Wednesday, August 23, 2006 10:39 PM CDT
Column: With coach in mind, Panthers move on
By BRIAN NIELSEN, Sports Editor
bnielsen@jg-tc.com
Music blared through O’Brien Stadium’s loudspeaker during Tuesday’s practice not long after Eastern Illinois’ football team learned its head coach would be missing for a while.
This was not mice playing when the cat was away and certainly no celebration of news that Bob Spoo is expected to miss 4-6 weeks following surgery scheduled for Tuesday.
It was the-show-must-go-on, business as usual, the way Spoo wants it.
In fact, the coach had already ordered the loud music in preparation for the Sept. 2 season opener at Illinois where Memorial Stadium’s crowd noise will be more than an NCAA Division I-AA challenger like the EIU usually faces.
And annoying music at practice making it difficult for players to hear quarterback’s signals almost certainly was not first on Spoo’s to-do list as game time approaches.
“Coach Spoo knew he was going down to St. Louis (Tuesday), and we made preparations for practice in case something like this did happen,” assistant head coach Mark Hutson said. “We are now into the Illinois game plan, so we will follow the practice schedule coach Spoo helped prepare prior to his absence. Practice will go on. We will be in constant contact with him on what’s happening in practice. I had a long visit him last night to tell him about (Tuesday’s) practice and will do the same thing tonight.”
Hutson is to take over day-to-day operation of the program in Spoo’s absence as the assistant head coach in addition to his offensive coordinator duties and working specifically with the offensive line.
Even before this shake-up, quarterbacks coach Jorge Munoz was to serve as the play-caller on game day just as Steve Brickey did last season while Hutson served as the coordinator.
“We’re fortunate that Jorge Munoz has been a coordinator in the past,” Hutson said.
Handling coordinator duties at Anderson College in 2001-02 before coaching wide receivers at Charleston Southern for two years and then last year at Eastern, Munoz now is ready to help this offense by committee.
“With Mark being busy, we told him you’ve got to trust in the offensive staff,” Munoz said. “When he has things like a teleconference, Mark will put a little more in our hands. Everything is going to be checked with him. With him coaching the offensive line, everything has to go through him anyway.”
Helping this coaching transition is that last year Eastern administration allowed the football staff to add a special teams coordinator position.
Justin Lustig, who joined the staff as special teams coach this year when Jeff Choate went to Boise State, is now to also coach the running backs segment that Spoo was handling.
“Coach Spoo is the man, but we have so many coaches that coach each area that he will be missed but we have great coaches that will help us prepare and get ready for every game,” senior safety Tristan Burge said.
Spoo had already provided plenty of working space for his defensive staff.
So the changes are not in diagrams on a board just the overall feeling of having the head coach.
“The X’s and O’s part of it, probably not,” defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni said. “I love the guy and just having him in the office means a lot. He’s the rock and the foundation of the program. His presence is something the team needs. He’ll be back as soon as he can. In the meantime, the coaches and players are going to do everything we can to make him happy.”
Brian Nielsen is sports editor of the Journal Gazette/Times-Courier. Contact Nielsen at bnielsen@jg-tc.com or 238-6856.
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