Khadrice Rollins
krollins@ajc.com
With two games left in the season, the Panthers are making the biggest adjustment they have made all season: playing under a new coach.
Following a third consecutive defeat — the 38th of his four-year stint at Georgia State (2-8, 1-5 Sun Belt) — former coach Trent Miles was relieved of his duties and wide receiver coach Tim Lappano was appointed as the interim head coach.
Lappano said he is not about to make any major changes in the Panthers’ day-to-day operations with so little time left in the year, but he added that these last outings will be important for everybody on the team going forward.
“I told all of our players and coaches, ‘We’re on a job interview right now,’” Lappano said. “For the next three weeks, we’re interviewing for a job. … We’re all under the microscope right now.”
Saturday the Panthers welcome Georgia Southern (4-6, 3-3) to the Georgia Dome for a rivalry game that now carries even more weight for a GSU team that has struggled to get in the win column this year.
The prospect of beating the Eagles already had players more amped this week than others, but now that Miles is gone, players have an additional source of motivation.
“There’s a lot of seniors who were freshmen in coach Miles first year — we were his first recruiting class,” tight end Keith Rucker said. “And this being Senior Day was kind of a kicker a little bit. But I think a lot of guys are going to go out and definitely play for him and definitely honor him and all of the things we have been through and all of the things he has helped us to be able to accomplish and do.”
On a team that is almost entirely players that were brought in by Miles, playing without him on the sidelines in the biggest game of the year adds an interesting dynamic.
Players said they are upset that Miles will not be around, but they also said they expect him to be right back on his feet and coaching again soon.
It’s not just players though who have to adjust to not having Miles as their leader. This is also a change for the coaches on the staff. Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter is trying to have his unit bounce back from a disappointing performance in last week’s 37-23 loss to Louisiana-Monroe, but he also must go out and coach without Miles, who he has been with for the past eight years.
“Now it is what it is,” Minter said. “It’s part of the profession. You kind of know when you get into it that these things happen. But ultimately, we got two games left, and it’s about trying to give our current team the best opportunity to win these two games and give them our best shot and let the chips fall where they may at the end of the season.”
