CPA Releases Mathews

[FBGIRL]

1. I wasn't a kicker but good try with the juvinile attempt at discrediting me.

2. Way to embarrass yourself trying to say I am too old to have played for him.

3. It may have changed since I was there but I'm pretty sure girls don't play football fbgirl. (maybe Mathews would have let you)

4. That being said you have no clue how he was as a coach.

Did not mean to imply you were a kicker. For not wanting to kick a man when he is down, you continued to do so.

[Roy Dillard]

Excuses are like-----

I was merely supporting and confirming the dicision that CPA made by letting go a coach that did not preform yet you and fb girl try to discredit me as a high school football player? I have heard some bad argument but please leave your drama in the ladies restroom. As far as comparing Mathews to Pack you can't because pack won which is the only thing they re hired to do. Mathews did not win. That is the end of the story. Please feel free to continue and try to demean me as a player I don't care. Once again CPA made a good decision by letting him go should have done it a long time ago.

 

Your full of mess. This Mathews boy won games. I looked in my Murphy Fair book and it says that he has a 42-27 record. That means he has won 42 games and only lost 27. You CPA people are going to be sad about firing this Mathews boy. You think im joking cause im not.

[Rainwater]

Did not mean to imply you were a kicker. For not wanting to kick a man when he is down, you continued to do so.

 

CPA's not going Division II is the ultimate reason why they are looking for a head coach. However, as an outsider, I do think that CPA has underachieved since Coach Pack left for greener pastures, even with the multiplier. They should compete in the playoffs every year. There is no excuse for them not to.....Goodpasture and Lipscomb can do it, so can they. They opted to stay Division I, and will be paying for that error over the next 4 years in football. Whoever made the decision for them to stay Division I is the guy who needs to be fired, because that was the dumbest decision ever.

 

I just don't understand CPA's administration thinking that anyone would want to go watch them play at Maplewood, East Lit. and teams like that. They have natural rivals in Division II that they can compete year in and year out.

 

Who is on the short list of candidates?

Whoever it is, make sure you get on the Drew Maddux "we'll get you in" plan......and things can turn around quickly.

Edited December 12, 2010 by SmokeStackI

[tackle]

From an outsider who knows Coach Mathews and has seen his teams play a few times a year, this move was a complete shock. When a friend came by Friday morning and told me about this, I had a hard time believing it.

His teams were out-manned badly in their new region, yet they stayed competitive with much bigger schools. If they had played the old schedule they had in the early 2000's, they would have been one of the premier teams in the state the last 2 years. You just can't compare what he did the last 2 seasons with what CPA did when they were 1A. It is not like comparing apples and oranges. It is like comparing raisins to watermelons. Single A football and being multiplied into a region with four 4a schools is not the same. They made the playoffs this year and were put out by the state runner-up. What are they expecting?

Every coach has former players who don't like them. Those criticisms must be taken with a grain of salt. I once sat in the stands at Gallatin and listened to a former player badmouth Coach Calvin Short as being a sorry coach. (He was one of the most successful coaches Middle Tennessee has seen.) I heard this criticism while watching his undefeated Gallatin team play in the state semi-finals. You just can't please some people.

As good of a coach as I think Jay is, he is an even better person. CPA is losing a quality individual.

CPA started a lot of underclassmen this season. They should be stronger next year. They will probably bring in some big name to make a splash(like they did in basketball) have a great season with the experienced players and people will get on Coach T next season talking about Coach ____ (fill in the name with some ex NFL player or high profile coach) turned around the program and is a miracle worker.

I hope Coach Mathews lands in a better place where he will be treated with loyality. He deserves it.

Edited December 12, 2010 by tackle

[kbrks]

Sadly, this is only par for the course. One of the real problems is CPA thinks it is something it is not, thus they don’t hire the best fits for the realities of their environment. Sure they have the right/authority to do what they want, but they also have the responsibility to be honest about who they really are. You can’t promote yourself as an encouraging, loving, faith based, caring, family-oriented community/organization, etc., with an athletic philosophy where decisions will not be made on winning and losing yet when push comes to shove decisions are made that contradict who you say you are.

 

Yes, there are many good people and good things that go on at CPA, but that seems to only blind those to the realities and the responsibility of the other. Before you want to argue, look at how many coaching changes have been made over the last 5 years, how much confusion, hurt to families has been created. Different people, different personalities, all with a level of success that most schools would be happy to experience, yet all meeting the same fate in the end. And it never has anything to do with the coach’s lack of character, integrity, morality issues, etc. This is very uncharacteristic of a small, private Christian school. It is characteristic of an affluent, businessman’s approach to education, an approach that lacks character and integrity in its own right. If it’s not going to change (and no indicators it will), the solution – just be honest during the interview process and you have a much better chance to find the right fit for the environment.

[patriot4x]

Sadly, this is only par for the course. One of the real problems is CPA thinks it is something it is not, thus they don’t hire the best fits for the realities of their environment. Sure they have the right/authority to do what they want, but they also have the responsibility to be honest about who they really are. You can’t promote yourself as an encouraging, loving, faith based, caring, family-oriented community/organization, etc., with an athletic philosophy where decisions will not be made on winning and losing yet when push comes to shove decisions are made that contradict who you say you are.

