Sept. 17, 2006
Welsh's winning ways will help ODU put its best football forwardThe Virginian-Pilot© September 13, 2006Last updated: 11:54 PM
George Welsh has a good feeling about the future of football at Old Dominion University. It might have something to do with his memories of Foreman Field.
In 1954, the season before he would finish third in the Heisman Trophy balloting after leading the nation in passing and total offense, Welsh quarterbacked Navy to victory over Duke in the annual Oyster Bowl on Hampton Boulevard.
"We beat 'em 40 to 10 or something like that," Welsh recalled.
Fifty-two years later, Welsh's memory is off only by a field goal: The score was 40-7. George didn't mention that he helped the Midshipmen rack up almost 500 yards in total offense that day.
In 1979, Welsh returned to Foreman Field as Navy's coach, beating William and Mary. Between the two visits, he lived in Norfolk for a year and a half after leaving the Academy. He called Wards Corner home while stationed on the USS Des Moines.
At 73, Welsh was back again Tuesday in another capacity. He and former coach Dick Sheridan were introduced as the men who will shepherd ODU's football program toward its inaugural '09 season.
Sheridan, a businessman in South Carolina, was the consultant behind the creation of Coastal Carolina's football team four years ago. Welsh's credentials as an adviser aren't bad, either. In 28 years as a head coach, he returned both Navy and Virginia to prominence.
Sheridan and Welsh have been hired to show ODU the ropes in choosing the right facilities and methods for a solid foundation. But with Welsh's reputation around the commonwealth, ODU also gains powerful intangibles.
"I'm willing to go out and help sell the program," he said. "I'll do some speaking. Hopefully, I can help select a coach."
ODU director of athletics Jim Jarrett said he's counting on Welsh for that. For now, simply having a member of the College Football Hall of Fame on board can't help but burnish ODU's fledgling efforts.
Since he retired from U.Va. in 2000 after 19 seasons in Charlottesville, Welsh has been looking for something to keep him busy. A year ago, he confided that he was restless.
"I'm flunking retirement," is how he put it.
After leaving U.Va., he scouted for the New York Giants for a while and thought about finding a position as an assistant coach somewhere, maybe even in the NFL. But that time has passed.
"If it would have happened two or three years ago," he said, "but no more."
In August, it was announced that Welsh had accepted the position of head coach of a team of American collegians who will compete in the third World Championship of American Football next year in Kawasaki, Japan. The U.S. will be one of six countries entered in this obscure event.
Asked about that Tuesday, Welsh said he changed his mind and won't be running the team.
"I would only be coaching a month," he said. "I thought I'd rather do this."
Moments earlier, to an assembled group of ODU officials and friends, Welsh commended the school for its commitment to building first-rate training and practice facilities.
"You're off to a better start than when I went to Virginia," he said.
Welsh knows something about building from scratch. In 1982, he took over a Cavaliers program that was a laughingstock. So were its facilities. Three seasons later, U.Va. won its first bowl game, one of 12 postseason appearances under George.
"If ODU builds a new training facility and refurbishes Foreman Field," Welsh said, "they'll be ahead of the game."
At a lunch following the press conference, Welsh mentioned how impressed he was with ODU president Roseann Runte. "She really wants to do it right," he said.
He supports the idea that built-in rivalries with William and Mary, Richmond and James Madison will help hype the product.
"That's perfect," he said. "I betcha they can draw 20,000 here - if they get good."
Welsh still lives in Charlottesville. He says he intends to spend at least three days a month in Hampton Roads, in addition to visiting with ODU alumni in Richmond.
"This is good," he said. "It's good timing for me."
For ODU, too.
Reach Bob at (757) 446-2373 orbob.molinaro@pilotonline.com