Western Illinois fires Head Coach Mark Hendrickson

[ST_Lawson]

Western Illinois parts company with Mark Hendrickson (http://www.connecttristates.com/sports/story.aspx?id=827420#.UKsFJYdEQfU)

5-22 (with 2 conference wins) in the last 2 years
This season, last in the FCS in total offense (220 yds/game), second to last in the FCS in scoring offense (9.73 pts/game).
We effectively averaged 1 TD and 1 FG over the entire season.

[BisonFan02]

Western Illinois parts company with Mark Hendrickson (http://www.connecttristates.com/sports/story.aspx?id=827420#.UKsFJYdEQfU)

5-22 (with 2 conference wins) in the last 2 years
This season, last in the FCS in total offense (220 yds/game), second to last in the FCS in scoring offense (9.73 pts/game).
We effectively averaged 1 TD and 1 FG over the entire season.

Or just over 3 FGs a game. :D On a serious note, that's a fast fall from 3 seasons ago when he was a runner up for the Eddie Robinson. That was a pretty good squad that came into Fargo for homecoming and won.

[Twentysix]

Or just over 3 FGs a game. :D On a serious note, that's a fast fall from 3 seasons ago when he was a runner up for the Eddie Robinson. That was a pretty good squad that came into Fargo for homecoming and won.

I thought the coach that did that to NDSU had a heart attack or cancer or something and was forced out really shadily.

[BisonFan02]

I thought the coach that did that to NDSU had a heart attack or cancer or something and was forced out really shadily.

Don't think so. It would've been the 2010 season (Hendrickson's first season as head coach).

[ST_Lawson]

I thought the coach that did that to NDSU had a heart attack or cancer or something and was forced out really shadily.

You're thinking of Don Patterson. He had cancer and Hendrickson was the "acting" head coach while he was out, but that was in '08 and '09. 2010 was Hendrickson's first year as actual head coach. The team that beat NDSU at their own Homecoming had some stellar players who were Patterson recruits. Patterson's dismissal was somewhat warranted strictly based on on-the-field performance, however there was some question as to how closely it was tied to his health and he eventually reached a settlement with the university (http://www.wgem.com/Global/story.asp?S=12913431). Essentially, the administration screwed up how they were going to dismiss him. Patterson is now the QB coach at Buffalo. (http://www.buffalobulls.com/sports/fball/coaches/patterson_don) The whole question of who the head coach was/would be greatly hurt recruiting in those years and once the players who had been recruited prior to it had graduated/left...well...that was 2011 and 2012.

As for 2010, mostly you had Senior Matt Barr passing to Senior Lito Senatus and handing off to Freshman Bryce Flowers (who was dismissed after last season due to rules infractions) and Sophmore Caulton Ray. The OC of that offense was Doug Ruse, who is now the Assistant Coach/OC at Sam Houston State (http://www.gobearkats.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=92959&SPID=11345&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=19900&ATCLID=205385861&Q_SEASON=2012)
From his bio on the SHSU Athletics website:

During his stint with Western Illinois, Ruse worked closely with quarterback Matt Barr, who was the Walter Payton Award runner-up in 2010 after throwing for 3,410 yards and 27 touchdowns with 449 rushing yards.

With Ruse in charge of the offense, the Leathernecks amassed 5,944 offensive yards with 32.5 points per game and advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs in 2010.
The Leathernecks set unprecedented numbers in passing and total yards as the squad advanced to the NCAA Playoffs for the first time in seven years. Western's offense set new standards in passing yards (3,367/13th nationally) and total yards (5,713/3rd nationally) while also leading the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) in scoring offense (32.5 points/11th nationally) and passing efficiency (149.19/7th nationally).

Add in that we had a fairly decent defense, led by Senior Kyle Glazier...2nd in FCS in total tackles (12.85 per game average)...and you see how it was a much different team. Mostly, it was some really good players being coached by a very good offensive coordinator (SHSU this year is currently tied for 6th in the FCS in total offense). Nearly all of those players are gone, and the coaches who made them great have left.

[ngineer]

Sad to see a program plummet like WIU has the past few years. For years a very competitive and at times a contender. I'll never forget our huge upset win out there. Seems like yesterday. Hope the Leathernecks see a rebound soon.

