a Nationally relevant program the past 5 years. He's more of a QB guru than Sperbeck and his offensive system is quite similar to what the Hornets have been trying to run the past few years. I think he could potentially be a good fit because of all those factors. He knows how to develop QB's, as every Folsom QB the past decade has received D1 scholarships not to mention the other Sac area QB's he's tutored during that time. Also, his offensive system wouldn't be much of a change from what the Hornets are doing now. I think his name and track record would also help him to continue the trend of improved local recruiting. Just something to think about.
 
HornetHope said:
Aileen Voisin had a different write up. Sounds like tension between Petersen and also Wanless. Unsigned letter with specifics about contacts during dead period, longer than allowed phone calls, all to me point to Anthony Parker. He was the only one still around after the firings, and would definitely have an ax to grind.

If the allegations were true, fine. Actions have consequences. I am saying at least have a pair and sign your name and not hide behind an anonymous letter.

If the anonymous letter writer is still on staff, he should anonymously resign. I have no respect for someone that does not have the guts to own up to what they did. If this person is still on staff they ask the kids to stand up and face better teams and show courage to battle. Actions speak louder than words.
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I agree that the writer should have the stones to sign it. However, I'm wondering how you came up with Parker's name. He's got to realize that if Sperbeck goes, he's probably gone, too, when a new coach is hired. It might also be one of the guys that were recently let go, Gigli or Roberson. Who knows... Bottom line is that there was tension and dissent within the coaching ranks and now that Sperbeck is gone, Wanless (or whomever) should have a much better idea of what kind of coach is needed at this level. I'm not for another JC guy. One of the problems Sperbeck had was a D1 network to communicate with (other than Chris Ault at Nevada) when looking for assistant coaches.
 
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