Scott out as UR football coach after second DWI charge

The earthquake that rumbled through central Virginia and along much of the East Coast on Tuesday wasn’t the only seismic activity in the area.

University of Richmond football coach Latrell Scott resigned two weeks before the start of the 2011 season.

His abrupt departure from one of the premier programs in the Football Championship Subdivision was entirely self-inflicted.

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Scott was charged with driving while intoxicated Monday night in Henrico County. He offered his resignation Tuesday morning.

“Ultimately, it was accepted,” UR athletic director Jim Miller said. “It was a non-complicated, but difficult decision. This is not only unusual, it’s unfortunate.”

If this had been Scott’s first offense, the UR administration might have been willing to consider other options. But Scott already had a DWI conviction from 2004, when he was an assistant coach at Virginia Military Institute.

He had a speeding ticket in Fluvanna County.

In May, he was charged with making an improper turn in Henrico County and paid a $30 fine plus $101 in court costs.

Scott was supposed to set a positive example for his players, not have his name set so often in the police blotter.

That Scott was UR’s coach with a DWI says the Spiders’ administration recognizes anyone can make a mistake. But there is a limit to that tolerance.

“It was clearly understood this was an opportunity for Coach Scott, and it was very important there not be a second occurrence,” Miller said.

When there is such a problem with overindulgence in alcohol on almost every college campus, the football coach can’t continue to rack up DWI charges.

And yes, this is a charge. Scott hasn’t been convicted. The Richmond administration could have waited for the case to run its legal course before taking action.

“That was considered, but quickly rejected,” Miller said. “The most important thing we decided was what is the right thing to do now?

“One of the things about this business that makes it tough is that on the positive side, you get a lot of fame and exposure … And when mistakes are made, the exposure you enjoy when things are going well creates a more difficult situation.”

In 2010, Scott’s only season as UR’s head coach, he guided the Spiders to a 6-5 record in a rebuilding season, made more difficult by constant injuries to UR quarterbacks.

Scott was unflappable, his future bright.

So many things regarding athletics and the University of Richmond are win-win affairs. Players are expected to do the right things in competition, in the classroom and in the community.

As Scott knows, the same holds true for coaches.

Tuesday, he had no choice but to offer his resignation. The UR administration had no choice but to accept it.

By: Paul Woody, Times-Dispatch
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/sports/2011/aug/24/tdsport01-richmond-football-encounters-seismic-eve-ar-1258069/