[Mr. C]

Considering that Hendrickson did his part to help stab Don Patterson in the back, he has gotten what he deserved. He won the one year, making the playoffs with Patterson's players, but beyond that the Leathernecks have been pretty bad. WIU should have fired its athletic director instead of forcing Don Patterson out and then lying about the reasons. The major reason Patterson was fired (and I had some pretty good background on this matter back in early 2010) was because of the cancer thing.

[Mr. C]

You're thinking of Don Patterson. He had cancer and Hendrickson was the "acting" head coach while he was out, but that was in '08 and '09. 2010 was Hendrickson's first year as actual head coach. The team that beat NDSU at their own Homecoming had some stellar players who were Patterson recruits. Patterson's dismissal was somewhat warranted strictly based on on-the-field performance, however there was some question as to how closely it was tied to his health and he eventually reached a settlement with the university (http://www.wgem.com/Global/story.asp?S=12913431). Essentially, the administration screwed up how they were going to dismiss him. Patterson is now the QB coach at Buffalo. (http://www.buffalobulls.com/sports/fball/coaches/patterson_don) The whole question of who the head coach was/would be greatly hurt recruiting in those years and once the players who had been recruited prior to it had graduated/left...well...that was 2011 and 2012.

As for 2010, mostly you had Senior Matt Barr passing to Senior Lito Senatus and handing off to Freshman Bryce Flowers (who was dismissed after last season due to rules infractions) and Sophmore Caulton Ray. The OC of that offense was Doug Ruse, who is now the Assistant Coach/OC at Sam Houston State (http://www.gobearkats.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=92959&SPID=11345&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=19900&ATCLID=205385861&Q_SEASON=2012)
From his bio on the SHSU Athletics website:


Add in that we had a fairly decent defense, led by Senior Kyle Glazier...2nd in FCS in total tackles (12.85 per game average)...and you see how it was a much different team. Mostly, it was some really good players being coached by a very good offensive coordinator (SHSU this year is currently tied for 6th in the FCS in total offense). Nearly all of those players are gone, and the coaches who made them great have left.

So glad to hear that Don Patterson is back coaching again. I had developed a nice friendship with him after he and Herb Donaldson attended one of my Sports Network awards banquets in 2008, but I had lost track of him in the past couple of years. I actually wrote a reference letter for him when he applied for a job with Mike London's Virginia staff back in 2010. Really great guy.

[ST_Lawson]

So glad to hear that Don Patterson is back coaching again. I had developed a nice friendship with him after he and Herb Donaldson attended one of my Sports Network awards banquets in 2008, but I had lost track of him in the past couple of years. I actually wrote a reference letter for him when he applied for a job with Mike London's Virginia staff back in 2010. Really great guy.

Yea, I didn't know him personally, but everything I've heard, and from everyone that I know that knows Coach Patterson, he's a real "stand-up" guy.

A lot of us feel that the AD should have been fired when the whole thing happened a few years ago, but he was given a "pass" and kept on. Outside of football, he's had some quality coaching hires in the last few years, as well as a decent amount of success getting facility improvements overall (especially considering how bad off our state finances are right now), so it doesn't look like he's going anywhere for now.

I think, if we're able to get someone in there who is a quality coach, he's got some decent young talent to work with, so hopefully we're not looking at a 3-4 year rebuilding process, but we'll just have to wait and see who they hire. The late '90s and early '00s were some great years for us...we'd love to get back to that level on a consistent basis.

[Mr. C]

I just sent Don Patterson an email tonight. Unfortunately, I think Western Illinois faces a tough rebuilding job of three, or four years to climb back up in the MVFC standings. I tell people all the time that those Patterson teams of 2002-2003 could have easily won back-to-back national titles. Western Kentucky upset the Leathernecks in 2002 in the quarterfinals and went on to win it all and then that blizzard got them in 2003 at Colgate. The 2003 quarterfinal game was one of my favorite all-time playoff games. A lot of us thought that Western Illinois would have offered the biggest challenge of any team in the field to Delaware that year. A championship game between WIU and UD would have been better than that 40-0 blowout we had to sit through in Chattanooga (it even snowed there that night).

[Mr. C]

One Don Patterson story that was shared with me by my old colleague at The Sports Network, Tony Moss. Tony covered a game in Macomb one time and Don Patterson and his wife actually took Tony out for dinner the night before the game. How many coaches do you know that would show that kind of hospitality to a sportswriter?