Savannah State selects Wells as head football coach

Photo: Robert Wells, SSU Head Football Coach

by beepbeep, MEAC/SWAC Sports Main Street

Savannah State University announced this afternoon that it has selected Robert "Robby" Wells as the Tigers new football coach. Wells becomes the ninth head football coach at the university in the past 13 years and the 21st head football coach in school history.

Mr. Wells is 39 years old and is SSU first white head football coach hired in the 93 year program history.

He was selected from four finalists and 68 applicants to replace Theo Lemon, who was fired after two seasons for not winning enough with a 3-18 record. Lemon had only one recruiting class and 23 scholarships for a 1-AA program allotted 63 by the NCAA.

Wells has no prior head coaching experience at the collegiate level.

He has served one year as the the general manager for the American Indoor Arena Football League Augusta Spartans team in 2006. He claims to be an 18 year veteran of the coaching profession.

Coach Wells completed his first year (2007) as the defensive coordinator/linebacker coach at Benedict College, a NCAA Division II school in Columbia, S.C. in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). Benedict College finished the season with a 2-9 record and ranked near the bottom in the ten team conference in most defensive statistical categories, allowing 24.2 points per game (8th) and giving up 326.7 yards per game (7th).

Prior to his one year with the Augusta Spartans, he served as the defensive coordinator at South Carolina State University for four years (2002-2005) under Coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough. With Wells orchestrating the defense, the Bulldogs were ranked near the top statistically among all Division I-AA teams and led the nation in pass defense efficiency in 2003.

Wells told the South Carolina Times and Democrat newspaper on January 6, 2006, "Buddy and I sat down (after the season) and decided it was best that I move on," Wells said. "I agreed with him. It was time for me and I though it was time to move on." The two worked together at the University of South Carolina when Pough was the running backs’ coach and Wells served as a graduate assistant, under Lou Holtz.

He is a 1990 graduate of Furman University and was a member of the Paladins’ 1988 I-AA national championship team where he played wide receiver and fullback. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Furman in health and physical education, and a master’s degree in adult education, University of South Carolina in 2000.

Wells also coached at the high school level at Murray (S.C.) High School (head coach) 1995-97; and at Greer (S.C.) High School (assistant coach) 1990-95.

Savannah State University went 1-9 in 2007 and the institution is under NCAA probation through May 18, 2009. The previous coach and staff were not responsible for the NCAA three year probation, which was issued one month after Theo Lemon was hired.

The NCAA probation includes a finding of unethical conduct against a former assistant coach, several recruiting violations, impermissible summer workouts with football prospects before their initial full-time enrollment and several prospects' receipt of impermissible benefits, including free housing. There were also findings against the institution for lack of institutional control and failure to monitor its athletics program.

This was the second major infractions case against Savannah State University in recent years. In 1998, the Division II Committee on Infractions also ruled that there was a lack of institutional control. It was found in both NCAA cases against SSU that institutional staff members misunderstood NCAA rules and the institution did not have an adequate compliance program in place to monitor the activities of the coaching staff.

Wells was selected over finalists Raymond Gross, Kent Schoolfield and Rubin Carter.

One has to question what the SSU administrators were thinking when they made this selection, as it is a real butt scratcher. It is difficult to see what strengths, if any, Coach Wells brings to this difficult situation.

Savannah State is in desperate need of financial support from its alumni; a winning football program; satisfactory completion of NCAA probation; conference affiliation; more than 24 scholarships allotted to the football program; an increase in home attendance for five home games from 3,710 average; and payment of realistic scaled 1-AA head and assistant coaches salaries.

The handwriting is on the wall--there are going to be some very difficult days ahead for Savannah State University football program with this hire, in light of the fact the program has been historically underfunded and the product on the field is not competitive in 1-AA.

Wells is not a proven football program builder and will be unable to succeed in this environment lacking the appropriate recruitment skills, coaching abilities and funding. This is not the best situation for an on-the-job training head coach, especially one that wasn't a standout player in college or known as a great recruiter of 1-AA talent.

