The end of an era is now

Props to Paul Sulzer on calling for a new football coach at Boston College. The Frank Spaziani era has been painful and, as a BC alum, I'm begging for it to end swiftly. Spaziani has been loyal to BC and the school has been loyal to him in return, but he is simply not made to coach at the major-conference level. His recruiting classes are weak—as Sulzer pointed out, this year's is outside the top 50—and his teams have done nothing to prove they can compete not just at the national level, but in their own conference.

And maybe even more tragic than the surmounting defeats is the loss of connection with students, alumni, and fans. I feel terrible for the current underclassmen who will graduate without the memories of pre-game pep rallies, campus visits from College GameDay, and national championship hopes that lasted into November.

Just a few years ago, students lined up outside Alumni Stadium four hours before a game against Florida State just to get in their seats early. On another occasion, after a comeback win in Blacksburg against Virginia Tech, an impromptu welcome-home rally broke out at 3 a.m. to greet the team as it arrived back on campus. In those days, Matt Ryan ran the school and weekends revolved around football. The thought of missing a single game would have been absurd. Yet, I now find myself caring about the team less and less, and it isn't merely the result of graduating—I want to be passionate about this team. But I can't bring myself to watch more than a few minutes of Eagles football on a given Saturday, and I'm usually disgusted with what I see.

When students get to be part of a great football program, they feel an extra layer of connection to the school because of the memories they shared mutually. A football program can be the heart and soul of a school, and current students are being robbed of that potential experience. The firing of Jeff Jagodzinski in 2009, although probably necessary, was unfortunate for BC. He was a fiery coach who won games, excited fans and chest-bumped his players on national TV. In his absence, the school has been left with a dull coach who is not fit for the job. BC owes it to its students, alumni, and fans to bring in a coach who will, at the very least, get the program back to respectability, and at the very most, restore the passion that surrounded the team merely four years ago. Loyalty to Spaziani is a respectable thing, but it's not worth alienating those who care about the program most.

Kevin Ryan

BC '09