Rams getting lots of calls

'About 75 people' have asked about WSSU football job

By: By John Dell | JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: December 11, 2009

Bill Hayes has spent a lot of time answering his cell phone since it became known that Winston-Salem State needs a football coach.

Hayes, who will officially take over as WSSU's athletics director Jan. 1, says he has been amazed at the amount of interest in the job. Kermit Blount, the Rams' coach the last 17 years, was reassigned to another department at the university last month for the remaining year of his contract.

"I do know we had about 75 people apply for the job," Hayes said. "And for the coaches who have called me about the job, all I can say is there's an impressive amount of talent out there."

Among those who have called are Pete Richardson, James Webster, Alvin Wyatt and Mo Forte.

Richardson, fired earlier this week at Southern, was WSSU's head coach from 1988 to 1992 and had a 41-14-1 record in that stretch. He also spent six seasons as an assistant to Hayes when Hayes was WSSU's head coach.

Southern finished 6-5 this season but was 134-62 in 17 seasons under Richardson, with five Southwestern Athletic Conference titles. Richardson's record in 22 seasons as a head coach is 175-78-1.

Webster, a Winston-Salem native, is a former assistant at North Carolina and former head coach at Tennessee State. Wyatt has been the head coach at Bethune-Cookman, and Forte has been the head coach at Arkansas Pine Bluff and N.C. A&T.

Also showing interest were Michael Moran, the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at N.C. A&T, and Conell Maynor, the offensive coordinator at Fayetteville State.

Maynor, a former quarterback at WSSU and N.C. A&T, has been at Fayetteville State since 2000. He helped WSSU and Hayes to the CIAA title as a freshman in 1987, and when Hayes left for N.C. A&T for the 1988 season, Maynor followed. He ended up as a three-year starter for the Aggies and helped them to a MEAC title.

There has been speculation that Coach Joe Taylor of Florida A&M was interested, but Hayes -- A&M's athletics director until Dec. 31 -- said he has not heard from Taylor.

Hayes said he didn't know if the coaches he talked to applied, but he encouraged them to do so. Hayes pointed out that he's not on the search committee being led by Dennis Felder.

"The search committee will come up with about four or five names, and we'll get started on the interview part of all this," Hayes said.

Hayes said he hopes to start the interview process Monday.

"We'll get those interviews going, and then we'll go to the Chancellor," he said.

jdell@wsjournal.com.

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