I was at work when I came across the press conference announcing Jean-Philippe Asselin’s resignation from the University of Ottawa head coaching position. I was quite surprised, as I suspect most people were.
I then glanced over to the “related stories” box on the page only to see the press release about his hiring by Carleton University to the offensive coordinator role.
There were no times indicated on either release but the dates were the same. There was no chance that the first had been sent out a day or two before and I’d missed it. Clearly they were sent nearly one after the other.
Raise your hand if you thought this was a huge middle finger by Carleton to their in-town rival. Who wouldn’t?
Apparently you’d be wrong.
I held off choosing a specific article about this move knowing there would be many and wanting to keep the most thorough one for future reference. Instead, I’m going to pick bits from several. Although, for the record, The Charlatan had the best coverage overall, in my opinion.
So let’s start with them.
In one of his first big moves as head coach, (Carleton Head Coach Steve) Sumarah and the newly revived Ravens football program announced the hiring of J.P. Asselin as the team’s offensive co-ordinator April 19 — less than an hour after the Gee-Gees announced Asselin’s resignation as their head coach.
“I’m sure once we get playing, there will be a rivalry, but right now it’s all about making Carleton the best football program that we can,” said Sumarah…
To suggest there was any gamesmanship involved with the hiring is “humorous,” he added.
I hope that Sumarah isn’t pretending that the reaction, or assumption, comes as a surprise to any member of Carleton’s program. THAT would be humourous. Of course people will assume that very thing!
Would it have killed Carleton to wait until Monday or Tuesday to make the announcement? Does the recruiting of a specific player hinge on Asselin’s presence? I doubt it. So what’s the hurry? From the outside looking in, the only perceptible reason IS making your rival look like asses.
To be clear, I’m not getting into the head of a group of people that I’ve either never met or only spoken to briefly. It may very well have been done innocently. But the perception from media, fans, etc, have is perfectly normal and, frankly, should have been predictable. So if you didn’t intend for it to exist, it could have been easily avoided.
That being said, the U. of O. might benefit from the jolt. They’ve been the only game in town for a while now and may have gotten into too comfortable a groove as a result.
Let’s move to the Citizen for a second…
Asselin found it difficult to spend the proper amount of time coaching the Gee-Gees because his contract also made him responsible for program fundraising, alumni commitments, and other off-field duties.
He was offered the offensive co-ordinator coaching job at Carleton about 10 days ago by Ravens’ head coach Steve Sumarah and accepted it because it was strictly coaching.
…and back to the Charlatan:
Ultimately, Asselin said he made the switch because he wanted to get back to what he loved: coaching. As head coach of the Gee-Gees, he was too often bogged down with things like alumni development and fundraising.
…
And with his new job, Asselin said he won’t even have to take a pay cut. Neither party involved would comment on the specifics of the three-year contract, but the Ravens advertised a salary of between $55,000 and $65,000 per year in the job posting for the position.
So…you were offered more (or equal) money with fewer responsibilities? And the tasks that you are still responsible for are the ones you prefer?
I don’t doubt that there was a difficult aspect to the decision. A number of people (students, coaches, etc) have made life-altering decisions based on your presence and position within the program.
But who could refuse an offer to do only the parts that you enjoy of your current job for equal or greater money?
From that perspective, Asselin would have been a fool to turn down the offer. At the end of the day, as geegeesfan fan points out in comments to prior articles, the U. of O. is going to have to clue in that they need to raise their game to another level.
So where do we go from here, and what can we expect? Let’s add the Ottawa Sun to the mix:
Charlatan: Currently, Sumarah said he has about 20 verbal commitments from players hoping to join the Ravens when they return to Ontario University Athletics competition in 2013…
But hiring a defensive co-ordinator is next on his to-do list. Sumarah said he hopes to have someone in place within the next month.
Ottawa Sun: The Ravens interviewed four of the 34 applicants for the two co-ordinator positions. It’s believed former Bishops coach and Queen’s defensive line coach Leroy Blugh was one of those four and is high on Carleton’s wishlist.
Ottawa Sun: After deciding he was leaving for the Ravens, Asselin called some of the Gee-Gees’ top recruits to let them know about his decision and told them that they should continue with their commitment … that “they chose the school and they should go with that school.”
The Gee-Gees’ spring camp next week has been cancelled, but the players have talked privately about going through with the workouts on their own.
And as stated in their press release, the Gee-Gees will appoint a head coach in an interim position for 2012 and seek a new “full time” head man for 2013. The rumour is that Marcel Bellefeuille, coach of the 2000 Vanier Cup winning Gee-Gees team, is tight with the current U. of O. brass and would be a favourite.
