By Jimmy Lemke
It was only a matter of time, really. The hammer finally dropped on the head coaching stint of Milwaukee Panthers’ Jon Coleman, who was fired Friday after four losing seasons.
Coleman, the first Panther alum to guide the men’s soccer program, compiled a dreadful 20-44-12 record as head coach.
He did seem a logical choice when he took over for former boss Louis Bennett when the latter moved to Marquette in December 2005. Coleman as a player was exceptional, and his time as an assistant at Milwaukee was full of success.
However, his tenure has been tepid at best, with his greatest nights being the obvious first night game at Engelmann just weeks into his first season and the 1-0 overtime loss to eventual Elite 8 participant UIC in the Horizon League semifinals.
Attendance has fallen off steadily since his takeover of the program. The Panthers also have not defeated an in-state rival in a few years, and Milwaukee’s three biggest rivals – Marquette, Green Bay, and Northern Illinois – hold the Milwaukee, Chancellor’s, and LeWang Cups, respectively.
Many Panther fans who only know the basketball program would be smart to check up on the men’s soccer program, by far the most successful in the state (how Wisconsin won the 1995 championship, who knows, but Panther alum Jim Launder was head coach). Milwaukee owns large series leads over all three D-I state rivals and calls Engelmann Field, “The Greatest Home Field Advantage in College Soccer,” home. With George Koonce as athletic director, the Panthers will surely be looking for a high-profile coach who is interested in more than Horizon League championships.
Milwaukee athletics will launch a national search immediately. Their news story is here.
However, the UWM Post has done some of the work for them, putting together a short list of possible candidates both far fetched and likely.
Jimmy Banks, MSOE: Alumni who has guided MSOE since 1999. Two time All-American and one of the greatest Panthers ever, Banks could be a great coach if given a D-I program and the best soccer stadium in the midwest: Engelmann Field. And the man loves the city and university. Likeliness of being a serious candidate – 90%
Sasha Cirovski, Maryland: Why would a national championship winning coach leave the school he has won two national championships at? To come home to his Alma Mater, where he can rebuild the program that educated him and fostered his love of coaching and college soccer. It would take a pretty penny to pay for Sasha, but it’s definitely worth it. Likeliness – 70%
Louis Bennett, Marquette: The MU experiment failed. Bennett can come home to the athletic program he still supports with no questions asked. MU isn’t getting the Engelmann copy he was promised. He is still loved by many of his former players on the East Side, and never shies away from recruiting or playing against the best. He does have a cozy job in Kilbourntown, however. Likeliness – 50%
Tom Poitras, UWGB: He has proven he can build a program from modest beginnings into a solid national mid-major program up in Green Bay. Would he be willing to make the move to Milwaukee, where he has more resources and a better stadium at his disposal? Likeliness – 80%
Brian Tompkins, Yale: Another former coach who has a cushy home on the east coast, Tompkins could be lured back to the fresh coast with a high enough number. Put this on the lower probability end of the scale; Yale has been a great program under his watch and their pockets are probably a little deeper than ours. Likeliness – 30%
Bob Gansler: A bit seasoned at 68, he left the Panthers in 1989 to become the head coach of the US National team. He was the first coach to really build the program; could he be the one to right the ship? It’s doubtful that Gansler would want to take over his old program at this stage in his career; he hasn’t been a head coach for a few years. Likeliness – 10%
Tony Sanneh: If the guy would retire already, he’d be a great candidate. Too bad for us he’s still playing at a high enough level to start in MLS. Likeliness – 0%
Craig Mallace: Panther alum is young enough to relate to players, and the fire that he brought to the pitch so many times is exactly what the Panthers need at Engelmann Field. Might still be a bit young to be a head coach, but he has the intangibles Milwaukee needs, and he wouldn’t be afraid to go out and recruit anyone. Likeliness – 80%
Jim Launder: He led the Wisconsin Badgers to the 1995 NCAA Championship. Panther alum is also one of the fathers of the program, having kicked off the soccer program that is one of the best. Would he be interested in bringing ‘Ole Alma Mater a national title? If he does, I would support inducting him into the Athletics Hall of Fame a second time. Likeliness – 50%
Pete Knezic, FC Milwaukee: Panther All-American was the women’s coach at the end of the ’80s following his pro career. His tireless work as Director of Coaching at FC Milwaukee is a very big reason the men’s and women’s Panthers have been successful, as many are alumni of FC Milwaukee. Pete would be a perfect fit to coach the men’s program; the only negative is the Panthers “farm system” would lose its director. Likelihood – 90%
Note: Credit goes to apaladino of the UWMFreak fan message board for contributing to this report.
