WCU's Wagner turns down Kansas offer(link)

[catamount man]

From today's Asheville Citizen-Times.

THANKS COACH!!! xthumbsupx

Wagner turns down Kansas job offer, will remain at WCU
Permalink 05:53:53 pm, Categories: posts

Western Carolina football coach Dennis Wagner turned down an opportunity to join the staff at Kansas and new head coach Turner Gill.
Wagner said he was offered the job as offensive line coach and assistant head coach by Gill, the former Nebraska quarterback who left the head coaching job at Buffalo to take over the Jayhawks.
“Turner offered me the job Saturday night and I turned it down Tuesday morning,” Wagner said.
“I told him it was in my best interests to stay at Western Carolina.”
Wagner added that part of the delay in getting the offer and turning it down was that he had recruits on campus and was dealing with them until Sunday evening.
Wagner, a former assistant at Nebraska, is 5-18 in two seasons with the Catamounts. He has three years remaining on a five-year contact that is worth $830,000.
Wagner said he met with WCU athletic director Chip Smith and chancellor John Bardo before turning down the Kansas offer.
“Obviously it was a very positive meeting about our program. If it wasn’t I might have made a different decision,” Wagner said.
“I have nine assistants I brought in here and we have jumped into the water and grabbed a life preserver, trying to hang on and make this thing work.
“We are committed to getting this thing turned around and feel like we are moving forward in that direction, and I feel a responsibility to stick with this.”
Wagner’s first WCU team finished 3-9, with a 1-7 mark in the Southern Conference. The 2009 team was 2-9 and also went 1-7 in league play.

[theasushow]

wow, kudos to Wagner (i think), most coaches would have made that move.

[Skjellyfetti]

wow, kudos to Wagner (i think), most coaches would have made that move.

I dunno... offensive line coach isn't a great offer. He was offensive line coach at Nebraska before taking over at WCU... so I think he'd already established that he considered head coach at WCU to be greater than offensive line coach in the Big XII.

[Wildcat80]

wow, kudos to Wagner (i think), most coaches would have made that move.

dunno about that...can always be an OL coach....how many times do you get to beat Appy?xrolleyesx

[whoanellie]

it's good to be the boss plus says a lot about being loyal to his staff... whether he can make a winner out of WCU is yet to be seen but they played us pretty close for a quarter and a half but they rebounded later in the season and made improvements

[Libertine]

I dunno... offensive line coach isn't a great offer. He was offensive line coach at Nebraska before taking over at WCU... so I think he'd already established that he considered head coach at WCU to be greater than offensive line coach in the Big XII.

Sure, he was OL at Nebraska and you could say that he's been there and done that but Wagner didn't exactly leave Nebraska voluntarily. He was part of the Bill Callahan staff that was summarily shown the door at the end of '07 season. It would make sense that he might want to get back there and assistant head coach at a Big XII school would be nice on the resume.
I'm impressed that he stayed.

[appmaj]

dunno about that...can always be an OL coach....how many times do you get to beat Appy?xrolleyesx

0.0

http://www.filmdope.com/Gallery/ActorsV/17636-13443.gif

Wagner has a chance to turn WCU around, good he is staying to try and get this done.

[AppIAA]

Wagner said he was offered the job as offensive line coach and assistant head coach by Gill

It was more than just the OL coach..

[3PeatNation]

Wagner is crazy, the catamounts wont win the SoCon as long as App and Elon is still in it

[Saint3333]

Wagner is crazy, the catamounts wont win the SoCon as long as App and Elon is still in it

With all the other options...

Elonxconfusedx

[elon77]

Wagner is crazy, the catamounts wont win the SoCon as long as App and Elon is still in it

People said the same thing about Elon 4 years ago, and even though they have not won the Socon yet, they have turned things around and have been knocking on the championship door. WCU can do the same thing.xnodx

[SpeedkingATL]

At least it's good for WCU and the SoCon to have some stability at the coaching position at the Whee. We'll see where the program stands in 2 more years after Wagner's own recruits are primarily on the front lines. They did show progress this year even if it didn't show so much in wins. xcoolx

[catamount man]

At least it's good for WCU and the SoCon to have some stability at the coaching position at the Whee. We'll see where the program stands in 2 more years after Wagner's own recruits are primarily on the front lines. They did show progress this year even if it didn't show so much in wins. xcoolx

Agreed. 2008's team was mainly what he didn't kick off from Briggs players and the kids he and his staff had ONE MONTH to recruit and we still could've won 3 more games that year, especially the GSU meltdown. This past year, the roster lists 40-42 FRESHMEN on the entire team. For what he inherited and the growing pains that he himself has admitted he placed on the team, 5-18 looks good.

You're right about the stability though. Good to see, although to throw him a bone, had Briggs had better success, he would've retired here. It was always his goal to do so. Maybe Wagner will fit that Bob Waters role eventually.

GO CATAMOUNTS!!!