A Great Hire!?
NORTH BRANCH – “It is a great hire,” explained North Branch Athletic Director Jim Fish on September 05, 2008 at halftime of the North Branch and Frankenmuth football game, on Mix 92.1. “The community loves him. The kids love playing for him. He (Steve Verburg) wants to win more than any other coach, but he wants championship people first.”
Back in March of 2008, Verburg was hired away from Howell, where he served as the defensive coordinator, to become the head coach of North Branch’s varsity football program. Earlier this month (12/2008), just nine months into a rebuilding project, Verburg as replaced as coach of the Broncos with Pat Forster. The Broncos had a 27-65 record in the ten years previous to Verburg taking the reins. North Branch finished this season with a 2-7 record.
“I was pretty shocked this happened after my first year,” stated Verburg after being informed of the termination.
Verburg’s offensive and defensive philosophies were questioned by many through out the year including myself, proved to be better statistically than previous regimes. Verburg instituted the double-wing offense in North Branch. The Bronco offense led by senior running backs Dion Cimini and Cody Stawecki, scored 172 points, and rushed for a school record of over 2,000 yards. The Broncos had averaged only 157.4 points per year in the previous 10 years.
The 3-5-3 defense which Verburg brought with him form Howell was responsible for giving up 205 points this past season. Compare that with the 256.3 average the Broncos have given up the previous 10 years, the defense also saw an improvement.
So, why was Steve Verburg terminated?
"The change was made because we are committed to having the best football program possible," Fish was quoted by The Flint Journal. "Steve did some good things for our program last year, but we felt for our program to improve we needed to go in a different direction."
The different direction is Pat Forster. With the program since 2000, Forster has served in a variety of positions. From 2000-2006, he was an assistant coach for then head coach Eric Hyde. After Hyde was forced to resign, Forster was the interim co-coach for the 2007 season. He served as Verburg’s defensive coordinator this past season. Forster has stated that the defense will stay with the current philosophy, but the offense will switch back to the veer offense used under Hyde. Hyde’s teams averaged 168 points per game during his tenure as coach.
“I was not expecting this, for sure," said Forster. "I was really surprised when Jim asked me to be the head coach.”
The different direction seems like step backward to me. Forster was one of 30 applicants to apply for the position before the hiring of Verburg. Now after the Verburg hiring, Forster was asked to be the head coach. Why was the position not interviewed for like before? Why is Forster now qualified for the position after not getting the job before “the great hire”? In fact, why was Verburg fired after only one season under at the helm? The administration has not given any specific reasons, except the new direction.
I believe that the administration started to read the message boards of MLive.com. The boards, for the most part, were not kind the philosophies or experience of Verburg. The North Branch population was expecting a better football team this year, and they were disappointed with a 2-7 record. A 2-7 record is what should have been expected, if you look at the previous 10 year record. Unless a reason has not been stated by the administration, Steve Verburg should still be the head coach at North Branch.
This season will see North Branch have its fifth person as head coach since the 1999 season. The instability has continued, and North Branch should expect another 2-7 record. If not, then I would suggest that Pat Forster start sending his resume out to other schools immediately.
Back in March of 2008, Verburg was hired away from Howell, where he served as the defensive coordinator, to become the head coach of North Branch’s varsity football program. Earlier this month (12/2008), just nine months into a rebuilding project, Verburg as replaced as coach of the Broncos with Pat Forster. The Broncos had a 27-65 record in the ten years previous to Verburg taking the reins. North Branch finished this season with a 2-7 record.
“I was pretty shocked this happened after my first year,” stated Verburg after being informed of the termination.
Verburg’s offensive and defensive philosophies were questioned by many through out the year including myself, proved to be better statistically than previous regimes. Verburg instituted the double-wing offense in North Branch. The Bronco offense led by senior running backs Dion Cimini and Cody Stawecki, scored 172 points, and rushed for a school record of over 2,000 yards. The Broncos had averaged only 157.4 points per year in the previous 10 years.
The 3-5-3 defense which Verburg brought with him form Howell was responsible for giving up 205 points this past season. Compare that with the 256.3 average the Broncos have given up the previous 10 years, the defense also saw an improvement.
So, why was Steve Verburg terminated?
"The change was made because we are committed to having the best football program possible," Fish was quoted by The Flint Journal. "Steve did some good things for our program last year, but we felt for our program to improve we needed to go in a different direction."
The different direction is Pat Forster. With the program since 2000, Forster has served in a variety of positions. From 2000-2006, he was an assistant coach for then head coach Eric Hyde. After Hyde was forced to resign, Forster was the interim co-coach for the 2007 season. He served as Verburg’s defensive coordinator this past season. Forster has stated that the defense will stay with the current philosophy, but the offense will switch back to the veer offense used under Hyde. Hyde’s teams averaged 168 points per game during his tenure as coach.
“I was not expecting this, for sure," said Forster. "I was really surprised when Jim asked me to be the head coach.”
The different direction seems like step backward to me. Forster was one of 30 applicants to apply for the position before the hiring of Verburg. Now after the Verburg hiring, Forster was asked to be the head coach. Why was the position not interviewed for like before? Why is Forster now qualified for the position after not getting the job before “the great hire”? In fact, why was Verburg fired after only one season under at the helm? The administration has not given any specific reasons, except the new direction.
I believe that the administration started to read the message boards of MLive.com. The boards, for the most part, were not kind the philosophies or experience of Verburg. The North Branch population was expecting a better football team this year, and they were disappointed with a 2-7 record. A 2-7 record is what should have been expected, if you look at the previous 10 year record. Unless a reason has not been stated by the administration, Steve Verburg should still be the head coach at North Branch.
This season will see North Branch have its fifth person as head coach since the 1999 season. The instability has continued, and North Branch should expect another 2-7 record. If not, then I would suggest that Pat Forster start sending his resume out to other schools immediately.
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