SPORTS COMMENTARY
Jordan Jacobo/Sports editor
Head football coach Joe Smith can’t seem to get his team over the hump.
Linfield could not stop Willamette University junior tailback Deon Horne during the Oct. 25 game, which featured the Northwest Conference’s likely top two teams. For Smith, it was a loss not only against a bitter rival, but against time itself.
For a program that expects to win the NWC championship year after year, finishing second place is a tough pill to swallow. Finishing second is likely to happen again this season if Linfield and Willamette should both win their remaining contests.
Smith, a longtime defensive coordinator, took over for former head coach Jay Locey in 2006. He went 6-3 that year and 6-3 again last season. So far this year, he is 4-2 with three regular season games remaining.
The Pirates beat Linfield the last two seasons and earned the NWC title; this year, Willamette brought the
’Cats down.
So what does it all mean? Well, for certain, Smith doesn’t have any time to waste.
The honeymoon period of his time as head coach is over. He’s well adjusted to the system and has a couple years under his belt, so now it’s time to bring Linfield back to the top of the conference.
It’s not all up to him, and I know that. But I also know that a coach is the representation of his team. When the team struggles, the coach is viewed as struggling. When the team can’t win, it’s the coach who can’t win. That may not be a fair system, but that’s the way it works.
In 10 seasons, Locey’s teams went 75-14, including six conference championships and one national championship.
The coach before him, Ed Langsdorf, won four conference titles in five seasons.
Before Langsdorf, legendary Ad Rutschman, who coached football for 24 years, won three national championships and posted a 183-48-3 record.
Needless to say, Smith is in the company of giants when it comes to his job. He has an enormous level of expectation placed upon him, and maybe that’s not fair. Willamette and Whitworth University have, in the past several seasons, improved dramatically and are playing just as well as, or better than, Linfield this season.
In addition, Smith’s team has been plagued by injuries this year. Junior quarterback Aaron Boehme’s season-ending collarbone injury in a game against Hardin-Simmons University threw the team for a loop, and the passing game has been reeling ever since.
A great deal of promise resides among Smith’s young roster.
Boehme and sophomore running back Simon Lamson are the future of the offense. On the defensive end, sophomore safety Bryce Comfort has been a force to be reckoned with. The ’Cats have the promise of youth on their side, and, with maturation, Smith can hope to bring the team back to the top.
He has to do it soon, though. I think the powers that be want the coach to knock down both Willamette and Whitworth in the same season. The football program is primed for a return to glory, and Smith’s next two seasons will be crucial. If he doesn’t get it done, his days will be numbered.
I don’t want to see that happen. During the two seasons I’ve covered football, Smith has shown himself to be a smart, focused coach. His players seem to respect him. The program is motivated. All that’s left is a few missing pieces, a few less turnovers and just one less loss.
In reality, that’s the difference between mediocrity and greatness at Linfield: one loss. Smith and the football team have the skills to put it all together, but there’s no time to waste building up the program.
This year wasn’t the turning point, but it means Linfield risks losing its status as the perverbial league powerhouse unless it wins the NWC next year. Along with losing the program’s prestige, Smith risks losing his job (perhaps unfairly).
For now, it’s all about the streak of 52 consecutive winning seasons. If Linfield wins one more game this season, the streak will continue. That’s the first step. The next step is the conference championship next year.
The resurgence of the team’s dominance hinges on Smith and his steady-handed, motivational coaching and, of course, on winning and claiming the NWC championship once again.