Tony Vance hired at Meridian

[Merlin]

Say what? 

[Vott]

6 minutes ago, Merlin said:

Say what? 

Once its in your blood, retirement is hard. 

[s1nglewing]

https://www.mpsdk12.net/post-details/~board/2024-mhs-athletics/post/vance-tabbed-to-lead-wildcat-football-program

[pancho]

oh lort

[Ghost of Howard Cosell]

Big 8 Swag back in the Queen City!

[Merlin]

1 hour ago, Vott said:

Once its in your blood, retirement is hard. 

Hes OC in Alabama to be closer to his son.   To come back to ms just seems strange.  The head coach at the school he was at in bans is also mentioned for a few MS jobs. 

[Eagleman1228]

Probably about as good a hire that Meridian could have made, he stepped away for a year to double dip his pension with new salary, oldest trick in the book. His tallest task initially will be to keep all the players at Meridian. I know I saw 4-5 guys at Lamar who transferred recently. D1 type athletes. 

[HammerDown74]

1 hour ago, Merlin said:

Hes OC in Alabama to be closer to his son.   To come back to ms just seems strange.  The head coach at the school he was at in bans is also mentioned for a few MS jobs. 

I have heard that his son is transferring to EMCC.

[ccbulldog]

This is exactly the type coach Meridian needs at this time. He is a hard nosed no nonsense coach and the Meridian players had got soft under Gandy. As long as he can get the players to not quit and if he can control his temper a little better, he should be able to turn this program around.

[Vott]

Come on Slick. You gotta have a say so on this.

[Bulldogs4]

Well we see how successful Vance will be at Meridian but I was impressed with his press conference. Very organized, well spoken and a good balance of pragmatism and enthusiasm. He acknowledged the work ahead but he seems more than up to the challenge.

We know the biggest key is getting more boys from the hallways and the streets on to the football field. He seems like an individual that can bridge that divide though it has been a problem for many years.

I believe he will be successful and I am looking forward to going to Ray Stadium this fall. Win or lose I believe we will see a much better squad on the field. 

[coastfootballfanman]

Vance is one of the few guys who I feel have the ability to fit in and change things around Meridian. Probably the best case hire they could have made given their circumstances. If he can get more and more kids out and they do in fact drop to 6A, they could be highly competitive sooner than later. 

[Rebel Maniac]

Vance is an excellent choice for Meridian. He will be able to rally kids and put together a team on the field that the community will be proud of. 

[pancho]

it'll take him a few years to get everybody to buy in to what he's selling.   too many bad apples with bad attitudes that don't have any idea to to apply themselves in a positive way.  best of luck to him

[Archer]

11 minutes ago, pancho said:

it'll take him a few years to get everybody to buy in to what he's selling.   too many bad apples with bad attitudes that don't have any idea to to apply themselves in a positive way.  best of luck to him

 

That's quite the conditional considering he may not be there a few years.

[BigFan100]

gREAT hIRE 

[pancho]

3 hours ago, Archer said:

 

That's quite the conditional considering he may not be there a few years.

It is a daunting task, no doubt.  

[Ghost of Howard Cosell]

Vance is the best man for the rebuild of Meridian Football! Best of luck to him! 

[slicklizard]

Tony V always was a different personality when he was coaching a game starting to slip away from him. Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn’t. 
That won’t work here at least for two more seasons. Maybe longer.  Does he have enough lexipro to hold out ?  Kids want to win. He had a turnkey operation when he got to Hattiesburg. This is the opposite end of the spectrum from that .

 

speaking of Hattiesburg was vance at the game Friday ?

[maroontide06]

3 hours ago, slicklizard said:

Tony V always was a different personality when he was coaching a game starting to slip away from him. Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn’t. 
That won’t work here at least for two more seasons. Maybe longer.  Does he have enough lexipro to hold out ?  Kids want to win. He had a turnkey operation when he got to Hattiesburg. This is the opposite end of the spectrum from that .

 

speaking of Hattiesburg was vance at the game Friday ?

Maybe he can get Meridian an extra timeout LOL.  If he does that, I’ll count his  Meridian tenure a success.  But here’s the kicker:  I want to see him do it staying cool, calm, & collected on the sideline.

[ccbulldog]

If he can get the kids to buy in he will be successful, if he can't he won't. There are plenty of athletes there but they had lost interest in football. 

[Bulldogs4]

5 hours ago, ccbulldog said:

If he can get the kids to buy in he will be successful, if he can't he won't. There are plenty of athletes there but they had lost interest in football. 

This is the key. Even though Marcus Boyles was only here one year, he had some momentum in that regard. I believe Vance can do the same. I saw some on here panning his temper. Hopefully he can convert that into a fiery energy. Plus he is a bit older now so maybe that has settled down a bit. 
As I mentioned there is a good youth and Middle school football program in place. Obviously it will need to be tailored to his system. 
We will see. I have always been a half glass full person so I am going to be cautiously optimistic going forward. And see where this goes over the next few years. 

[s1nglewing]

Have you ever heard the phrase about "biting off more than you chew"?... or "Your eyes are bigger than your stomach "?

 

If he turns Meridian around, then he's a better mentor than most.

 

Heckuva challenge