My thoughts about Coach Pettway.
We hired an assistant coach as is often the case with programs like ours. We have done this in the past with Preston, Lallathin and AAR. This worked out for us 1 of 3 times, although the time it did work, it required a good bit of patience.
This situation is different, the other times in our D1 era, a struggling coach was fired, and the incoming coach had to start from scratch. We are now in the more enviable position where our Coach was hired by a bigger money program after a successful year. Fortunately for Coach Pettway and the fans, we have a foundation to build upon.
I didn't remember that Pettway was interviewed during our last coaching search, when AAR was hired. I didn't know much about him when he set foot on campus. I have liked what I have seen so far. He has retained the players who did not make the immediate move with AAR, he had filled the roster with players that look good on paper. During his interviews he comes across as optimistic, humble and grateful for the opportunity.
I have seen first year head coaches have difficulty with managing the games. When to use substitutions, call timeouts, change the tempo, and how to manage the clock in tight games. I noticed AAR got better at this as the years went by. We will see how Coach Pettway's learning curve goes, but I think having experienced coaches on his staff, particularly Coach Kirby who has decades of experience can help him if can leverage that expertise.
