Another head coach has been fired from a major MCLA program. Last year BYU fired longtime visionary coach Jason Lamb. Now Chapman University has let go of Mike Wood.Under Wood, the Panthers have reached the late stages in the last three national championship tournament. They reached the championship game in 2008 and 2009. This year they lost in the semifinals. Michigan was Chapman's opponent is all three games. Under Wood, the Panthers had a record of 50-7 in MCLA play, including an undefeated season in 2008.
This firing no doubt comes as a shock. Chapman is merely the latest MCLA power to lose its head coach in the last year following in the footsteps of BYU, Minnesota, and Colorado. It will be interesting to see how quickly the Panthers recuperate and who they hire as the new head coach.
For the record, my money is on former Johns Hopkins Bluejay Kyle Harrison. The former LA Riptide player currently resides in the area and served as an assistant coach this season. If this comes to fruition, Harrison would join Alex Smith and Joe Cinosky in the ranks of Major League Lacrosse players turned MCLA head coach. This might be the start of a trend...
