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There is no pressure on new Towson football head coach Rob Ambrose. No pressure at all - as long as he wins, of course.
During Ambrose's introduction to local media, as well as what seemed to be the entire University administration, athletic coaching staffs and a number of Towson athletes past and present, it was clear that he is here with one purpose. The goal he is charged with is to win without fail.
President Robert Caret iterated the statement continuously throughout his brief introduction prior to welcoming Ambrose on stage. He said that "winning is not an option, it's a necessity," in the development of Towson into a regional and national state university on par with the Florida State's and Michigan State's of the nation.
The word win was mentioned so many times Ambrose was almost dizzy in his attempt to comprehend the number of instances it was spoken. Upon taking his place at the podium, after putting on the Towson hat, taking it off, and neatly fixing his stylistically messy hair, Ambrose blinked a few times and asked if anybody knew the count on how many times Caret said "win" in his statement.
Sorry, Rob, but I lost track about midway through the speech. It's fair to say, though, that winning is priority numero uno.
The top priority in the past has been stability and community relationship. These were two aspects that the recently released Gordy Combs embodied to the greatest extent. Combs, who brought Ambrose through the ranks, eventually promoting him to associate head coach, was with the University for 39 years as a player and coach.
During his 16 years as head coach, he was 92-90, a winning record. Three seasons ago, the team was on the brink of breaking into the upper echelon of the dominant CAA and the national spotlight. But in the last two years, the team fell off, struggling to a 6-17 record, 2-14 in conference.
Combs was a beloved university institution, but the final tally in the standings were not enough for him to keep his job. His absence at Tuesday's press conference was to be expected, but the utterance of Towson football without his face and name associate is a bit of a shock to those that have been close to the program for any period for time.
Now, it's the Ambrose Era. His introduction was a warm and fuzzy Homecoming. It was eye candy full of happy feelings for all in attendance. The tumultuous month it has to have been for the athletic department since the departure of Combs following a disappointing season turned to rainbows and sunshine on a dark, cold, rainy day in the Minnegan Room overlooking Johnny Unitas Stadium. It will remain so as long as the team scores more than he other team, whether that's by throwing the ball as is Ambrose's M.O or by running the ball as he reluctantly did during his time as offensive coordinator at Connecticut.
He says he wants to fill the stadium. He says everybody is invited for the ride. He says that we should all get our season tickets now for the show. It may be the grumpily pessimistic Towson fan that has been burned each time I've heard that it was about to turn around, but I'll believe it when I see it. Nonetheless, Ambrose is the young, vibrant face for the program that the University sought and his roots as an alumnus and native Marylander only add to his pedigree for the position. Now it just comes down to three letters: W-I-N
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