As the Dartmouth football team seeks to win the program's first Ivy League championship since 1996 this fall, the team will move forward while adjusting to turnover in the coaching staff. Former offensive coordinator Jim Pry's departure which was announced in an e-mail sent by Rick Bender, Dartmouth's director of varsity athletic communications, on Feb. 9 means the Big Green will open the 2011 season with its third offensive coordinator in three years, though players interviewed by The Dartmouth said they are generally not concerned about the change.
Head coach Buddy Teevens cited "philosophical differences" as the reason for Pry's departure, The Dartmouth previously reported. Pry declined to comment for this article.
"In the coaching profession, there's turnover with regularity, but what we need to do offensively is a collective mindset," Teevens said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "Ideally, the more collaborative it is, the more productive it is you have one decision-maker, but you want input from everybody. You take suggestions from everybody because everybody is organized and thinking along the same lines."
All-Ivy offensive lineman Ryan O'Neill '12 said that collaborative problems likely led to Pry's departure.
"After talking with [Teevens], I understood they had different ideas about where they wanted to go next," O'Neill said. "They were going different directions, and you need a cohesive unit on the football team. They had different ideas of how they wanted the offense to go."
Players interviewed by The Dartmouth have said they are optimistic that the team's offense will move forward without disruption.
Teevens' role in the offense changed in 2010, when he chose to focus more fully on his head-coaching duties and delegate additional play-calling responsibility to his assistant coaches.
Teevens' offensive system under which the team has improved the past two seasons remains in place.
"When I first arrived, I was heavily involved [in the offense]," Teevens said. "Last season I decided I was going to step out of it."
Teevens said that while he did not call any offensive or defensive plays last season, he maintained final say on key sideline decisions. He added that although stepping away from play calling was a difficult choice, it allowed him to become a "more complete head coach," providing him the benefit of observing all facets of the game.
"There has got to be an appreciation across the board that ultimately I have the decisions on everything, but I need to delegate out and let guys coach and trust them," Teevens said. "The input that I would have offensively and defensively was observational generally at the half or after a ballgame or in a specific situation, for example third-and-short or on special teams, a play like a fake punt."
Dartmouth has also had to work through coaching adjustments on defense in recent seasons.
Results have been positive so far, as the Big Green broadly improved in 2010 under first-year defensive coordinator Don Dobes, who previously served as linebackers coach at Princeton University for 16 seasons.
Last week, the Big Green announced the hiring of defensive line coach Calvin Thibodeaux a former All-Big 12 selection at Oklahoma University to replace former defensive line coach James Jones.
"He had tremendous playing experience," Teevens said. "He led the League in sacks his senior year because he was a tremendous technician. What I sensed was that he was a very, very good teacher."
Thibodeaux will attempt to assist a defense that improved significantly in 2010. After ranking last in the League in opponents' yards per game and points per game from 2007 to 2009, Dartmouth improved to fifth and sixth rankings, respectively, last season.
Teevens said he was also pleased with the offensive progress Dartmouth made in 2010.
"It certainly was a step forward," Teevens said. "The biggest thing was the development of our offensive line. We had more juniors and seniors lined up, and that physical maturity makes a big difference in this League."
Two of the Big Green's top offensive linemen will return to play as seniors in the fall. O'Neill began starting as left guard midway through his sophomore season, while Austen Fletcher '12, a second-team All-Ivy selection in 2010, has served as the team's starting center since his first game as a freshman.
Dartmouth allowed just seven sacks last season, tied for fourth-fewest in the Football Championship Subdivision.
The offensive line's experience also allowed for the emergence of Nick Schwieger '12 as tailback, who became the fourth Big Green player to register 1,000 yards in a season.
Teevens said, however, that he would like to see quarterback play improve.
Starting quarterback Conner Kempe '12 completed only 54 percent of his passes last season, throwing for eight touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
"I struggled with [being careful with the ball] last season and tried to force a lot of passes," Kempe said. "I need to study film more as well. I'm taking two classes so I can focus directly on football."
Teevens said he would like to get the ball into the hands of the Big Green's skill position players such as All-Ivy wide receiver Tim McManus '11, who will return in the fall as much as possible.
"The area I'd like to improve is probably our percentage pass completion," Teevens said.
