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MSU fires coach Kramer, cites 'crisis in leadership'
By JIM CNOCKAERT Chronicle Sports Writer
Mike Kramer was fired Friday as Montana State University's head football coach, a day after another of his former players was arrested on drug charges.
ERIK PETERSEN/CHRONICLE Montana State University athletic director Peter Fields reacts to questions from the media after announcing Friday that head Bobcat football coach Mike Kramer was fired. MSU athletic director Peter Fields said he made the decision Friday morning to fire Kramer, after consulting with MSU President Geoff Gamble and vice president for student affairs Allen Yarnell. Fields said Gamble and Yarnell agreed that the cumulative effects of the football program's troubles pointed to a "crisis in leadership."
"There is something broken with our football program, and we need to take decisive steps to fix it," Fields said during a hastily called news conference Friday afternoon.
"What's been happening is a black cloud over all our kids," Fields said. "You feel bad for the athletes. You feel bad for the staff that has worked so hard. They get painted with a brush that they're part of a drug university, when it's far from the truth. But that is the perception that is out there, so we need to change that perception."
Kramer could not be reached for comment Friday.
When Fields was asked to describe Kramer's reaction to the firing, Fields replied: "He didn't understand."
Kramer was hired as MSU's 30th head coach Dec. 6, 1999, after a successful six-year stint at Eastern Washington University. He compiled a 40-43 record, led the Bobcats to three Big Sky Conference championships and guided the team to its first playoff victory in 22 years in November.
But five of his former players have been arrested on drug charges and another has been charged with murder in the past year.
"Whatever these problems are, we can't stay in this trajectory," Gamble said Friday. "These problems are linked directly to our university in people's minds. Perception is reality."
Several current players, many of whom had already left campus for the summer, said they were shocked by the decision.
"I can't imagine anything good coming out of this," said senior quarterback Jack Rolovich.
Junior running back Isaiah Taito said Kramer was a good coach. "Mistakes by the players have put him in this position," Taito said.
Gamble and Fields also praised Kramer for his success as a football coach. But Friday's decision came down to leadership, they said.
"We have criminal, academic and compliance issues," Gamble said. "Peter's point to me was: It might be a leadership issue. We needed to make a change to see if we can do this a little better."
Fields said the university will comply with the terms of Kramer's contract regarding termination of employment without cause. The former coach will continue to receive payments from the school. It was unclear Friday how much that would be, but Kramer was working under an annual contract, earning about $135,000 a year.
Fields said he will quickly begin a search for a head coach, adding that he plans to appoint an interim coach to oversee the program in the meantime. He said he has a number of applications from which to choose potential candidates, and plans to appoint a screening committee that will be asked to provide three to five names for consideration.
"This is a place to start," Fields said. "We're going to work from here and be diligent about it. The bad things that have happened are not what we're about, but it looks like this is what we're about. The sad thing is, this is a very small minority, but this is very devastating to the program. The majority of student athletes are doing the right things."
Fields acknowledged that timing is tight in terms of hiring a new coach. Asked how quickly he needed to get one on board, he replied: "Yesterday."
Unclear Friday was what Kramer's firing would mean for the future of his assistants, many of whom were out of the office and could not be reached. Fields said he will meet with the assistant coaches and other members of the football staff Monday.
The firing comes a day after former MSU wide receiver Rick Gatewood and his brother, Randy, were arrested on two federal complaints alleging they were selling cocaine and conspiring to sell cocaine in Bozeman from June 2005 to May 2007, according to court records. The Gatewoods are being held in the Missoula County jail. Bail has not been set.
The complaints against the brothers are the latest in a long list of drug charges filed against former MSU athletes in recent years.
In December, three former football players were charged in connection with selling cocaine or marijuana the previous June to an informant. In June 2006, a former basketball player and a former football player were charged with deliberate homicide and aggravated kidnapping in the drug-related shooting death of a suspected cocaine dealer.
Gamble said he agreed with Fields that a change of leadership in the football program was necessary.
"Peter said he thought there was something broken with so many incidents, and for me, I must admit, I was tired of new incidents every few months," Gamble said. "Montana State is a great institution that doesn't deserve the negative reputation that is building because of these incidents. We have taken many positive steps, but it's clear we have a lot more work to do."
Fields agreed: "When you look at our football program's recent history, it is apparent that its direction does not fit with what this university is about. It starts with leadership."
