Sheppy gone from Massillon

[Dog Corporation]

Looks like Sheppy took his toys and left Massillon to coach a small time D-3 college team...I guess those of the Tigger fans who thought Sheppy was the greatest thing since Paul Brown, are having a pretty bad day..Dude did make it interesting not only on the field but off the field as well...

[jlp]

Wow Shepas is quitting, and the new Jackson coach announces they will play man-to-man defense.

Two gifts for McKinley fans in the same day

[IUDOGS]

Alex Wood will be the next Massillon football Coach.

This is IUDOGS signing off.

[McKinleyGrad1]

I heard that from one of my Massillon friends this morning...
Who"s Alex Wood?

[Tony Salapack]

McKinleyGrad1..........the next Paul Brown........again!!!!!!!!!

[Guest]

If anyone who should be the next Massillon head coach, my pick is Tyrone Partridge. I've seen what he can do and I've been in the city long enough to be able to draw my inference without wavering. Partridge (defensive coordinator) is adept at taking away any other team's potent offense and he does a fantastic job at it as seen in the 2001 and 2002 seasons. Just my thoughts.

Keno Sultan
Email: KenoSultan@hotmail.com

[T McK Bulldog G]

Don't count out Chris Speilmen or Vic Whiting from Northwest.

[McKinleyGrad1]

don't count Thom McDaniels out either.

[Dog Corporation]

Spielman wont coach there..especially since he's coaching Arena Football..Vic Whitting I dont see leaving Northwest as he darn near has the key to the city there..Also, Thommy wont leave Warren for Massillion, not enough ringers there for him to look good..Will be interesting who they will get in such short notice...

[gpedog]

i think this kind of tells you what shepas thinks of massillon. leaving on such short notice.

[Guest]

Don't count out Chris Speilmen or Vic Whiting from Northwest.

T McK Bulldog G, I don't think Vic Whiting will make the cut coaching in Massillon.
Not to burst your bubble but Whiting is not a proven Division I coach...he is better off where he is at. I told a guy in Massillon who I know who thought Whiting was the man Massillon needs to "go drink some whiskey" because Northwest is nothing like Massillon and plus, he has not coached in crowds of 18,000 or 23,000 for that matter.
But I do like your lead on Chris Spielman..he played at the school and he has the blood in him. Thom McDaniels, I'm not too concerned about him...he's fine where he is at Warren Harding High School.
Personally speaking, Massillon needs something after their last two seasons ended in disgrace...a 20-7 loss to McKinley, punctuated by Bulldog players stomping on the 'M' logo at midfield and an embarrassing 40-8 loss which the defense lost that one, period. They gave up 40 points...40 POINTS !
While Massillon has gone 8-12 the last two seasons, McKinley has gone 14-11, capped by a state championship appearance.

Keno Sultan
Email: KenoSultan@hotmail.com

[nutch11]

Shepas' leaving on short notice, I wouldn't call it that. He had a couple years left on his contract, but everyone pretty much knew he wouldn';t be renewed, most over there will be happy to see him go. He has been trying to get another job for awhile now so I don't think anyone is surprised.
As for the rep saying "he left under his own terms", he was a lame duck at best and if he didn't find a job before the contract is up he'd be canned.
I look for the new coach to come from outside the county. Also, my guess is that he won't be getting any 4-5 year contract or a renewel of that length.

[Guest]

Rick Shepas had his friends and enemies at the school. However, you do have to realize that he was a master at thriving off of pressure. And although he may have had his share of controversy, no coach in Stark County was more scruinized than Shepas but again, his ability to thrive off of pressure is what I respect him for.
Unfortunately, a devastating state semifinal loss to Warren Harding, coupled by two embarrassing losses to Canton McKinley and the opening of the Waynesburg College head coaching post led him to pursue the next step in his coaching career.

Keno Sultan
Email: KenoSultan@hotmail.com

[Tony Salapack]

Thrive on pressure! He sure didn't rise to the occasion against Iggy when it did and didn't count, Warren, McKinley, Perry.................................

Get a room!

[Guest]

Tony,

Shepas made his share of comments but what I like about him is that he did not waver in what he said! He said it and he stood by what he said! He thrived off of relentless pressure when in the eye of the storm!
My personal belief is that if anyone can stand by what they say without being wavered, they have my respect...and he truly has had my respect. You make comments and you stick by them. I make comments and I stick by them. Everyone does it and everyone on here does a good job at that. You're volatile, I'm volatile, the next person is volatile, everyone on here is volatile and we both know that!
Now back to the tangent: Shepas' teams from 1999-2002 also proved to be fearsome while also intimidating opponents who stepped before them on their path to two Ohio Division I regional championships.
The one thing you have going for you is I'll grant you this: Massillon was 7-15 against Cleveland St. Ignatius, Warren Harding, Perry and Canton McKinley combined. That's the best inference I'll draw from your post! And if you don't like that, tell me to go drink some whiskey but I'm not backing down!

