HUNTSVILLE —
Over the past few days, online reports have surfaced that say Bearkats football coach Willie Fritz was set to interview this week for the vacant head coaching job at the University of Texas-El Paso.
According to Fritz and Sam Houston State athletic director Bobby Williams, those reports are far from the truth. On Monday, both Fritz and Williams refuted those reports.
“I haven’t had a word with anyone from UTEP about the job and I haven’t talked with anyone from UTEP,” Fritz said firmly. “I’ve got all sorts of stuff that I’m worried about right now like getting our team ready for Cal Poly on Saturday.”
News that Fritz was interviewing this week to be the Miners’ head coach after Mike Price retired from the job also came as a surprise to Williams.
“I haven’t been called or talked to anyone from UTEP,” Williams said. “ I also haven’t heard anything from Willie.”
Following back-to-back seasons in which the Bearkats won Southland Conference championships and also advanced to the FCS playoffs, including their run to the Football Championship Subdivision national title game last season, Williams has come to expect word from various schools interested in hiring Fritz.
In light of expected outside interest, the Sam Houston athletic department is prepared to compete for Fritz’s services.
“This is the kind of thing that comes with winning and success,” SHSU’s athletic director said. “The package (pay raise for Fritz and his assistant coaches, as well as adding a few full-time coaching positions) we put together for coach Fritz last year will make us competitive against schools that are interested in him. Against Sun Belt schools and schools on the lower end of Conference USA, we’ll be very competitive.
“We want to keep him here and we’ll do what we can to keep him. If a job and an opportunity comes along that he can’t pass up, then we would wish him all the best.”
According to Footballscoop.com, a website that specializes in putting out information about college football coaching hirings, firings and openings, UTEP defensive coordinator Andre Patterson and Fritz plan to interview for the UTEP job this week.
“I’ve had other coaches call and tell me good luck with my interview that I didn’t know about,” Fritz said. “They’ve got all kinds of stuff online. I asked my coaches if they knew about this and they said yeah. That’s why I try to get our kids to not read that kind of stuff online.
“I’m a Bearkat and we’ve got to plan for a unique offense that Cal Poly has.”
Following a bye in the first-round, Sam Houston will host Cal Poly, co-Big Sky Conference champs, in the second round at Bowers Stadium on Saturday at 3 p.m. The winner will play either No. 3 national seed Montana State or Stony Brook in next week’s quarterfinals.
Sports
Fritz says he has not talked to UTEP
Bearkats coach worried about Cal Poly offense, not job in El Paso
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