Alnutt: Football coach application process closes at noon

The search for Southeast Missouri State's next football coach will take a step forward today when the deadline for applications passes at noon.

"A decision will be made of who are possibly three or four possible finalists," Southeast athletic director Mark Alnutt said Thursday. "Then I'll have an opportunity to meet with them and then hopefully be in a position to make an offer to whoever that candidate might be, because from a time-frame standpoint I want to have someone in place by the end of the month."

Alnutt announced the firing of Tony Samuel, who had two years left on his contract, on Nov. 26. Samuel was 31-60 in eight seasons at Southeast.

"The expectations that I would hope for our program being in year eight under a regime was not where it should have been," Alnutt said.

Samuel will be paid $145,833.38 to not coach the Redhawks for the remainder of his contract. Southeast's Board of Regents approved the buyout.

"Obviously there was a motion that was made to make the determination to make a change in football," Alnutt said. "That motion was made, and obviously it was supported and approved by the board. So in terms of what happens next -- we do know what happens next is that Tony's going to receive his buyout from this. The determination in terms of where that funding will come from will be from the president [Dr. Kenneth W. Dobbins] and also our vice president [Kathy Mangels] there."

Alnutt said he's been identifying potential candidates for the job for years -- even before he was named Southeast's athletic director in April of last year.

"There's people -- I've mentioned this before -- you always have a short list of people," Alnutt said. "There's names that I've always thought about even when I was at Mizzou -- if I made the next move, who would be a candidate. Now that list grows, but it shrinks, too, when you get to understand the culture and what you might be looking for or maybe the person that you think may be at the level maybe is not at that level."

Alnutt outlined three things he'll be looking for in the new coach.

"First of all, I want someone that is going to be the face of the program, which is the face of the university," Alnutt said. "Someone that people can rally behind. I'm not saying that Tony was not that person, but someone that the community can rally behind. You need, in this day and age, you need someone that can recruit very well, especially at this division."

Alnutt also wants a coach to cultivate disciplined players on and off the field.

"Looking at a coach that brings a disciplined approach to the team members, I think that's very important from a program-building aspect," Alnutt said. "One that understands the importance of not only just being successful on the football field but also just being successful in the classroom and in life."

Alnutt singled out St. Louis and Southeast Missouri as places that need increased recruiting presence. To that end, finding a candidate who is familiar with the area is important to him.

"It'd be helpful if the candidate or the next coach has some kind of connection to this area or to the state, not someone that's coming in from wherever that might have been successful wherever but does not really understand what happens or the lifestyle, whatever the case is, here," Alnutt said.

Alnutt said he'd been questioned frequently about the football program's lack of recruiting presence in the local area, and said he'd recently received a message from a local coach's association that said "there's really no interest shown from the head coach."

"That's one thing that I'm not going to hide or ignore that fact," Alnutt said.

Recruiting in the area doesn't necessarily mean that Southeast's roster will be stocked with local talent in the future, but it means that the athletes capable of playing at Southeast shouldn't slip through the cracks.

Alnutt recalled a story he heard from another Southeast employee, who traveled to a local school for an event that wasn't related to sports.

"We need to have more of a presence in this area, and not saying we recruit every kid that comes out of Malden, for example," Alnutt said, drawing a town name at random. "I'm not saying that, but at least have a connection and a relationship with those coaches so when there is a player that is capable of playing at this level that we're in the mix, we have that relationship that's established."

Each of Samuel's assistants has a contract with the university that runs through March 31. They've continued to recruit under Alnutt's directive.

"What I told them is that's one of your primary duties, to keep the recruiting going and also, too, to still be in a position to guide our kids that we have here on campus," Alnutt said. "What I mean by that is making sure they finish strong academically -- there's another week of school left after this week and then finals the following week. Also, too, if we have injuries or we have post-surgeries that they're getting their treatment.

"There's weight lifting going on this week -- that they're still on that and then moving forward. They understand that the next coach -- it's going to be up to his discretion whether to retain or to let go whatever the case might be. If they are let go, they'll be placed on administrative leave through March 31 and be able to go on from there."

Alnutt is not employing a consulting company or special committee during the search for a new coach. While he has support from another Southeast employee, he's leaning on his network of contacts and ultimately will be the only person to make the decision about which coach to recommend to Dobbins, who will have to approve the hire along with the board.

"I'm very prideful in this about having those connections, having that network," Alnutt said. "There has not been a name that has come up to where I didn't know a person, whether it was at that institution, at that conference, somebody who might know someone at that institution, regardless of the level, which has been good."

That's a positive because completing the search and naming a new coach in a timely manner is important, according to Alnutt.

"Right now it's a little bit too late in the game to try to bring in somebody and worry about the early signing period from a junior college standpoint," he said. "But the good thing is if you have somebody in place, it's going to be a dead period with the Christmas holiday and the AFCA conference that's coming up in January at the national championship game. If you have someone in place at least they have a full month to recruit, to get out there and get those relationships going and be ready for the signing day, which is the first Wednesday in February."