Zornes A Coach Without A Team
If it had been up to Dick Zornes, the former Eastern Washington football coach would be standing on the visitor’s sideline for the Eagles’ home opener against Sacramento State on Saturday.
“I think about things like that, but I’m not doing it, so it doesn’t make a lot of difference,” said Zornes, a finalist in June for the head-coaching job at Sac State, a job that went to former Walla Walla Community College coach John Volek. “I didn’t get the job and they selected the best candidate, and it was a really good interview process. So I’m sure they got the candidate they wanted.”
The diplomatic, almost conciliatory tone stood in contrast to the direct, sometimes abrasive style that became a Zornes trademark in 15 seasons coaching EWU football. It was a style that helped him turn an NAIA program into an NCAA Division I-AA contender, compiling an 89-66-2 record in the process.
It wasn’t surprising, then, when the 51-year-old Zornes, who stepped down as coach and athletic director in 1993, added a disclaimer: “To clarify that, I don’t know that they selected the best coach, but they got the best candidate.”
Yes, the fire still burns in Dick Zornes. While he continues to work for EWU, helping with fund-raising and, he says, “whatever they ask me to do,” it’s no secret he wants to coach again. “I’d like to get a job, but I haven’t found anybody that thinks I’m a good enough coach to hire me yet,” he added.
Still, Zornes says he has no regrets.
“At the time I got out, I had to get out,” he said. “I was frustrated; I was upset with the way things were going. We were winning, but that didn’t compensate.
“I was burned out. There were some things going on that have seemed to change. You know, we went though a real process there where there was a strong movement by certain parts of our administration to drop football the last couple years I was there. And that really upset me, because we were being successful in football.”
Entering his second season away from football, Zornes keeps his distance from EWU football.
“I don’t go to games,” he said. “I visit with the coaches and they’re all my friends, but I try not to be a person that gets involved in having anything to do with critiquing what’s going on, because I don’t think that’s fair to the people involved. It’s easier to say, ‘I didn’t go; I don’t know.”’
BSU, ISU need defense in court
Boise State’s legal woes are mounting, a la Nebraska. The Idaho Statesman in Boise reports today that 5-foot-10, 250-pound reserve fullback John Tia has been suspended from the team indefinitely after an altercation with a female sheriff’s deputy on Tuesday night.
Tia was reportedly being unruly in study hall, and refused to leave.
The Statesman also reports that junior defensive tackle Sione Fifita has had five misdemeanors in the last year, ranging from disturbing the peace to battery. Fifita was suspended last week for one game for “discipline problems.”
All this comes on the heels of quarterback Tony Hilde’s scrape with Boise officers two weeks ago.
Idaho State, meanwhile, lists 10 players as honors candidates in its media guide. Three of those 10 have been suspended or are no longer on the team. The latest departure is by 1994 leading tackler Brian Getz, a linebacker who quit about two weeks ago for personal reasons.
Previously suspended were running back/punter Thomas Washington and linebacker Ike Johnson. They face statutory rape charges. Last May, Getz and two teammates were charged for allegedly stealing couches from a dormitory.
On the field, Getz apparently was playing poorly and had lost his starting job to Mark Fisher, one of three allegedly involved in the couch heist.
New Bronco
BSU has added running back Marlin Carey, a transfer who signed at USC before going to Georgia.
Carey, a 5-10, 185-pound prep star from San Diego, left USC after a flap over his scholarship. At Georgia, he didn’t partake in the summer conditioning program - one of only eight players to abstain. After two fall practices, he felt like an outsider. He transferred to BSU with a nudge from Broncos cornerback Jason Payne, a friend from San Diego.The Broncos have moved JC transfer Karlin Adams from running back to wide receiver.