Keno Sultan
Email: KenoSultan@hotmail.com

[alumni75]

Man it is so funny how so many names have come up as the next Massillon coach.A tiger fan that I work with says...he heard some talk about Lake's Durbin.Gonna be interesting.Hennon wants someone in three weeks.

[CANTONFAN]

Interesting article in todays Massillon paper.

http://www.indeonline.com/left.php?ID=2 ... Category=1

[mckgrad]

Sounds like McDaniels is begging for the job, saying Massillon put high school football on the map in Ohio. I always told people that he wasn't a real bulldog and they wouldn't believe me. Now he is bad-mouthing Warren the same way he bad-mouthed Canton.

[Guest]

McKGrad,

McDaniels coaching at Massillon, I don't see that happening. He's too committed at Warren Harding High School, look at his track record. I have not heard anything of him bad-mouthing Warren.
I'll tell you this, the people who bad-mouthed McDaniels during his 16 years at the school...they had it coming to them after all those years. I don't necessarily agree with what McDaniels said but his detractors needed it!! It was a matter of time before McDaniels played all his cards and at the right time (just before the Bulldogs resurgence), he LET EM' HAVE IT!!! You'd be agitated too if you was disrespected for so long before you snapped, too. Trust me, I know this.

Keno Sultan
Email: KenoSultan@hotmail.com

P.S. You say that McDaniels wasn't a Bulldog? How else do you explain him being on the field for inspiration before the Bulldogs 2002 game against Massillon? How about him telling the McKinley coaching staff to keep their heads up after losses of 28-26, 57-9, and 38-7 to his Warren Harding Raiders? This last tangent doesn't apply to you but there are some people who I think need to get off of the Bulldogs back. To quote Warren Miller: "If you want to stand around, GET THE H LL OFF OF MY FIELD!" (experience from being a locker room writer kicked in here).

[EXDOG70]

I REMEMBER THOSE JUSTIN ZWICK YEARS. I ALWAYS WONDERED WHERE MASSILLON GOT ALL THOSE RINGERS. THEY CAME OUT OF NOWHERE.
SOMEONE SAID THAT THE YEAR THE TIGERS/FANS, LOST THEIR WIGS WHEN MARION HARDING BEAT THEM IN TIGER STADIUM.SEVEN OUT OF ELEVEN STARTERS ON OFFENCE,PLAYED FOR SOMEONE ELSE THE YEAR BEFORE. BUT,LOOK WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THEY WENT BACK TO USING HOME GROWN TALENT. 40-8 AND 20-7,AND,CONSTANTLY BEING BUKED !
FOLKS LET'S JUST CALL IT WHAT IT IS. MASSILLON TIGER FOOTBALL, UNDER COACH RICK SHEPIS..........
HEY, MAYBE MASSILLON WILL HIRE ONE OF THEIR LONGTIME ASSISTANT COACHES FOR (3 YRS.),SO HE CAN TORPEDO THEIR FOOTBALL PROGRAM. MAYBE THEIR BAND WILL GO IN THE DUMPS ALSO. WHO KNOWS?????????
EXDOG70

[TOPDAWG]

Massillon got all those players from Jeff David's pocket book. Jeff David has since been banned from the football team.

As far as Thom goes, nothing would surprise me. Just remember the loaded team we had in 97, and if it wasn't for a WR who failed to run a clearing route, we don't win a State Title. Let them have Thom. Who cares.

[McKFan]

I read that article and I hear the quotes of a man who is a) definitely NOT going to be at Warren Harding and b) feels like there's a damn good chance he's going to be at Massillon soon.