Here are the overview of the other finalists that weighed in on the SSU administration final decision.

Raymond Gross is currently the quarterbacks coach at 1-AA Bethune Cookman University (1999-2002, 2005-Present) and has served as the offensive coordinator at Division II Clark Atlanta University (2001-2004) before returning to BCU. He was an All-American Quarterback at Georgia Southern University and lead the Eagles to the 1989 1-AA National Championship with a 15-0 record under legendary coach Erk Russell. He won a second 1-AA National Championship with GSU in 1990 under Coach Tim Stovers. He is a member of the GSU Hall of Fame, and played professional football as a starting quarterback calling the signals for the Ravenna Chiefs of the Italian Football League.

Gross graduated from Georgia Southern University in 1993 with a degree in Commercial Recreation. He later earned his Master's Degree in Education from Cambridge College in 1999.

Kent Schoolfield is a 32 year coaching veteran with extensive Division II, I-AA and IA experience. Schoolfield’s most notable success occurred at Division II Fort Valley State. In six seasons as a head coach (1997-2002), Schoolfield compiled a 48-21 record and advanced to the NCAA playoffs three times. Schoolfield was named SIAC Coach of the Year in 2001 and has been honored twice by the Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C., as its Coach of the Year.

Schoolfield has served as the offensive coordinator at North Carolina A&T State University (2005) and 1-AA James Madison University. He has held coaching positions at Temple, Pittsburgh, New Mexico State, Florida A&M and N.C. A&T. His most successful stint as an assistant came during his time under legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden. He spent five seasons at Florida State, his recruiting skills helped to make the Seminoles an elite Division I program. He is currently serving his second stint as the wide receivers coach at Division III Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.

Schoolfield is an inductee in the Florida A&M University Sports Hall of Fame and played professional football for the New England Patriots. He earned a B.S. in History and an M.S. in Education from Florida A&M University.

Rubin Carter has a career record (2004-2007) of 16-17 (6-5, 7-4, 3-8) at Florida A&M University where he served as the Rattlers head coach. Carter was hired two weeks before Spring practice in 2004. He was somewhat successful in reshaping the Rattlers program and had two very strong recruiting classes with topnotch student athletes. He was responsible for leading the Rattlers program from under NCAA probation, operating with a reduction of scholarships from the previous administration infractions. Carter was not responsible for FAMU being placed on NCAA probation.

Prior to FAMU, Carter served as the Defensive Line Coach at Temple University (2004); the New York Jets' Defensive Line Coach for three seasons (2001 to 2003; and the Washington Redskins' Defensive Line Coach for two seasons (1999-2000).

Carter first coached in the NFL with Denver under Dan Reeves from 1987-88, directing the Broncos defensive line while also assisting with strength and conditioning.

Carter also coached at the collegiate level for nine years:
He was Defensive Coordinator and Strength & Conditioning Coach at Howard University from 1989 to 1993, leading the Bison defense to a number one national ranking in Division I-AA in total defense (220 yards per game) and scoring defense (10.5 points per game) in 1989.

He went on to serve as Defensive Line and Strength & Conditioning Coach at San Jose State in 1995 and 1996. Carter's last position at the collegiate level prior to Temple, was at Maryland, where he instructed the defensive line from 1997-98.

Carter began his coaching career after playing 12 seasons (1975-86) at defensive tackle in the NFL with Denver. He was part of five AFC West Championship teams as a key member of the Broncos famed "Orange Crush" defense and played in two Super Bowls (1978, 1987). Upon his retirement, he had played in more games (152) than any other nose tackle in NFL history. Carter was drafted in the fifth round by Denver in the 1975 draft out of University of Miami, Florida, where he was a Kodak, UPI and AP All-American as a senior in addition to being named the MVP of the Hula Bowl.

Carter holds the distinction of being the first African-American to be cited as an All-American on the Hurricanes' defensive line. He earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration in 1975 and was inducted into the University of Miami's Hall of Fame in 1992.

Good luck Tigers!!