Gee, Coach!

Picking a winner as prexy

At McNeese State University (enrollment: 5,500) in Lake Charles, La., the search for a new president ended with the choice of Home-Town Favorite Jack Doland, 51, the university's athletic director and football coach. Said Doland, in a meeting with a search committee: ''Let no one belittle coaching experience in preparation for a position as president.''

The connection between the jobs? "As coach, you must win or leave," said Doland. "I suggest this is similar to the president's position."

Even so, Doland was not entirely overjoyed with his promotion. "I'll miss being out there, picking a blade of grass and putting it in my mouth," he told the Lake Charles American Press. "I'd rather have coached this year. But the board of regents told me to divest myself of the sideline duties as soon as possible." While his public candor was earning sympathetic chuckles, the McNeese Cowboys obligingly went out and won the first seven games of the season.

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