Grow the Game®

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on reddit
Share on whatsapp

Princeton Pandemonium: Dave Metzbower Turns Down Job

Princeton Pandemonium: Dave Metzbower Turns Down JobLast week I wrote an article about Head Coach Bill Tierney leaving Princeton for Denver and how this was a good move for everyone.  Last week I was also operating under the belief that Dave Metzbower, Tierney’s top assistant for 20 years, would take over the esteemed Tiger program.  I was wrong.

Dave Metzbower has said he wants to spend more time with his family and the opportunity to run the Princeton lacrosse Program made him focus and helped him come to this realization.

The question now arises of who should take over a Princeton position that is now 100% vacant.  Looking just at the Tierney family, Seth Tierney just signed a 5 year deal with Hofstra, Trevor probably isn’t ready yet to lead a program like Princeton and Bill is obviously set on his move to Denver.

Princeton's 1992 National Championship CelebrationPrinceton’s 1992 National Championship CelebrationLast week, Dartmouth was still interested in guys like John Raba from Wesleyan, Mike Daly of Tufts and Mike Murphy from Haverford.  Is Princeton going to look at D3 coaches like Dartmouth did? My guess is probably not.  Princeton is a great program that can attract the absolute best of the best and while these guys are all FANTASTIC coaches, the move to a program like Princeton might be too extreme.  Dartmouth and Princeton may both be Ivy teams but the two programs are miles apart.  Dartmouth ended up hiring their top assistant, Towers, anyway.

So back to the Tigers; where do they go?  I have made MY top choice. It is a little bit under the radar but I’m going to throw it out there:  Brian Voelker.  Voelker is currently the head coach at Penn so he is used to the tough recruiting standards that the Ivy League schools use.  The move would be a step up for Voelker in terms of quality of program AND administration support.   Not to say Penn doesn’t support their athletics program but Voelker at Penn…lacrosse is the end-all-be-all at Princeton whereas it is just another sport at Penn. 

Voelker has done big things at Penn like lead the team to 2 NCAA appearances in ’04 and ’06, where they were ranked as high as 7th in Division 1.  Voelker was an absolute star as a player at Hopkins and went on to coach as a Defensive Coordinator (among other positions).

In 1992 he was at Princeton as their Def. Coordinator when the Tigers won the National Championship, something Voelker never accomplished as a player although he garnered just about every award known to man.

Voelker wouldn’t have to move very far, would probably get paid a lot more, have a much more prestigious job and could really take over a program that is absolutely poised for contention over the next couple of years.