Jason Mensing resigns from Tecumseh varsity football coaching position

It's about time...neither he or the building of a new football stadium has helped the high school, the district or the residents of this community.  If we could only get the superintendant to realize that he doesn't have what it takes to run this district and step down himself, things could then begin to improve.  As a community, we should all stand up and demand his resignation!  Enough is enough!

Maybe the next coach will play all players and build team unitity.  Too quote "Coach Mensing has been playing his best players" and "It's high school football" "Your best players have to play.  And, your great programs do it so we're going to do it too."  That really tell's the other young men why should I go out and get beat up in practice and stand around on the side lines.  29 or so players for a school our size is a joke.  Lets get back to letting the kids play. There may be many dimonds in the rough sitting on the sideline that may go out for football if the figure they had a chance to play.  If every player has a starting position reguardless of what it is he wil put out 100% doing his job.  Why because he is part of a TEAM not just our for football.  That will spread like a virus, good old School Spirit will be revived.

The above Quotes came from the Sept. 9th edition of the Hearld.

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Yes, especially at the Varsity level in high school, it is about winning.  Ask your athlete if he/she would rather everyone play equally and have a losing season or see the best players take the team to a winning season.  Most athletes will choose the winning season every time.  It's the parents who suffer when their kids sit out.  You're not at practice where your child is helping that team every bit as much as the starters.  The behind-the-scenes folks in many areas of life are the unsung heroes.  Do yourself and your kid a favor and focus on that instead of harping on lost playing time.  I've been there.

I do not have kids in School but have experience coaching and have had great sucess

allowing every kid to play.

I interviewed Tecumseh High School Athletic Director Casey Randolph on the search for the new varsity football coach and it sounds like Tecumseh Public Schools is going to take its time finding the right person for the job. Randolph said he's unsure exactly when the job will be posted but the position will be filled by spring. I think he understands how important it is to pick the right person and get the community behind the football program again. Rumors are already flying on who the new coach will be but don't believe what you hear, at least not this early in the game. It's going to be a long process of interviews and background checks before the final choice is made. They are not taking this lightly and want just as much as everyone else to find the one person who can finally make the Indians a force to be reckoned with in any league. Check out the full story in this week's Herald.

That offense sucked, good riddence.

Mickey, thanks for posting this.  I have been in on the discussion following the article written about the resignation last week and have been looking for a straight answer from a reliable source as to what the plan is for finding the new coach.  It sounds like we are headed in the right direction, finally.

But why hesitate to post the job?  With a cumbersome precess ahead, seems like it would make the most sense to get it out there right away.

THS will have to study hard on which coach to hire! New coaches will be lining up for the chance to coach a team that plays in that new stadium! Don't you know?

This is absolutely ridiculous.  There is nothing short of cutting the boys soccer program that will attract more football players. I know that no way in my right mind for a team as bad as Tecumseh. This goes way further than just mensing. Don't try and blame him. Tecumseh has been horrible my whole life. It will take nothing short of a miracle to fix that team. 

It IS just high school football after all.  

At the time of Coach Mensing's hire 31 applicants were interested in the job here.  We were in the old stadium, with a dismal history and low numbers - just like now - and the applicants still came.  I don't doubt we'll get a number of coaches to choose from again this time around and most likely some very good candidates. 

I don't think it's necessary to cut Soccer to find more football players, I don't think the boys who have left football over the past few years defected en masse to the soccer field.  Look at Chelsea.  Roughtly the same number of students (933 according to their website) and they have a soccer program...looks like not as good as ours, but it doesn't appear soccer has gutted THEIR football numbers.

Are good facilities and community support part of the attraction for a potential new coach? Sure.  Try talking to some guys who coach at schools with little to no financial support for their program or staff, next to no community support (decent record aside), and who play on dilapidated fields with outdated equipment...some of those guys will jump at the chance to come here.  At least we can offer something to build on, and for a real, die-hard coach, that's enough.

I don't place the entire responsibility for the situation on Coach Mensing, what good does that do?  I'm not even interested in discussing Coach Mensing any longer.  Forward progress and the future, that's what I'm interested in.  A relentless gripe-fest about Coach Mensing and what he did or did not do here is a waste of time.  The guy resigned, leave him alone. 

Is it going to take a miracle to save this program?  Probably not.  Is it going to take a plan, a solid new coach, and a hell of a lot of hard work?  Yeah, that might do it...

