Columnist Dean Juipe: Reno runs off harried grid coach

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at [email protected] or 259-4084.

As disconsolate as John Robinson looked and sounded following his UNLV football team's most recent loss, from a comparative standpoint at least things were going better for him than they were for Jeff Tisdel.

Succumbing to what was said to be relentless pressure, Tisdel coached his final football game Saturday when his Nevada-Reno team completed its 3-8 season with a 37-35 loss to Utah State at Mackay Stadium.

Sometimes Reno seems more than 350 miles away from Las Vegas, as the situation with Tisdel demonstrated. Unbeknownst to us, at least until a month ago when the rumblings could be heard down here, Tisdel's fate had been sealed for some time.

He knew he was going to be fired, and, as a result, he submitted a resignation last week that took effect after Saturday's game.

By Monday, Tisdel had cleaned out his office and was gone.

He left behind a four-year record of 23-22 with a program that has stepped up the level of its competition twice in the last six years. Maybe it was lost on the populace in Reno, but UNR has gone from playing an independent schedule to joining the Big West Conference (in 1993) to joining the Western Athletic Conference (this year) in rapid order.

When Tisdel couldn't maintain the appropriate winning percentage, his support not only waned -- it disappeared.

The fact that UNR ranks No. 4 in the country in total offense and No. 6 in passing offense wasn't enough to save Tisdel. Nor was having receiver Trevor Insley, who set NCAA records with 298 career receptions and 2,060 yards.

It's said that Reno sports fans demand the type of football success that Las Vegas sports fans demand of the UNLV basketball team, and that a 3-8 record just a season removed from a 6-5 mark is enough to bury any football coach up there.

That's a high standard and maybe an unfair one given UNR's status as a WAC newcomer, yet it seems apparent that Tisdel was doomed for some time. Heck, if his team had lost to UNLV back on Oct. 2 he might have been fired that day.

But even that win didn't stem the tide of growing dissatisfaction with Tisdel. As Reno supporters are quick to point out, defeating UNLV -- as UNR has now done five straight times -- is more of an expectation than a feather in your cap.

When rumors of Tisdel's impending departure began circulating here, the first reaction was to think UNR athletic director Chris Ault was angling for a return to the sidelines. After all, it was Ault who coached and brought the program its greatest successes and there was reason to believe he may still have the coaching bug.

Ault was off Monday but a friend of his said he didn't think the A.D. had any designs on coaching again. Fact is, the school has begun accepting applications for Tisdel's replacement and there is no sign of Ault exchanging his cozy desk job for a whistle and the headaches of coaching.

And, no, Jeff Horton won't be making an encore at Reno either. Ault was bitter when Horton left UNR for UNLV, and although Horton would probably like another head-coaching position -- he's an assistant at Wisconsin now -- it won't be at Reno.

Whoever does get the job will walk into a nice situation, provided they're not worried about Tisdel's fresh plot in the coaching graveyard.

archive