Coach Bland (HOSED) by Humboldt

[GCPioneer]

The clear winners here are Peabody, Union City, Lake County, Greenfield, Gibson County, South Fulton, and Halls. Peabody can be the big winner if we can get Bland to join us. As far as Reid is concerned I will say shame on him too. Think about this: they hired him within a few hours of the firing so it was planned. Is Reid not smart enough to figure out that if the Humboldt administration would treat a successful coach like crap that they could very well do it to him in the future. He should have not been engaged in such plans with the head coach still on the job. He should have had enough class and respect for Bland that he should have persuaded the administration to talk with Bland since they didn't have the backbone to do the right thing. This may be the sorriest firing I can remember.Don't get me wrong Humboldt can do what they want but they have shown no class at all in the stinking episode.

 

It was obviously carried out in the fashion that Humboldt administration wanted it to be....tacky and classless. What they did was a slap in the face to a legendary football coach. You definitely can't say this new coach entered a football program that was in shambles... I would say there is pressure on this new coach to keep the program where it is, but in all honesty, Humboldt administration may be more worried about keeping people happy rather than winning.

[purpleandgoldfan]

I played against Reid in High School. Heck of an athlete. That doesn't automatically make him a great coach though. Good luck to all involved.

[goldentide]

I played against Reid in High School. Heck of an athlete. That doesn't automatically make him a great coach though. Good luck to all involved.

 

There is no doubt that he was a great player but that isn't at issue here. I won't say good luck to Humboldt because their administration is classless. But I will say good luck to Coach Dan Bland. He is a good guy and a heck of a coach who didn't deserve the shabby and classless treatment he got today. But what do you expect from Humboldt?

[footballcaller]

Not that it matters now, but in a small place like Humboldt (shrinking by the second), you are going to have up years and down years. The team went 6-4 and made it to the playoffs after losing 20 seniors from a 9-1 team last year. The team was junior laden and WILL be good next year. The foundation has been laid. For the record, Jr. Reid's middle school team was 1-7 in 2011. They rebounded and had a better season this year. Again, not unusual. Vikingalumni, please understand that to people who are not looking through some sort of weird prism, this was not handled professionally. It is my understanding that the assistants still have not been spoken to about what is happeneing by the administration. It is evident that the support has moved away from the program over the years. Maybe this hire will get the community involved. Maybe you will see the days of the stands being filled to the brim even when the team is playing the bottom of their schedule. We can only hope for the sake of the kids. As for the principal and superintendent, they have stained any reputation that they had. Professionals would have handled this change by allowing Bland dignity and grace. The community needs to get rid of them. Good luck to Humboldt. Probably have lost me as a fan however.

[coachkgbb]

Alright, that's fine. I am a "one-poster" because I get on here occasionally to see what's going on and knew there would be some discussion on this. When I saw the complete BS being posted, I thought I'd just try to tell what I knew as a fan. I am certainly not Junior Reid to whoever suggested that. And I don't have anything against Bland. I'm just a fan and an alumni who has actually watched every Humboldt game over the last several years, unlike most of you posting here. I brought up his middle school stint because that's what he's doing now. He has been an assistant at the high school before and, quite frankly, has probably been passed over for the head coaching position in the past for reasons other than ability. So, go ahead and chuckle about that and speculate on how Bland got screwed. You read one statement in the news and think that's the whole story.

[coachkgbb]

Please explain this part of your comment ---- "has probably been passed over for the head coaching position in the past for reasons other than ability."

[footballcaller]

I also have seen almost every game for several years and know junior. He has never been passed over because he never expressed interest until now. I have discussed this with him before. That being said, he will do a fine job and he will make the town happy. There is an issue with school board. One of the members believes that anyone in a leadership role should be from Humboldt originally. I believe we will see very good candidates for other positions "passed over" because they are not from our town. This school board member was quoted as saying, "we need more teachers from the hood". It was published in the Chronicle. Signals the thoughts and intentions right there.

[greenmonster1990]

I heard the principal, superintendent, and football booster club president were going to blind-side Bland with the whole thing.. Bland went in and called em out on it ..... Three cowards & a Coach with a huge pair !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cofo]

Look, nobody can deny that Coach Bland is a great person and a pretty good coach. He's great with the kids and always has pretty good teams. I think there is a lot of speculation here that is probably not based in any fact. This was not his "tenure year" and it's certainly not "good ol boy system" or politics working here. I'm sure this is a tough decision, and it's made even more difficult due to his reputation as a great person and stellar player. But look over his career, and I don't think you find any state championships or even very many deep runs in the playoffs. Maybe that's the reason and maybe not. Nobody knows what goes on in the school every day. As to the comment from the Milan supporter, Milan fired him after two seasons in which he has winning records and made the playoffs. I'm just saying that there are lots of factors to consider and I don't think anyone here knows why he was let go.

Naturally the Jackson Sun got the new coach's name wrong, but it's Dorrington "Junior" Reid. Coach Reid graduated from Humboldt in 1977 I think and went on to play for the UT Vols. He's a local legend in our program and has taught and coached the middle school team for years. He has outstanding teams at the middle school level every year and usually has no more than one or two losses in a season. His team won the new Gibson County conference title this year beating Medina Middle in the championship game. He is well respected in the community and a good person, just like Coach Bland. He will also be the first black head coach Humboldt has had, so no, I don't think it's the "good ol boys" calling the shots.

I hate it for Coach Bland as much as anyone, but I also know there are lots of people in those stands every week that are not content to lose in the first or second round of the playoffs. Let's just stop jumping to conclusions about the motive of the administration and see what comes of all this.

Coach Bland was the head coach at Milan during the 94-95 seasons and had a record of 20-7 with third round and semi-final runs in the playoffs then he left for an out-of-state job and returned to Milan as an assistant during thier 1998 state championship year, so deep runs and championships are on his resume...and BPM is right....Milan did not "fire" Coach Bland....he left on his own to "double dip"...that is coach out of state....draw his full TN retirement and his new out of state pay....that's common among alot of veteran coaches Edited November 28, 2012 by cofo

[footballcaller]

And for the record, Humboldt had 3 winning seasons from 2001-2008. They have had 4 straight winning seasons 2009-2012. Four straight playoff appearances. District championships. All-state players.

 

It appears that Bland was winning too much for Humboldt.

[cubs]

This is going to remind me what is happening with Pete Carroll right now. Remember Pete Carroll days at USC winning? Now he is the current head coach at Seattle Seahawks in the NFL. Pete was always winning games in the Pac-10, now he is in Seattle being ABOUT a .500 team maybe a little over. The competition changes between different age groups. But I am kinda eager to see what Reid will do, his first year may not be pretty. Humboldt is taking a risky shot not making the playoffs next year.

[ReitzFan]

It is my understanding that most of, if not all of the assistant coaches will be leaving. They have a bad taste in their mouth from Humboldt.