Just four days ago the BG football team was celebrating its first Mid-American Championship in 21 years; now they are saying goodbye to the coach who got them there.
Dave Clawson, who had a record 32-31 as the Falcon’s head coach, has officially been named the head coach of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Wake Forest athletic director Ron Wellman traveled to the MAC Championship game Friday night not just as a BG alumnus but on business to watch Clawson coach his alma mater to a conference championship as well as to interview him that weekend. Clawson interviewed for the position Saturday and was given the position Monday night.
The Demon Deacons are an interesting move for Clawson in many different aspects as he has family who live in Charlotte N.C. He is also known for being the coach who can turn a down program into a winning program as he did with Fordham, Richmond and BG. The Demon Deacons finished this year with a record of 4-8 going 2-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Clawson will take a few assistant coaches with him to recruit for Wake but they will come back to coach in the bowl game. Offensive coordinator Warren Ruggiero and defensive coordinator Mike Elko will follow Clawson to Wake Forest according to what he said in his introduction press conference in Salem, N.C.
Tuesday morning, Clawson was in Bowling Green to speak to the players. He did not talk to any media as he was soon on a plane to Salem, N.C. for his 4:30 p.m. press conference.
“I’m happy for coach Clawson. he deserves the job,” said graduate student Tony Parenti. “From what I have heard he has to get there as soon as possible and start recruiting because our program is in better shape than Wake’s.”
This left the Falcons without a coach going into the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl on Dec. 26,. That is until Tuesday morning when it was announced that former special teams coordinator Adam Scheier would be named interim head coach for the rest of season.
“Coach Scheier is going to do a great job in leading these men into the bowl,” said Athletic Director Chris Kingston. “He is a great man and connects well with the student athletes.”
Scheier was one of the first assistants to be named when Clawson was hired as the head coach in 2009. He has been the special teams and tight end coordinator for all five of those years. He has turned the Falcons’ special teams unit into a unit that has been very dangerous in recent years as they have blocked 16 punts, returned three kicks and four punts for touchdowns.
“I am honored to serve as Bowling Green’s interim head coach,” Coach Scheier said. “The opportunity to lead this group of young men as we put the finishing touches on this special season is both humbling and exciting. This team and in particular, this group of seniors, has established a championship culture here at BG and I am confident that we will represent BGSU and the MAC well at the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.”
The search for a full-time head coach for the Falcons has already begun according to Kingston. Although there is no timetable for hiring someone for the position, the department is looking for candidates.
“The national search has began,” he said. “One of the best predictors of future success is past success so I want to hire someone who is doing what we want to do.”
The academic profile of the program will be in strong consideration when picking a head coach for the Falcons, as Clawson had the highest academic progress rate in school history at 963 points.
“We want someone who respects and understands what it takes to make and build a successful competitive football program,” Kingston said. “I’m very confident that we will have the right person to lead the program.”
The past is the past for the Falcons. They will begin practice for the Pizza Bowl this Saturday with Scheier at the helm. His first job will be to shut down the distractions and get the team focused on Pittsburgh.
“We have tremendous senior leadership and upperclassman leadership,” Scheier said. “I think they will just see it as another bump in the road and more adversity for them to overcome. I think they will respond great and I have no question that this Falcon team and group of seniors will be ready to go Dec. 26.”
