FVSU Must Shoot For the Best For New Football Coach
I suppose I have to be the one to ask the question that I thought was obvious. Fort Valley State University is currently looking for a new head football coach. FVSU's new administration dismissed former head coach John Morgan after a few years of Wildcat teams that played winning, but not the championship football, to which the fans and alumni had become accustomed.So, a search committee is hard at work looking for Morgan's replacement. Please note that I am not on said search committee, nor would I want to be on said search committee. However, I cannot believe that the search committee, President Rivers, the alumni, nor the fans are screaming loudly, and in unison, that the institution hire local football hero Kevin Porter as FVSU's new head coach.
"Who is Kevin Porter," you may ask? If you do, either you aren't from around here or you have a short memory. Porter is a local sports legend. A resident of Warner Robins, Porter was a key player on the Warner Robin's National Championship football team. He starred in college ball as a linebacker at Auburn. He was later drafted in the third round by the Kansas City Chiefs. He played five seasons in the NFL, followed by time playing in the World Football League and then he discovered indoor football. He had a strong career as an arena league player, but really made his mark as a coach. According to the Kansas City Brigade website:
Kevin Porter comes to the Kansas City Brigade with a reputation as one of the Arena Football League's finest young defensive minds, based on his experience of a five-year NFL playing career and coaching tenure in the Arena Football League and af2. In his first season as an AFL defensive coordinator, the VooDoo finished the season with the second ranked scoring defense in the AFL, surrendering only 721 points, the sixth ranked defense and the fourth ranked pass defense. Porter is the winningest coach in af2 history with a 45-27 record. The head coach of the Macon Knights from 2001-03 before joining the VooDoo, Porter took his team to the ArenaCup 2003 championship final game. Porter started his coaching career as head coach of the Pensacola Barracudas, in 2000. As an af2 head coach, Porter took his teams to the playoffs all four seasons. Porter started his coaching career as the defensive backs coach of the AFL Orlando Predators in 1999. 1
On a personal note, Porter's wife, Annjela, is an amazing public-relations wizard. They also have two wonderful off-spring: Jacob and Kellen.
So, why would Porter be a great fit for Fort Valley State? Let me count the ways:
- First, he is an amazing coach, who wins championships and teaches young men how to succeed in class and in life.
- He has tons of local connections to the community and the Middle Georgia area.
- He is a local and regional football legend.
- He would be able to bring folks to the games who would buy tickets.
- He would be attractive to potential investors and recruits (athletic and academic).
- He has contacts in the NFL and NFL Europe so that players who have the skills to play in that level would get a legitimate shot.
- He has tons of contacts in arenafootball and af2 so that our players who have the skills to play at that level would have a conduit directly into those leagues.
- He would be able to bring in assistant coaches who are much more experienced than the average Division II fare. Folks like Tres Sullivan, Chris Siegfried, Webby Burnett, or Derek Stingley come to mind.
I realize that, as a Division II school, FVSU is not used to taking chances when it comes to hiring coaches. However, this time, I think they should take a shot and reach for the stars. Give K.P. a chance to come home and give the Wildcats a chance to have a championship caliber program and a legendary coach.
posted by Docsophist @ 12:13
12 Comments:
I think Mr. Porter would be a great coach for the FVSU football team! It seems like he’s well experienced and he would take his job seriously. Also, I really like the fact that he has contacts in the NFL, which will give very skilled players a better opportunity to go to the NFL. By the way, everything happens for a reason. Therefore, if Mr. Porter does get chosen to be the new coach maybe he will be beneficial to FVSU.
I have this gut feeling that Fort Valley State University should take a chance with Kevin due to the fact of his success as a football player and coach. With his expertise, he could bring a substantial amount of knowledge on what it takes to a championship winning team. I feel the president will have to look at all criteria’s before making a decision on hiring a head coach for our wildcats.
You sound as if you have an ample supply of knowledge and research on Kevin Porter. Even though you have already stated against it in your post, I am sure that you could be a very substantial and vital addition to FVSU's search committee. I am particularly drawn to the fact that his wife is involved in public relations, which is an aspect I think the athletic department is in dire need of. It is time to restore Wildcat football! Hopefully, the search committee will make a wise decision. By the way, I'm just curious to know if you have suggested Mr. Porter to the university?
Lets all be real now Kevin porter sounds like a true canidate to be the next fvsu head football coach. From what I read he could take fvsu football to another level that pervious coaches could not. I say why should we declide a local hero. He seem like for what it is worth he knows about the traditions of fvsu footballsince he lived just aound the way in other words. I feel like not giving him this right is just criminal look at his past and we can see he is fvsu football future
Lets all be real with ourselves Kevin Porter is fvsu football future. If we know about fvsu football past we have had some great coaches but we all know since they can not beat Albany state they basically get the boot in other words. From reading this profile of mr. Porter he seems like a great canidate for the coaching job. I mean who are we to decline a local hero the right to come coach at a school that is near his hometown. I mean it is not like he is a nobody or nothing he was a great player of the game as well as a great coach. I feell in all honesty we should give Kevin porter a chance and make him the new fvsu head football coach.
I think that Mr. Porter will do a great job as the new head football coach. He is very experienced in the area of football and I am sure he will be dedicated to serving his team to the best of his ability. THe selections committee should rule in favor of Mr. Porter, I sure would.
I personal think that Mr. Porter should be given a chance simply because he is experienced and who else would they get to replace him. I am really not big on sports like that but I think that he wouldbe the best choice for Fort Valley State University. The alumni would just have to get ues to him as they did with the former coach.
I think The new Coach will do great...mabey i'll go to the games this season. Ok my bad but mabey finally will beat ALBANY!!!!
I feel that FVSU should choose the candidate that is most suitable for the position. I think that Mr. Porter will make a great football coach because of everything that he can offer to the Athletic Dept. Mr. Porter is very experienced and posses the qualities to be a great football coach for FVSU.
This is the first I have heard of Kevin Porter. Students informed me today of the football coach’s termination. I read Kevin Porter’s Bio under the New Orleans AFL website www.govoodoo.com . He began coaching in 1999 and led his teams to the finals for four seasons as well as leading the Voodoo team in 2003. Based on his success rate as a coach, I do believe he would be beneficial to the University (because of his background and his contacts). I also agree he would be able to help players advance to the NFL or AFL (since he has played for teams on both leagues and coaches for the AFL) and possibly help them improve on and off the field.
I totally agree with you on this, He would have been a great choice as a coach. It looks like he has a lot of connections which our football team really needs. We have the lowest budget compaired to the other teams in the SIAC. We need a coach that can take us to the next level, so we can at least get a shot a the National Championship, instead of going 7-3 every year
Well, Kevin Porter didn't win. Let's see how the new coach, the president and committee picked, will perform this football season. We might have to fire his butt perhaps then they will choose the right man for the job, which is Kevin Porter.
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