Post by aggieman007 on Jan 9, 2009 8:31:41 GMT -5
By Robert Bell
knowledge of the search process.
Athletics director Wheeler Brown said Thursday night he had extended an offer to one of the two remaining candidates -- Lee or interim coach George Ragsdale -- earlier in the day and that the candidate had accepted.
Brown said he would not identify the new coach until "personnel issues" -- presumably Ragsdale's fate -- were resolved. The announcement of Lee's hiring could come as early as today, Brown said.
"I'm excited about our new coach and getting back to football," the AD said. "It's been a long process, but it's been worth it. I believe we've come out of this process with the best coach for A&T."
Reached at home in Washington earlier in the day, Lee declined to say whether he had been hired.
"That's up to Mr. Brown and the school to talk about," he said. "All I can say is I've got my running shoes on and I'm ready to go if they make an announcement."
Lee, who will turn 51 next week, replaces Lee Fobbs, fired in October after a 2-28 start as the Aggies' coach.
Lee is no stranger to the A&T football program. He was the Aggies' defensive coordinator before leaving three years ago to help turn around Morgan State's defense. Under Lee, the Bears have put together one of the best defenses in the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Morgan State possessed the nation's top-ranked defense in 2008, giving up an average of just 212 yards per game. Morgan State was second in the nation in pass defense and 13th in rush defense.
Lee, a father of four, beat out Ragsdale and Prairie View A&M head coach Henry Frazier for the job. Reached at his office Thursday afternoon, Ragsdale said he had not been contacted by Brown or anyone else at the university regarding his fate. Then again, he didn't need any official word. Ragsdale said he was never asked to interview with A&T's chancellor, Stanley Battle, considered a requirement for the Aggies' next coach.
Sources say Lee flew to Charlotte on Wednesday and drove to Greensboro, where he met with Battle for nearly 90 minutes.
"George Ragsdale is not going to be the next coach, but, you know, that's fine," said Ragsdale, who spent the afternoon meeting with several potential A&T recruits from Dudley High School. "I'm all about A&T. Wherever they want me, whatever they want me to do, I'll go and do it."
Brown said the school has not reached a financial agreement with its new head coach, but said the coach and university "are in the same neighborhood" on an annual salary.
"I don't see that as an obstacle," he said. "Both sides are eager to get this done."
Earlier this week, Morgan State head coach Donald Hill-Eley said hiring Lee would be a smart move by the Aggies. Hill-Eley said Lee had been in the running for other head-coaching jobs in recent years, but had always lost out to a candidate with experience as a head coach.
"I'm sure some Aggies fans are wondering who they'd be getting in coach Lee," Hill-Eley said. "Sometimes you have to take a chance. I like to say that sometimes you have to break free from the shore if you're going to find new land. That's what A&T is thinking."
Lee is known as a strong recruiter, and those who know him say he commands respect when he walks into a high school or onto a prep football field in Maryland or in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He relates equally well to teenagers in the inner city and the suburbs and has said he would have no trouble attracting Triad athletes to A&T.
"That's a big key to winning at A&T," he said this week. "You have to get those local kids to realize what you've got at A&T."
knowledge of the search process.
Athletics director Wheeler Brown said Thursday night he had extended an offer to one of the two remaining candidates -- Lee or interim coach George Ragsdale -- earlier in the day and that the candidate had accepted.
Brown said he would not identify the new coach until "personnel issues" -- presumably Ragsdale's fate -- were resolved. The announcement of Lee's hiring could come as early as today, Brown said.
"I'm excited about our new coach and getting back to football," the AD said. "It's been a long process, but it's been worth it. I believe we've come out of this process with the best coach for A&T."
Reached at home in Washington earlier in the day, Lee declined to say whether he had been hired.
"That's up to Mr. Brown and the school to talk about," he said. "All I can say is I've got my running shoes on and I'm ready to go if they make an announcement."
Lee, who will turn 51 next week, replaces Lee Fobbs, fired in October after a 2-28 start as the Aggies' coach.
Lee is no stranger to the A&T football program. He was the Aggies' defensive coordinator before leaving three years ago to help turn around Morgan State's defense. Under Lee, the Bears have put together one of the best defenses in the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Morgan State possessed the nation's top-ranked defense in 2008, giving up an average of just 212 yards per game. Morgan State was second in the nation in pass defense and 13th in rush defense.
Lee, a father of four, beat out Ragsdale and Prairie View A&M head coach Henry Frazier for the job. Reached at his office Thursday afternoon, Ragsdale said he had not been contacted by Brown or anyone else at the university regarding his fate. Then again, he didn't need any official word. Ragsdale said he was never asked to interview with A&T's chancellor, Stanley Battle, considered a requirement for the Aggies' next coach.
Sources say Lee flew to Charlotte on Wednesday and drove to Greensboro, where he met with Battle for nearly 90 minutes.
"George Ragsdale is not going to be the next coach, but, you know, that's fine," said Ragsdale, who spent the afternoon meeting with several potential A&T recruits from Dudley High School. "I'm all about A&T. Wherever they want me, whatever they want me to do, I'll go and do it."
Brown said the school has not reached a financial agreement with its new head coach, but said the coach and university "are in the same neighborhood" on an annual salary.
"I don't see that as an obstacle," he said. "Both sides are eager to get this done."
Earlier this week, Morgan State head coach Donald Hill-Eley said hiring Lee would be a smart move by the Aggies. Hill-Eley said Lee had been in the running for other head-coaching jobs in recent years, but had always lost out to a candidate with experience as a head coach.
"I'm sure some Aggies fans are wondering who they'd be getting in coach Lee," Hill-Eley said. "Sometimes you have to take a chance. I like to say that sometimes you have to break free from the shore if you're going to find new land. That's what A&T is thinking."
Lee is known as a strong recruiter, and those who know him say he commands respect when he walks into a high school or onto a prep football field in Maryland or in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He relates equally well to teenagers in the inner city and the suburbs and has said he would have no trouble attracting Triad athletes to A&T.
"That's a big key to winning at A&T," he said this week. "You have to get those local kids to realize what you've got at A&T."