The end of an era

After nine seasons of patrolling the sidelines as coach of The University of Memphis football team, Tommy West's tenure has come to an end.

U of M athletic director R.C. Johnson met with West yesterday morning, two days after the Tigers fell 56-28 to Tennessee in Knoxville, to inform him that U of M wanted the football program to "go in a different direction."

Although the search for a new coach will begin immediately, Johnson said, West will stay on and coach the final three games of the season, beginning with a Conference USA match-up this weekend against UAB.

By pulling the trigger while The U of M is still playing games, it will give The University a chance to find a replacement in time for the recruiting season, instead of starting the procedure at the end of the season, Johnson said.

"As far as the search (for a coach), we will start that immediately," he said. "The goal is very simple: to get the best available coach as quickly as possible."

West spoke just a few minutes later but wasn't nearly as reserved.

"Sometimes when you're the head coach, you can't say things because if you do, it's kind of sour grapes," he said. "You can't say exactly the way it is."

Now that he no longer has a job, West said, he could speak freely about The University's lack of support for the football program. He said U of M fans should demand that the athletic department provide adequate facilities and training necessities to its football team, something they didn't do for him.

"Now is the time to stand up for your university and your football program," he said. "I'm the seventh straight coach that stands here saying the same things to you. This is the seventh straight time this has happened. History will continue to repeat itself if they don't do something about it."

West came to The U of M in 2000 as defensive coordinator under former head coach Rip Scherer, and took over the following year after Scherer was dismissed after six consecutive losing seasons. Before that, Chuck Stobart was fired after three straight 6-5 seasons.

"(Chuck) Stobart stood here the same way. He became a bad coach - wouldn't recruit - but he was good enough to beat Southern Cal," West said. "And Rip (Scherer) became a bad coach - wouldn't recruit - but he could beat Peyton Manning and Tennessee. And we could beat Eli (Manning) in his senior year and Ole Miss down there the next year."

West responded to criticisms of himself and former coaches, hinting that The University never fully invested into the football program and instead let the blame of insufficiency fall on the coaches' heads.

"They'll hire a good guy, and I'll pull for him, but our fans have got to demand they give him an equal stick to fight with within our conference," he said. "You've got to give him a level playing field to compete."

During his time as head coach, West took the Tigers to five bowl games in six seasons, breaking a 32-year bowl drought by leading The U of M to an appearance in the 2003 New Orleans Bowl.

Things began looking bleak for West when a 1-4 start to the season sent the team into a downward spiral. Rumblings for West's removal began after a 31-14 loss to Middle Tennessee State University on Sept. 12. The Tigers won their next game, 41-14, at home against UT-Martin, but then dropped five of the next six contests.

Though things didn't go the way he wanted, West spoke throughout the season about not giving up, but eventually the outside negativity got to him.

"It's hard to win," he said. "In today's game, it's harder to win than it's ever been. If you've got to fight battles around your own program and around your own campus and around your own city, it's hard."

West, who will walk away from The University with a $2.7 million contract buyout at the end of this season, said he just hopes the next coach gets a fair chance.

"At some point in time, you've got to say 'We've got to help this football program,'" West said. "It's too painful for coaches, players and fans. Put something into it or do away with it.