Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
New Lyon coach hopes wait to end
A late start isn’t anything out of the ordinary for firstyear Lyon College football Coach Chris Douglas.
The Kansas native was hired in April after Casey Creehan resigned in February to take over at Peru (Neb.) State. Douglas’ hiring came more than a month after Lyon was shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic, so he didn’t get to formally meet his team.
At his previous stop as head coach at MacMurray (Ill.) College, Douglas was brought on in June and didn’t interact with his players in a group setting until fall practice. Lyon is scheduled to start fall practice Aug. 15.
“It’ll actually be my third time doing i t ,” said Douglas, in reference to meeting teams in August. “Each time I’ve taken a new job, I’ve taken it late where I haven’t been able to get with the team until the first day of camp. For me, that’s not that difficult because I’m used to it.
“What’s really been hard for me this time, though, is
just the not knowing. That’s what’s tough. We don’t know what’s going to happen because of what’s going on with the coronavirus right now.”
Adjusting fall schedules and cancelling seasons have been the solutions as of late for teams and conferences in all collegiate divisions, including the NAIA where Lyon resides.
The Sooner Athletic Conference hasn’t officially made a determination about playing sports in the fall, but two of its teams — Texas College and Langston University — have scrapped their football seasons.
For Lyon, those two opting not to play puts a dent in its already shrinking schedule. Last month, the NAIA announced that teams would play a maximum of nine games instead of 11. The Scots also had a nonconference game scheduled against NCAA Division III Hendrix, but that contest is off after Southern Athletic Association announced that games for its member schools, such as Hendrix, were postponed through the fall.
“Three weeks ago, I was really positive that things were going to work out, that we were going to have a season,” said Douglas, who also spent five seasons as head coach at Southwestern (Kan.) College before a nine-year stay at MacMurray. “And now, here in the last two weeks, with so many schools and conferences canceling or pushing back until the spring, it’s got me really nervous that it may not work out or that we’ll start and not be able to finish. Right now, you just hope that we’re going to have a camp, and you hope that we’re still gonna have a season.”
The Scots set the school record for victories in 2019 and finished 7-3. Nine players garnered all-conference nods, including quarterback Isaiah Bradford. The junior completed 151 of 275 passes for 2,123 yards and 22 touchdowns against 6 interceptions. In all, six of the players who earned recognition are expected to return.
But the situation is about as fluid as possible.
“For coaches, the concern about possibly not having a season is a little harder,” he said. “You invest so much of your life into it because it’s your livelihood, it’s your passion. It’s kind of your calling, and for it to be threatened or put on hiatus is rough.
“I think covid-19 has kind of given people some opportunities to explore different parts of their life. If we don’t have a season, I think that’s going to happen more for coaches now. It’s scary, again, because you’ve got your whole life and lifestyle wrapped into it, and if that disappears, then what?”