Lets look at Thom in recent years. He won a state championship and decided ON HIS OWN to leave coaching to chase the almighty buck and become an administrator in the Canton City Schools. Fred Blosser and CCS paid this man at the very TOP of the administrative pay scale even though he was a total rookie administrator. He watched Kerry Hodakievic, someone I think we can all see he did not like, win a state championship in '98 thus almost totally negating the PERSONAL glory Thom got from the '97 championship. I mean, basically what Hodakievic did was say "Hey, anyone could win a state championship with THIS talent." Tell me that's not gonna grate on Thom. After this, how does CLASSY THOMMY pay back the tax payers of Canton who were footing a salary for him that probably wasn't earned? He tell them "F-off. I'm taking my ball and going to Warren to be a coach cuz I got a love of the game." HA! Thom goes to Warren where he inherits a HELL of a talented team from Gary Barber who had just about as much tough luck in Warren as a coach could have, but the Warren folks jettisoned him anyway and bring in Thom McMercenary. Thom inheirits Maurice FREAKING Clarett, one of the biggest natural talents high school and college football has ever seen and what does he do? Win a state championship? NO. He gets there once and loses to a better coached, less talented TEAM in Elder. Now think about that for a minute. MAURICE CLARETT almost single-handedly won a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP at Ohio State as a FRESHMAN, but Thom couldn't get this guy to win a STATE CHAMPIONSHIP. I mean this kid made the MIAMI HURRICANES look like chumps at times, and Thom couldn't get it done with that kid. SO at McKinley, we have the John Miller mess. Thom runs his mouth and burns every bridge from the border of Perry Township to the border of Nimishillen Township, and all points north and south by saying, essentially, Canton City administration has no clue, they're all troglodytic morons, how can they fire Spider. This gets his name in the paper a lot, and Thom likes it. Clarett gets Thom NATIONAL attention and he likes it. Now that Clarett is in Denver, ESPN won't be calling him for quotes anymore. Now that Brian Cross has proven Thom DEAD WRONG by getting McKinley to a state championship in his 2nd year at the helm of McKinley, Thom has become inconsequential as far as the world is concerned. So what does he do? He gets his face in front of a microphone and starts denigrating the people who run things at Warren. He then sucks up to Massillon because nothing, and I mean NOTHING will get him more press, short of shooting the president, than taking the Massillon job.

Listen up Massillon FANS, you can write what I say off as me being just a bitter McKinley fan. But understand that Thom taking this job HAS NOTHING to do with you, the City of Massillon, or the Tiger tradition. I must say I find it very hard to see the logic behind some of the moves Thom has made with Canton McKinley and Warren Harding. In the past eight years he has caused myself, and the cities of Warren and Canton, a good deal of distress, as we have watched him take our beloved teams and reduce them to a laughing stock because of his mean-spirited and malicious comments, all for the glorification of his massive ego.

Also, understand this. If things don't go Thom's way, he will cut and run and then embarrass your city in the press. And believe me, Thom will be either drawing a retirement check, or will be able to get retirement when he leaves Massillon, so there will be no financial reason for him to stay at Massillon if the boat gets rocky. And someone out there will be willing to hire him to do something else, so just remember that.

If this is what you want... if you feel that "hey, lets take a shot" fine, go ahead. But remember, this is also a man who was disgusted at the mere sight of YOUR beloved Lee Owens, and did all he could to make Lee look bad. All that happened from that was for Lee to kick his *** all over the football field, and then kick his *** getting the job at Ohio State he so desperately wanted. Thom was 1-3 against Owens. Owens was a good coach. Thom OWNED Jack Rose, until it came to maybe the BIGGEST game in the history of this rivalry, the 100th game, and he couldn't get it done. Just like he couldn't get it done against Moeller, just like he couldn't get it done against Elder, and just like he ALMOST blew it against Ignatius with one of the most talented teams this state has ever seen in the 1997 edition of the Canton McKinley Bulldogs. But, if a quick turn around, and mere entry into the playoffs are what you want, gravy. Snatch him up. But remember, the transfer pipe has been closed, so what he's done in Warren may not be repeated in Massillon. Me? I'd want the next Lee Owens. Not some has-been who cares more about his own press clippings than the kids whose lives he's supposed to be influencing.

Just think about this quote: "...The Warren Harding kids are great kids but several things have made this a different job than it was five years ago. Basically that says, yeah, the kids are neat and all, but if I am not happy and Warren isn't willing to do for me what I want, screw the kids, I'll go somewhere else. Why? Because at the end of the day, in Thom's world, it's all about Thom.

[TOPDAWG]

MCKFAN, You hit home on a lot of points. I still laugh when I think of that Warren team with Clarrett. Iggy couldn't stop Clarett in the 1st half. Iggy didn't have clue. In the 2nd half Thom thinks his QB is going to win the game. Clarrett only touched the ball 7 times in the 2nd half. You could have an IQ of 1 and know that you should run the kid until his legs fall off. The kid ran for 300+ against St. Eds the week before. What was he saving him for? This game was so typical of Thom's coaching style.

[CANTONFAN]

Your killing me Keno.

http://massillonproud.com/cgi-bin/viewn ... 1117543466

[Dog Corporation]

One word ....... "Wow" ...

[Guest]

CANTONFAN,

Check your PM's. That's all I'm going to say on this one......

[dogzilla]

wow,talk about selling your soul to the devil just to achieve some goal.you fit in nicely in massillon,tiger keno.

[Tony Salapack]

TOPDAWG.........I never did like McD and still do not understand why people worship the ground he walks on.

To avoid rambling on a dead subject let me just say westworld can have him, if it were not for the GREAT TALENT, not coaching, he would have NEVER beaten Brian Cross!

[David Stevenson]

Please, Thom...just go do your job in Warren and leave us alone, please! If we see you in the playoffs then I don't think we will mind hearing what great knowledge you need to bestow on us, your lower subjects... til then, shut the hell up for once!