Football is a difficult sport to play, win or lose. Practices are grueling and only with winning and being respectable are you going to get the numbers out you need to be successful. I have lived in the area for many years, when we first moved here Tecumseh had some fine football teams under Pat Connors, an excellent coach and teacher. My youngest son played on the 1991 team coached by Ray Schmidt.  They went to the state semi finals and lost to Farmington Hills Harrison, one of the finest teams ever in the state of Michigan. Tecumseh has a history of some fine football teams, dating back to the Tom Fagan era. It is amazing how a winning football team can energize an entire community. Look at area communities such as Chelsea or Hudson and see the support they get from the community. I can guarantee that the fine new football facilty that Tecumseh now has would have been an easier sell with a winning tradition.  I have confidence that the school board and athletic director Casey Randolph will find a highly qualified coach that can return Tecumseh football to a better day. I am sure there are many fine coaches who will jump at the chance to coach at the level of competition Tecumseh plays and with the fine facilities that are now available.

I think that people are missing the big picture in this, Jason never had a chance.  The Administration had changed in 2006, it is no mere chance that Hutch left right after.  The lack of turnout has very little to do with the coach and everything to do with the way the schools are being run into the ground by Mr. McAran.  When you care about NOTHING but your paycheck it shows, when the person at the top is THE biggest bully in the schools - IT SHOWS.  People are leaving, nothing to do with the way Jason ran his football program, the change has to happen at the top, it is the ONLY way to stop the free flow at all of the exits.  Get rid of the problem, and find someone who knows what it means to be a Superintendent.  The next coach is not going to have any more success than the last until that is done.  The Only change Jason could have made is what Mike Bailey touched on, playing all of the kids, this is a "Pay to Play" district not "Pay to ride the bench" cause you aren't quite as fast as some, or as strong as others, you don't know how those kids hearts are until they are put in game environment and allow them to see what they can do.  Your second and third string have to know that they can be in and playing at anytime, not only is it the right thing for the kids, it's what keeps the opponents guessing and keeps first string fresh for that fourth quarter run you always need.

I'm afraid Jason is probably the very best you were going to get to work in the current situation,  I agree with the kids, he worked his tail off and had great rapport with the players.  I also don't think Casey has anything to do with who the next football coach is,  he will just be the one telling us, when McAran tells him.  Until there is a board in place who will take the reins, we all just have to sit back and shake our heads at each poor decision that is made, one after the next.

Dave Govro

Can you elaborate on what you mean when you say Superintendant McAran is responsible for the failing of the football program?  That is the intended meaning I take from your statment - please clarify if I've misunderstood something.  How does his role in the schools influence the performance of one particular team, or limit one particular coach's ability to succeed?  How would replacing Mr. McAran change anything about football?  Other sports in the school have been very successful with Mr. McAran in place (wrestling, baseball, and softball come immediately to mind...), what is his special link to the deteriorated success of the football program? 

As for "pay to play."  My understanding is that P2P funds a percentage of all athletic programs.  It doesn't garuntee any one player any better chance of playing than he or she would have if P2P were not in place.  A student signs up, pays, and goes out for a team with the understanding that the pricetag isn't insurance of a starting position or even a place on the game field.  High school sports are the same as they were years ago - the coach puts what he or she feels is the best team on the field to win...  That being said, I do hope that the next coach will be more flexible in mixing up player combinations and changing players out when something isn't working.  But coaching style is individual to each head coach, so we'll see what happens...and next season, I'm really hoping we have enough boys out at the varsity level to HAVE a 3rd string...

I'm going to give Mr. Randolf and the situation the benefit of the doubt.  If a committee is put in place to help choose the coach I think it would be hard for Mr. McAran to name the new coach himself. 

There are good coaches out there interested in this job, I know that for a fact, and I'm sure when the job is posted those coaches will make themselves available...

You give credit to the same kids who cried about their coach, his choice in offenses and his demands? ok, good luck with that.  soft kids, poor work ethic, character issues, yeah, hang your hat on them. I applaud, respect and wish the best to the kids who backed their coach and accepted that they needed to work harder, block and tackle better to win football games.

I'm referring to the 16 underclassmen who were on the varsity this year who will presumably return next season - you know, the ones who backed the coach and worked hard. I'm giving those boys more credit than Real Deal does.  Are you suggesting that they were all "soft kids, with a poor work ethic and character issues?"  Wow...not from what I observed... 

As for anyone who might come back out, or come out for the first time next year, well, I guess the result of that remains to be seen...  It's unfortunate that this coaching transition has created such hostile camps and I regret that the boys who were devoted to the coach and played hard for him this season have been put in the middle of it.  It's unfortunate that the focus can't be entirely on forward thinking and the future.  Coach Mensing wasn't treated any differently than any other coach who was not producing winning seasons...that's the fact of the matter and it's a lesson in what real life will be like outside of the halls of high school.  Life is a competition sport and the good guy doesn't always come out on top in the end.

As for the need for better blocking and tackling?  Yeah, that'd be a GREAT place to start...the coach can teach fundamentals but it's up to the players to execute and I don't think anyone who attended the majority of our games this year felt they were watching a clinic on blocking and tackling...at least not on our side of the ball.

