Why the Open Head Coach Job at Troy is an Attractive One
For the first time in his short tenure at Troy, athletic director Jeremy McClain is searching for a new head football coach. The departed Neal Brown is now in West Virginia after a highly-successful run with the Trojans.
When Troy hired Brown, the job was nothing like it is now. Troy was in a half-decade slump and nowhere near where it was in the 2000’s. Things are very different now. The job should be a coveted one for many coaches and I’ll detail why right here.
Fan Support
Troy is as small town as small town gets, home to just over 19,000 people. On game days at Veterans Memorial Stadium, however, a crowd averaging 24,527 people pour in to support the Trojans.
That’s right, more people come to watch Troy than even live in Troy. The Trojan fanbase is a proud one. Thanks to a long, legendary run by Larry Blakeney immediately followed up by the record-shattering Brown, fans in the area are not only wholly bought into the program, but cherish the head honcho with fervorous support.
Expectations are high in the area, but with that comes a built-in excitement that a coach could easily rally behind the on-field product he creates.
Facilities
The 2018 football season was the debut of Troy’s north endzone facility, giving the football program upgrades in nearly every area.
Outgoing Sun Belt commissioner Karl Benson called it the premier athletic facility in the Sun Belt while some in Troy’s athletic department will tell you it rivals what bigger programs in another regional conference have at their disposal.
A brand new locker room, player’s lounge and a very, very cold pool are just a few of the new amenities. In what assistant director of athletics/communications Adam Prendergast dubs “The Longest Hallway in America” are all of the football offices and meeting rooms. There’s a traditional game room located here, as well, one with ping-pong, mini-hoops and that impossible toss-the-ring-onto-the-hook post.
In short, whoever steps in will have one of the finest buildings around to operate within.
Roster
The 2019 season was setting up to be a special one. Even Brown mentioned it would be the best roster he’s had in Troy. It can very well still be a special year, too.
Troy loses the top chunk of its receiving production, but still returns loads of talent on both sides of the ball. Quarterbacks Kaleb Barker and Sawyer Smith are returning with 1,000-yard rusher BJ Smith in the backfield. The Trojans also lose just one starter on the offensive line.
A total of 74.5 tackles for loss and 28 sacks are returning on defense along with 11 interceptions. The team’s top two tacklers from 2018, Tron Folsom and Carlton Martial, are also coming back, barring anything unexpected.
The new head coach will be handed a roster equipped to not only win games immediately, but win them in bunches.
There’s a Cookout in Troy
Cookout- home of God’s drink of choice, cheerwine- opened in Troy about a year ago. It’s right next to Wendy’s on highway 231. Is it a coincidence that Troy’s top two signing classes in program history were signed after Cookout opened? Nope.