Howard alumni wanted athletic director Dwight Datcher to move quickly to hire a new football coach. His running joke was they couldn’t announce one until the Super Bowl was over.
“My latest e-mail was that we were waiting for the loser to see which coach we wanted to bring in next,” joked Datcher at Monday’s introduction of new Bison head coach Carey Bailey. “I wasn’t trying to look for somebody who could bring instant results next year… It is important to build upon the foundation that’s there and move forward.”
Bailey inherits a team that was 5-6 overall and 4-4 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference last season. The Bison expect to return seven starters on offense and four on defense.
Bailey, a former Tennessee lineman who graduated in 1992, most recently was defensive line coach at Minnesota and hasn’t had offensive responsibilities since he was a graduate assistant.
“But from a management standpoint, I’ve been doing that. From a coordination standpoint, I’ve been doing that,” said Bailey, who said his coaching staff will include experienced offensive and defensive coordinators.
He expects to announce names by the end of the week, and isn’t planning to scrap Howard’s current offensive or defensive systems.
Bailey, whose sister, Caryn, resides in Washington, also stressed his intention to recruit intensively in the Washington area and mid-Atlantic region.
