MAJOR SHAKEUPS in the Rhinos Organization

By: alessio | September 28th, 2009

[From Rhinossoccer.com] (Rochester, NY)… The Rochester Rhinos announced today the organization will not be entering into negotiations with head coach Darren Tilley for a new contract for the 2010 season and beyond.

“We would like to thank coach Tilley for his commitment to the organization over the past two years.” says Rob Clark, Rhinos owner and CEO. “Darren will always be regarded as one of the best players in Rhinos history.”

The club also announced that President/GM Matt Ford’s contract will not be renewed for the 2010 season. Mr. Ford will bte staying on to assist the club in this time of transition.

Rob Clark will be available for comment and questions at (315) 796-5009 or at the Rhinos offices at Marina Auto Stadium.

I’m not surprised by the move, moreso by the timing though. Supposedly Tilley got the news while on the way back from Puerto Rico, while in Atlanta. That is a minus for my for the organization, Rob Clark should have given the team a few days to get over the defeat before enacting changes. And to find out while traveling back with the team…not very classy in my opinion.

That said, I think the move was necessary. As I said in the last post, the Rhinos have the players to win championships, but it’s been muddled for the last few seasons. Some have claimed it was a mistake to fire Laurie Calloway two seasons ago, but I disagree. His time was stagnating as well, and I was not sure he was building towards anything. Tilley had two seasons to do something, but we never played that impressive and frankly, the performances at home in particular were embarrassing. It’s no surprise attendance was down this season, though still 3rd best in the league. GM Matt Ford was also kicked out, though he will stay to help with the transition. I don’t exactly know his role in the team, so I won’t comment on that.

What do I think about Rob Clark? Generally, positively, though he is not without his quirks. This season I witnessed a very competent marketing crew and management do very well with the Rhinos- The food and drink at the stadium was a big improvement, the marketing via a variety of ways (Facebook, Twitter, and traditional media) was smart, and the promotions for the games were excellent. I am sure this was mostly his idea, to try and drive the crowds out to the stadium and other than mediocre attendances, every game I went to, the amenities and promotions were great.

But the performances on the pitch did not follow. It seemed when Rob Clark took over, he wanted to rebuild the team into the glory we were in the late 90s and early 2000s. Part of this was hiring Rochester legend Darren Tilley as coach. Most teams go through waves of form, positive patches, before cooling off and heating up again. The Rhinos were more or less completely mediocre the last two years, and I have no doubt that the relatively poor attendances are largely down to this. For the last 2-3 seasons (including the end of Laurie Calloway) the team has looked bad at home. I’m not asking for champagne football, but when you draw 6 consecutive games 0-0 at home, it’s hard to blame the more casual fans for staying home. Playing at home should be a major advantage, yet we had a better record on the road this season.

Simply put, something had to change. Scotty Vallow said he felt guilty, as the players performances were not up to par, but it’s really not his fault or the players, Tilley failed to get the best out of them. There have been rumors that a significant amount of corporate sponsors or season tickets were on the line, that they were disappointed with the last few seasons and were reconsidering their support, and in that case it makes sense as well.

Here’s to hoping for a better 2010 Rhinos season…perhaps one with a trophy.