End of the Line: Kermit Blount, longtime WSSU football coach, to be reassigned

Kermit Blount's 17-year career as the football coach at Winston-Salem State University will end Saturday.

Blount, who has more career victories than any football coach in school history, will be reassigned to another department to finish out his contract, which will expire in December 2010.

The Rams (1-9) will close one of the worst seasons in program history Saturday at Norfolk State.

"This wasn't about just wins and losses," said Chancellor Donald Reaves, who made a joint decision with incoming Athletics Director Bill Hayes to change coaches. "We need to re-energize the program, and that become obvious this season."

Reaves and Hayes, who will officially start at WSSU on Jan. 1, agreed that it was a tough decision but one that had to made. Blount was told of the decision Wednesday night and did not return phone messages left yesterday.

The Rams have lost 10 of their last 11 games dating to last season, and with one more loss will finish with their worst record since 1975. Blount, 51, has a 91-86-3 record and two more wins than Hayes had during his 12-year career as WSSU's coach (1976-87).

Blount put the Rams through a tough practice yesterday afternoon at Bowman Gray Stadium and was going to tell his players about his status in a short meeting afterward. The Rams left early this morning for Norfolk State.

Hayes, the athletics director at Florida A&M and Blount's former coach, said by telephone from Orlando, Fla., that although he and Blount have known each other a long time, a change was in the best interest of the program.

"I've known Kermit since he was in high school in Richmond, and I recruited him to come to Winston," Hayes said of Blount, who quarterbacked the Rams to back-to-back 11-1 seasons in 1977 and '78. "He's done a good, solid job in his 17 years there, and I'm proud of what he's done, but the program just needs a shot of energy at this point."

Blount's salary will be about $105,000 for the final year of his contract. Reaves said that Blount's reassignment will not be in athletics. Blount has been in his position longer than all but two other college football coaches in North Carolina, trailing only Jerry Moore of Appalachian State (21 years) and Jim Sypult of Methodist (18 years).

Reaves said that he and Hayes talked at length about what the program needs. Hayes was in town for two days last week and, according to sources, had some long meetings with Reaves. Hayes says he would like to hire a coach as quickly as possible because of recruiting.

Season of adversity

Ced Hickman, a redshirt sophomore running back who is injured and won't play Saturday, said he was surprised by the news about Blount.

"Everybody has jumped on his back about how the games have turned out and everything," Hickman said. "It just went downhill for him all season, and that's tough to take. Now we just have to get used to another coach next season."

Aaron Federspiel, who played for Blount and is now an assistant coach, had to hold back tears when asked for a reaction.

"We all know it's a tough business, and we all know this can happen," Federspiel said. "I'm very loyal to Coach Blount because not only did he give me an opportunity to play here but to coach here. So this is very hard."

The contracts of Blount's assistants will expire in December, and Hayes said they would have the chance to be interviewed for jobs by the new head coach, but added: "You know how it is when a head coach steps down -- the assistants step down with him."

The Rams will try to finish a roller-coaster ride of a season on a positive note.

"We are all professionals and we'll handle it that way," Federspiel said. "We're going to go out and do the best we can, and go out there and try to win a game this weekend. I wish the best for Coach and his family, and we'll see what happens with the rest of us coaches."

In addition to WSSU's struggles on the field, players and coaches have had to deal with the school's decision -- announced in September -- to abandon the move to Division I and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

"They made a business decision," Federspiel said. "It's a business, and this is my school, and as long as I work here and I'm employed here, I'll support all of their decisions."

During his weekly news conference Wednesday, Blount was asked again about the effect of the Division I announcement on his team.

"I would say that honestly it was a culture shock for the kids," he said. "That was just something we had to get past. As coaches, you just have to preach it and teach it, and those decisions are made, and you have to keep moving forward."

In addition to the announcement about abandoning the move to Division I, the Rams lost two running backs in midseason when Brandon McRae and David Ahola quit the team. On the field, the Rams struggled on offense, averaging just 11.1 points -- the low during Blount's career. They lost two games decisively (27-10 to S.C. State and 45-14 to California Davis) and lost two others in overtime.

Asked Wednesday if he had ever endured a season with so much turmoil, Blount said: "We saw some lean years initially when I started at Howard as an assistant, but I've not seen this kind of year since I've been in the business. It was a different kind of experience, but we learned some things a long the way as well."

jdell@wsjournal.com.

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Kermit Blount Background

Born: May 16, 1958, in Richmond, Va.

Education: Winston-Salem State (1980, B.S. physical education)

Playing career: Winston-Salem State (1975-78); four-year starter at QB; All-CIAA (1977, 1978); All-America (1978); played on two CIAA championship teams (1977, 1978); ranks fifth in career passing yards at WSSU (3,330)

Coaching career: Armstrong Kennedy High, Richmond (assistant, 1981-82); East Carolina (assistant, 1983); Howard (assistant, 1984-88); S.C. State (assistant, 1989-92); WSSU (head coach, 1993-2009)

Awards: CIAA coach of the year 1999 and 2000; D.C. Pigskin Coach of the year 1999 and 2000