Posted: Monday, July 17, 2006 12:00 am
We have seen what a great strategist Pat Casey was in orchestrating Oregon State University's win in the baseball College World Series. Combining a never-say-die focus with scrupulous attention to fundamentals and near-flawless execution, Casey's team managed to convert even baseball-indifferent viewers into admiring, cheering fans across the nation.
Now we've seen that he also is a shrewd strategist in orchestrating his own career. Casey could have accepted a job at Notre Dame, trading in OSU's first national college championship win in 45 years for a fatter paycheck and a more prestigious association behind his name.
However, by marketing his success, he has now secured the best of both worlds: He now has a more generous contract and he has a chance to continue building his own dynasty. What's more, he can do so in a place that - we say with no attempt at either false modesty or objectivity - has South Bend, Ind., beat all to heck.
We're accustomed at OSU to seeing big-talent coaches trade local success for the big time as soon as they can. However, the move has not always been a successful one.
Mike Riley is credited with helping to turn around OSU's football team, but his stint with the San Diego Chargers was hardly stellar. His successor as head football coach, Dennis Erickson, has moved back and forth between collegiate and NFL coaching positions, most recently when he left OSU in 2003 to take a job with the San Francisco 49ers. After two seasons, he returned in February to where his coaching career started, the University of Idaho.
We're glad to have Riley, who is a homegrown talent, back among us. He has proven to be a resourceful coach who has dealt with many challenges, forged respectable success and appears poised to do more of the same.
Although nobody can blame either Riley or Erickson for seeking the bigger salaries and higher profile of the NFL, our hat is off to Casey. He forged a green team into gold, and he knows the value of building on your own success, in your own back yard.