Firing Washington a mistake

INSTANT IMPACT
November 18, 2015
The Times misidentifies Whitney in ballot
November 18, 2015
INSTANT IMPACT
November 18, 2015
The Times misidentifies Whitney in ballot
November 18, 2015

In this job, you’re not supposed to have biases or show favoritism toward any person, school or cause. But as a human being who spends hours watching games and hours talking with coaches, players and fans to make my particular stories possible, that line sometimes blurs.

I am not just a sports editor in the Houma-Thibodaux area, but I’m also a citizen of the community. I live here, and I socialize here. My friends are here and my family is here. So it’s only natural that every now and again, I’m asked to cover a situation that involves someone whom I consider a friend and acquaintance.

That happened this week when Ellender High made the decision to fire its football coach and my friend Terry Washington – a move that wasn’t thought out as fully as it could have been.


My opinion has nothing to do with my personal biases toward Washington. I just think he’s a good coach – a darned good one at that. In fact, I think when one considers where this program has come from, the outgoing coach’s tenure with the team deserves more than a passing grade.

Some folks may disagree because Terry Washington’s overall win/loss record at Ellender is a bit of a mess. But I caution those to study the history of that program and beyond the win/loss record.

Yes, Washington went 14-36 in five seasons. Yes, that equates to less than three wins per season.


But considering what Washington inherited, the fact that the Patriots are competitive at all is a cause worth celebrating.

Before Washington took the Ellender job in 2011, the Patriots were a wreck. The team wasn’t winning – at all. He inherited a program mired in a long losing streak – one that later became the longest in Louisiana. Pride was low. Morale was low and the team’s roster numbers were in the tanks.

It took a while, but Washington built it back up. The Patriots lost every game in 2011, but then were nearly .500 in 2012, winning four games and breaking the school’s 32-game losing streak. The four-win season was heralded.


In 2013, it got even better. In that season, Washington’s Patriots reached the Class 4A State Playoffs. Think about that – from the gutter to the playoffs in 24 months. That’s not a fireable offense. That’s a cause for celebration.

But the administration got spoiled.

In the past two seasons, Ellender hasn’t won as much, posting a 5-15 combined record. But the Patriots have been brutally young and still competitive. In 2014, Ellender lost two games by 10 or fewer points. This year, the Patriots dropped four games by 10 points or fewer – including a 28-26 loss to Assumption, who is one of the best teams in Louisiana in Class 4A. This year’s group had only seven seniors, which shows that the best may still be to come.


Washington was building Ellender’s football program the right way. When he took over the Patriots job, the team hardly had 20 players. That number almost quadrupled in Washington’s tenure, as the Patriots had just south of 80 players on its roster this past fall.

Those numbers allowed Ellender to strengthen its freshman and JV programs, which has helped to restore the pride and passion into its program.

At the end of the day, that same pride and passion will need to be restored by another man, as the Patriots administration is opting to go in a different direction.


Candidates will apply and who knows? Maybe someone worthwhile will step up, accept the job and do great things for the school’s future.

But it seems like a big risk to take – one that isn’t worth the reward.

What Ellender had in place already wasn’t so bad. To break a 30-plus game losing streak, reach the Class 4A State Playoffs and be competitive annually in just five years is a turnaround act that should be applauded, not chided.


Washington is my friend, yes. But he’s also a darned good football coach and an even better guy away from the field.

Be careful what you wish for, Ellender.

Sometimes the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.


Soon, we suspect, the Ellender football team will find out that lesson the hard way.

By the time it happens, Washington will be winning with another program. •