ETSU’s Scott Carter Must Make a Decision on Carl Torbush
Joe Avento reports in the Johnson City Press the Bucs football coach’s contract ends in June.
Generally speaking a college football coach needs four years on his contract left to be able to recruit.
So imagine trying to recruit when your contract doesn’t even extend to next season.
That’s the scenario for ETSU football, where head coach Carl Torbush’s contract expires in June and he isn’t answering questions about his future.
There’s a culture surrounding ETSU that likes to say the Buccaneers are “Winning the Right Way” when they are, in fact, losing. While the Bucs haven’t used the aforementioned presumptuous marketing slogan since athletic director David Mullins left, some old habits die hard.
Such as keeping football coaches on for a year-to-year basis. It’s what ETSU used to do when Paul Hamilton was the coach some 15 years ago.
How’d that work out again?
This is the first big decision of new athletic director Scott Carter’s tenure. Torbush’s record at ETSU coach stands at 11–22 and his plan to build with four year players rather than JUCOs from the start does not appear to be working.
Besides, its not like Kennesaw State, who by debuting their football program with ETSU will always be viewed as a barometer of Bucs’ gridiron success, built a team entirely of transfers in 2015. The Owls, who memorably defeated ETSU 56–16 in both team’s debut game, had 22 transfers on that team, enough to populate a first-string but not so many as to not build for the future. As a result, KSU went 10–1 this year and is in the FCS playoffs.
By comparison, ETSU has 13 players who transferred to Johnson City on the roster this year. Torbush, even in the moments following the Bucs 10–3 loss at Chattanooga to complete a 4–7 season in his third year at the helm, continued to praise this four-year plan to the shilling praise of Matt Wilhjelm on the Bucs’ post-game show Saturday afternoon, going so far as to suggest coaches that build on transfers are trying to use their school as a stepping stone.
Wonder what ETSU men’s basketball coach Steve Forbes, who has heavily relied on transfers to build his championship program, thought about that?
Should Carter tell Torbush its time to go? Or rehire him as he is, after all, the biggest name coaching hire in ETSU history?
The ironic thing is if a decision isn’t made soon then likely the only type of player with legitimate talent ETSU could hope to recruit would be a junior college player. And with 27 players, including 17 redshirt juniors, departing the program this year there are plenty of places where ETSU could use a quick fix.
Jaylon Adams of Science Hill High School (Johnson City, TN) announced he would attend The Citadel on Tuesday instead of his hometown Bucs, who rivals.com reports had interest in the Hilltoppers’ quarterback.
Perhaps Adams was destined to play for the Bulldogs. Jeff Birchfield of the Johnson City Press reports Adams is considering a career in the military, and Science Hill head coach Scott Carter has a history of placing players in military schools. If the 150-pound Adams was offered a chance to call signals in the Bulldogs’ option, that’s something realistically ETSU could not offer.
On the other hand, he’s going to a team that won only one more game than the Bucs did in 2017 and becoming a plebe for a year.
If there’s one thing people learned from former ETSU President Paul Stanton it’s that a leader makes a decision. Because Stanton didn’t. He utilized task forces and allowed student votes to guide him.
That’s why Richard Sander, who was hired by new President Brian Noland, was such an effective athletic director at ETSU. He disdained task forces and search committees and decided to make decisions based on his own experiences and career contacts.
Now it’s time for Carter to make a decision. Does he fire Torbush? Bold move, but a new broom sweeps clean. With two assistant coaches arrested this year, there’s even more than just on field cause for dismissal.
Keep Torbush? Perhaps that’s the ethical thing to do. Torbush can be stuffy, but he speaks more glowingly about the university than any ETSU coach in recent memory and since the school let him begin his four-year plan it would almost speak of backstabbing if they didn’t let him finish it. Furthermore, even at 66 he doesn’t seem to be of a mindset to retire any time soon.
But whatever ETSU does, the Bucs shouldn’t extend Torbush’s contract for less than four years. That’s NOT making a decision. That’s passing the buck. That’s dooming this year’s recruiting class and the future of the program. That’s not eliminating the “is he on the hot seat” or “will he retire soon” question.
It would be the action of a bunch of SOBs; the Same Old Bucs.
Marky Billson hosts Tri-Cities Sports NOW on 1420 NBC Sports Radio Tri-Cities. Listen to him 12–2 p.m. ET on weekdays here.
