Published: August 29, 2008 12:21 am            

Hughes, News and Views: Coach moves to east side for new gig

Unless you already heard it through the grapevine, you will never guess who’s new to the Rose-Hulman football coaching staff.

OK, the little face picture within this column probably gave it away.

Yes, it’s former Indiana State head coach Lou West.

West guided the Sycamores in 2005, 2006 and the first four games of 2007 before ISU director of athletics Ron Prettyman relieved him of his coaching duties in late September. West continued working for the university as director of community outreach, but that arrangement ended in June.

West said between practices Thursday that he received offers this year to serve as a paid assistant football coach at other universities. But they weren’t the situations he was looking for, so he remained in Terre Haute.

Earlier this summer, West approached Rose head coach Steve Englehart about joining his staff and Englehart welcomed him with open arms.

“He didn’t want to stop coaching,” Englehart mentioned. “He still wanted to be a part of a football team and help kids develop their football skills.”

West, who’s taking classes at ISU with the goal of obtaining his Indiana teaching certificate, works with the Engineers’ inside linebackers on a volunteer basis.

“I think he enjoys coming out here [to Cook Stadium],” Englehart continued. “I think he probably enjoys not having all the pressure on his shoulders. He’s done a great job of fitting in with our staff and he’s done a great job of developing our linebackers over the course of camp.

“He’s also big on developing players as a person off the field.”

In case you’ve forgotten, West worked on staffs at Arizona, Minnesota, Western Michigan, Kansas, Cincinnati, Kent State, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame and Toledo before accepting his first head-coaching job at Indiana State.

“We’re lucky to have him on our staff, lucky to have someone with his experiences,” Englehart emphasized. “He’s been a lot of places.”

West admitted that he missed football, so that’s why he sought out Englehart.

“I wanted to stay involved in football and be around it,” he explained. “It’s been really great. The coaches, the kids, they’re great to work with… You’re always learning in football.”

West doesn’t spend a lot of time thinking about what went wrong during his 1-25 stint at ISU. But when asked, he acknowledged that he would take a different approach if another head-coaching opportunity presents itself someday.

“I think [the Indiana State experience] taught me some things about coaching,” he reflected.

In the meantime, West said he likes doing what he can to help the NCAA Division III Engineers.

“These guys may not be in the top tier in the nation,” he said. “But they take the game just as seriously and they work just as hard [as the top-tier players].”

Regardless of how the 2008 Rose-Hulman season goes — which, by the way, starts Sept. 6 at home against Earlham — the likable West won’t mind if he stays in Terre Haute for the long haul, depending on what employment opportunities arise down the road.

“It’s not a bad place,” he said. “The people are really nice. The church I go to is great. It’s a good place to be.”



David Hughes can be reached by phone at 1-800-783-8742, Option 4, or at (812) 231-4224; by fax at (812) 231-4321; or by e-mail at david.hughes@tribstar.com.

        

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