University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff Athletic Director Chris Peterson's first couple of months on the job have been anything but ordinary, as he's had to navigate his head football coach leaving and the shutdown of the spring sports seasons.
But the question over the Golden Lions' next football coach appears settled.
Peterson told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Monday that interim Coach Doc Gamble is expected to be promoted to UAPB's permanent head coach.
Contract details are being finalized, although Peterson said he anticipates it being a three-year deal worth around $150,000 annually. Contracts must be approved by the UA System board of trustees. An official announcement from the school could come in the next few weeks.
"Doc has done a great job in the interim part. Look for Doc to be our head coach next [season]," Peterson said. "The appropriate people in our program have had a chance to spend time with Doc, and we feel good about the move."
It's a seamless transition for UAPB, which announced Feb. 17 that Cedric Thomas, a former cornerback for the Golden Lions, was leaving the program after just two seasons as head coach. Thomas was hired as the defensive backs coach at Southern Mississippi, reuniting with his former boss at Alcorn State and current Golden Eagles Coach Jay Hopson.
Gamble, who had served as UAPB's assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach the past two seasons under Thomas, won't need extra time learning the roster or installing a system and culture.
"We're already headed in the right direction," Gamble told the Democrat-Gazette on Monday. "Just make sure our guys are not being satisfied and we continue to grow as a program.
"We took on Coach Thomas' philosophy and started to develop a great culture that we're still working on, but it's a good one right now, and it's gonna continue to be a good one."
By sticking with the 48-year-old Gamble, Peterson also didn't have to entrench himself in a national coaching search, which would have been a tall task during the coronavirus pandemic. Peterson said Gamble formally interviewed for the job earlier this month, and he was the only one interviewed.
Thomas strongly recommended Gamble as his successor once he left for Southern Miss.
"Cedric, who I had great confidence in and knew Cedric before I came here [in January], was real high on Doc right from the get-go," Peterson said. "He told me when he decided to go to Southern Miss, he said, 'Coach P, Doc's the right guy for the job.' "
Before arriving at UAPB, Gamble -- a former quarterback at the University of Tennessee-Martin -- coached wide receivers at Kent State from 2013-17. In 2012 he was the running backs and tight ends coach at Alcorn State, where he worked alongside Thomas. In 2011, Gamble worked as an offensive assistant on the University of Cincinnati's staff, and before that, the Ohio native was a high school head coach in his home state.
Gamble is set to take over a program that made significant strides during its first winning season since 2012. The Golden Lions finished 6-5 overall and 3-4 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
He wants to move UAPB closer to competing for a championship.
"For us, we want to play for the big one and win the big one," Gamble said.
Gamble said the current coaching staff will remain intact. As for how his role will change, Gamble said he will bring in a new quarterbacks coach to fill his old role, although he plans on remaining heavily involved.
"Quarterbacks have been my baby," Gamble said, "because I played the position."
Whether Gamble and the Golden Lions even have an opportunity to compete in 2020 is an uncertainty because of the pandemic.
"When you got guys like [ESPN analyst] Kirk Herbstreit doubting whether you're gonna play college football or not next fall, that's a pretty scary deal," Peterson said. "It's a time where there's a lot of angst, nationally and globally."
Like countless programs nationally, UAPB saw its spring camp cut short. The Golden Lions practiced just once before they had to shut things down. The SWAC has canceled all spring sports seasons and organized team activities for the rest of the school year.
For Gamble, that's put his primary focus on making sure his players finish their schoolwork for the semester.
And he doesn't want to consider a fall without football.
"Let's not speak it into existence," Gamble said. "I believe that once things hopefully get contained and under wraps, that we will be playing, and we're looking forward to it."
Sports on 03/31/2020