 

Yes, there are many good people and good things that go on at CPA, but that seems to only blind those to the realities and the responsibility of the other. Before you want to argue, look at how many coaching changes have been made over the last 5 years, how much confusion, hurt to families has been created. Different people, different personalities, all with a level of success that most schools would be happy to experience, yet all meeting the same fate in the end. And it never has anything to do with the coach’s lack of character, integrity, morality issues, etc. This is very uncharacteristic of a small, private Christian school. It is characteristic of an affluent, businessman’s approach to education, an approach that lacks character and integrity in its own right. If it’s not going to change (and no indicators it will), the solution – just be honest during the interview process and you have a much better chance to find the right fit for the environment.

Apparently our friend believes that to aspire to excellence "lacks character and integrity". The great cop-out. I've seen no posts critical of Coach Mathews' character. And no one on this message board knows the reasons for his dismissal nor the process undertaken by the schools' leadership to address his shortcomings. But the school as NEVER communicated that winning does not matter. They have been persistent in seeking to win with grace. To cultivate "winners" in every respect. From time to time, there have been coaches who have placed too much emphasis on winning AT THE EXPENSE of competing with character. And we've all experienced the "just have fun" coach.

CPA is special BECAUSE it chooses to COMPETE--in all aspects--academics, the arts, athletics, and service, with an unapologetic Christian worldview. THAT is a unique mandate, not easily executed. You cannot compete with darkness if you don't train up winners. When all is said and done, I'm betting that there was no single factor that led to his dismissal. Rather, a judgment that CPA can and should do better as a program.

[RollVols]

 

 

Who is on the short list of candidates?

 

JEFF FISHER

[Hoganknows]

I would say the OC at Ensworth who left Davidson Academy last year will be on the top of the list.

[kbrks]

Apparently our friend believes that to aspire to excellence "lacks character and integrity". The great cop-out. I've seen no posts critical of Coach Mathews' character. And no one on this message board knows the reasons for his dismissal nor the process undertaken by the schools' leadership to address his shortcomings. But the school as NEVER communicated that winning does not matter...

Actually I believe true excellence cannot be achieved without character and integrity. Also, I did not say the school communicates winning does not matter, but it has communicated that a coach's continued employment will not be based on wins and losses. To me a cop-out is when we blindly assume all was done to address shortcomings and we negatively affect a man and his family by thinking at the end of the day we can do better. Personally that makes me feel very uneasy and not a good approach in an environment that preaches family, community, covenant, etc., because I do not want to be treated that way nor do I want to treat family that way - the golden rule principle. This is why you take care of any potential conflict by being upfront with who you are and consistent with stated philosophy. Should not be too much to ask.

[patriot4x]

Actually I believe true excellence cannot be achieved without character and integrity. Also, I did not say the school communicates winning does not matter, but it has communicated that a coach's continued employment will not be based on wins and losses. To me a cop-out is when we blindly assume all was done to address shortcomings and we negatively affect a man and his family by thinking at the end of the day we can do better. Personally that makes me feel very uneasy and not a good approach in an environment that preaches family, community, covenant, etc., because I do not want to be treated that way nor do I want to treat family that way - the golden rule principle. This is why you take care of any potential conflict by being upfront with who you are and consistent with stated philosophy. Should not be too much to ask.

I would respectfully suggest that it is utterly preposterous to suggest that the school has EVER communicated that a "coach's continued employment will not be based on wins and losses." Balance and Perspective. How much weight the school assigns to wins and losses reflects their values and is worth discussion. But to claim that wins and losses will not influence a COACH's standing is, naive at best. It seems that you simply do not trust that the leadership of the school properly advised Mathews of his shortcomings and gave him a proper opportunity to correct them. I have no basis to say that they did or did not, nor, I suspect, do you. If you DO have such evidence and you stand to be affected by such future decisionmaking, you ought to be addressing it privately with your employer. If not, you are maligning the integrity of the leadership with no basis in fact.

[BDURHAM]

CPA's biggest problems are MBA, Ensworth, FRA, BGA, etc.

[CPA4Ever]

I would respectfully suggest that it is utterly preposterous to suggest that the school has EVER communicated that a "coach's continued employment will not be based on wins and losses." Balance and Perspective. How much weight the school assigns to wins and losses reflects their values and is worth discussion. But to claim that wins and losses will not influence a COACH's standing is, naive at best. It seems that you simply do not trust that the leadership of the school properly advised Mathews of his shortcomings and gave him a proper opportunity to correct them. I have no basis to say that they did or did not, nor, I suspect, do you. If you DO have such evidence and you stand to be affected by such future decisionmaking, you ought to be addressing it privately with your employer. If not, you are maligning the integrity of the leadership with no basis in fact.

kbrks has an special personal insight to CPA and is not exactly nonpartisan in his comments. He makes excellent points, but ax grinding can produce blind spots as well.

We cannot assume CPA is wrong or wronged anyone without knowing all of the facts. My only firm belief is that few HS coaches could have done better after the reclassification to 3A, and that if this is a wins vs. losses change, those who chose to stay in Division I share some of the blame.

I know CPA chose to stay Division I to avoid sheltering their students and program from all socio-economic groups, and to have amission to the world beyond the private school. They have done a good job with that mission. However, that decision carries with it a very high mountain to climb if they expect to go deep in the 3A playoffs. I hope they understand that.