Mansch: Firing of Ash seems reckless, but we’ll see
When Montana State Athletic Director Peter Fields fired head football coach Mike Kramer nearly a decade ago, in this space we called it an act of “arrogance or brilliance.”
On Monday, when Fields dismissed Rob Ash from the Bobcat program, the decision seemed very much like the same thing.
Only time will tell, but in firing the winningest coach in MSU football history, Fields has indicated he wants the Cats to win more — a lot more — than they lose. In fact, at a Bozeman press conference during which he announced Ash’s dismissal, Fields intimated that Bobcat Nation flat-out deserves such success.
UPDATE: Montana State fires football coach Rob Ash
“We have a great stadium, our fans are tremendous, we have a great institution that supports it and football is important here,” Fields said. “We will attract quality candidates.”
True enough. That was also the case in 2007 when Fields dismissed Kramer. We’ve been over this many times in the past, of course, but Kramer successfully rebuilt the football program and fan base before he was undone by legal issues off the field involving players and an assistant coach.
Kramer was a proven winner who beat the Montana Grizzlies three times in four seasons, something that no other Cat leader this side of Dave Arnold about 35 years ago could accomplish. And the current Idaho State employee and reigning Big Sky Coach of the Year certainly did not condone or was aware of the wrongdoing of his men in Bozeman.
Winning on the field wasn’t enough to save his job.
Ash, a highly successful coaching son of a Methodist minister from Iowa, was brought in to “clean up the program.” And he did.
The Cats stopped showing up in the arrest reports, while the victories and winning seasons piled up. Ash won parts of several Big Sky Conference championships and led Montana State four times to the national playoffs.
“Rob’s done a good job, a good job of building a number of the facets of the program,” Fields said Monday. “Academically we’re in good shape, we do a lot of community service stuff, we have a better program, and that’s what we’re tasked of doing. Building programs.”
Looking at it that way, the coaching hire can only be considered this: Brilliance.
But he couldn’t really beat the Grizzlies, losing seven of the nine games. Some of the losses were even a bit ugly, like the 54-35 thrashing UM and first-year head coach Bob Stitt administered on Saturday.
This season, Ash couldn’t win more than half his games. And that wasn’t enough to save his job.
So what it is? Brilliance or arrogance?
Ash wasn’t commenting on Monday.
“Rob’s a good person and a competitor,” Fields said. “He’s invested in what he does and believes in what he does. Rob is disappointed, as all of us would be.”
The sports media world has changed in the decade since Fields fired Kramer. There’s plenty of outlets for fans, and they’re always football experts, to vent. Should that mean athletic directors must listen?
Well, yes and no.
Fields is a highly intelligent former college athlete who is forthright and honest. He’s certainly made some good decisions on behalf of Bobcat athletics, given the responsible way the school has improved its facilities and brand over the years. It’s not likely he’s reading message boards or having much dialogue with disgruntled fans on a daily basis.
The firing of Ash after just one losing season, though, seems a bit reckless. A decision coming two days after a particularly bad loss to the arch-rival Grizzlies seems to smack of a knee-jerk reaction.
Fields denies this.
And that’s fine.
What’s undeniable is that the Bobcats are without a head coach. Again. And the football gap between Montana and Montana State, which certainly closed under Kramer and seemed to be narrowing under Ash until this year, has widened.
It should also be noted that Ash is in pretty good company. Among the coaches, head or assistant, fired by MSU in the past are the following award-winning mentors: Sonny Lubick, Dave Arnold, Mick Delaney, Mick Dennehy and Mike Kramer.
Kane Ioane, the Billings-born former Montana State All-American who worked under both Kramer and Ash on Bobcat staffs, has been part of the coaching world his entire life. His father, Kas, coached for years when Kane was growing up.
“It’s a great business,” Ioane said Monday, his job status in limbo. “But it’s a tough business, too.”
No kidding.
Scott Mansch is Tribune Sports Columnist and has covered Montana State athletics and the Big Sky Conference for many years. He can be reached at 791-1481 or smansch@greatfallstribune. Follow him on Twitter @GFTrib_SMansch
Rob Ash at MSU
Conf All
2007…3-4 6-5
2008 5-3 7-5
2009 5-3 7-4
2010 7-1 9-3
2011 7-1 10-3
2012 7-1 11-2
2013 5-3 7-5
2014 6-2 8-5
2015 3-5 5-6