Not to add to all of the bickering, but when is somebody going to say that Tecumseh only hires coaches that teach at the school district. I am not saying that this is a bad thing, but lets face it some of these people werent good coaches and there were better candidates that interviewed for the job and were turned down because they werent teachers. I played for Tecumseh many years ago and had JV coaches that if memory serves me correctly lost 2 games in a total of three seasons. And when the Varsity job came open they were denied due to not being teachers. What I am trying to say in Tecumseh higher ups need to hire someone that is qualified to taech these kids the fundimentals of football, how to play as a team etc. Not because they have a name and a teaching possition. How far has this gotten these kids by going by these old ways?

I think you are being passed over for jobs because you seem to be an unprofessional person. How many coaches you see come on here and post stuff? You are a loser for trying to self promote yourself. You have no clue on what coaching is about.

People can question weather I am being unprofessional or not that is fair, I however have never came on here and called people names, questioned what people know or resorted to what is currently being said, taking things out of context.

My comments were in response to what  TC49 said, his questions were fair and were good questions, my response was not a complaint or a gripe it was just the facts that I know it to be. Current results of the programs, and the results over the last several years speak for themselves, if people want to remain blind to the reasons why players come through the program and continue to struggle, players who are great athletes that deserve better I guess you can. I am only trying to ask for better for all of them.

If my comments never lead me to coaching, I am fine with that... However if my comments lead to change for the better of all of the students at some time then it was worth it. Because it is not about me, its about providing the students the best, its about making change from the norm of hiring as their way has done little to make anyone better. Can we agree on that?

Probably not because it is too easy, criticize the person who speaks out on what is causing the program problems and leading to many players moving on and the program is still at the bottom of the league.

This will be my last post I will ever post on here! I wish Tecumseh players the best, it is just to bad that everyone did not expect the very best for you. When evaluating the basketball program over the next several years ask yourself why is the team still struggling? Then ask if the program system was changed... your answer will be no, and you should have no reason to complain as to why.

Students... I only ever wanted the best for you.

I have to disagree with the statement that ONLY teachers are hired for coaching positions here...Randy Hutchinson was not a teacher, neither was Mike Seal when he was hired to coach soccer at THS. Those are the first two I'm familiar off the top of my head without digging through records.  Teachers are regularly chosen for coaching jobs for two primary reasons in my opinion:  1. Scheduling - there are a lot of hours involved in coaching and a traditional 9-5 job isn't often conducive to be able to put forth the effort that coaching demands.  2.  Individuals who go into teaching are generally geared towards working with young people and devoted to fostering their success.  It's not as easy to be mentor, role model, motivator, etc. to a bunch of teenagers as one might think.  It takes very special people to be good teachers and good coaches.

Now, does that mean that EVERY teacher would be a good coach, or that every NON-teacher would be a BAD coach?  Of course not, those are just a couple of opinions on the subject.

I certainly don't think in the case of the Varsity Head Football coaching spot that "only a teacher" will be considered...that's ludicris.  My understanding is that JV Head Coach Joe Clifford has applied, he's not a teacher.  But wait, if ONLY teachers are hired, how'd he get the JV job to begin with?

I would like to see the focus come off of the airing of grievances and be turned to making demands that will be genuinely helpful to the situation (of hiring the football coach).  This is a hot-button topic and many elements of the community are emotionally involved in what happens, so my suggestion is this, make the list of applicants public, and make the names of the interview panel public.  The interviews themselves of course, would NOT be public unless the Athletic Office felt it would be beneficial to offer some sort of "town hall" meeting to allow the public to get familiar with the finalist candidates.  That might not be a bad idea, come to think about it..

I am glad I am not part of that mess.

Hire someone with prior success on the gridiron  AT THE VARSITY LEVEL and in the classroom. Support him and his staff, push the kids and the STAFF  to pay the price for success. Demand discipline, accountability, sacrifices, commitment, dedication and loyalty. eMPHASIZE PERFORMANCE.  HOW HARD IS THAT?  Every situation is different and if you identify the challenges that are present, form your interview questions around tackling those issues and you should find that the successful candidate will have already dealt with those issues-good luck.

That's exactly what I hope happens.  I'd like to see a mature, experienced VARSTIY coach with more than ONE winning season at the same school...I'd also like to see someone who has the b*** to stand up to intrusive parents (or anybody else) and establish boundaries that he will stick to (this is a problem in many sports other than football).

The communtiy provides excellent support, IMO, both financially and personally with attendance, fan club, etc.  But if we want wins I think a lot is going to have to change and the community has to be prepared to accept and support that...even if it gets ugly.  And to turn this program into a competitive one, that may very well need to happen.