Evening star., 1962-09-15
SE6H AT LARGE
New SMU Coach
Has 4-Yeor Plan
BY MORRIS SlEGEL

DALLAS, TEX, SEPT. 15-From a tactical viewpoint
Hayden Fry's first becoming the football
coach at sMU last January noteworthy He formed
his staff by grabbing assistant coaches from seven South
west Conference rivals all of whom easily finished above
SAfU in the standings
1t wasn't hard to do The 1861 Southern Methodist
team only two games The year before the record
was even worse The Mustangs didn't win any The fash
onabe Dallas school not only has been losing games but
losing customers we'll In the process also lost its head
coach naturally Bill Meek the former Maryland assist
ant paid not to coach the last year of his fveyear
contract.
This is the first college head coaching job for the
S3-year-od Fry who already has developed nervous
stomach preparing his squad for the seasons opener
against Maryland next Saturday at College Park He de-
everything written about his team and believes most
Of it, particularly the stories which predict the Mustangs
will be lucky to win one game
MATTY BELL, THE sNIU athletic director who has
had to hire and fire three coaches in the last eight years.
believes he's finally got winner in Fry who to SU
from conference powerhouse Arkansas Our president,
who helped candidates. said he'd any
body who had done his homework better than Hayden
Bell said "The others talked to about the job merely
wanted the job Hayden not only wanted it, he had plan
Our president liked that. I did, too"
SMU offered Fry a three-year contract but he said
he couldn't accept anything less than foye arrange
ment because that's how long it would take him to put his
plan into effect The plan basicay is this To interest
young football players in the educational benefits OF
attending SU against the athletic rewards available
In the competitive Southwest Conference market sMU,
church-endowed school with enrolment OF 5000 has
higher academic demand than Texas Texas AIM Texas
Tech Arkansas and other State semiState institutions
Fry has to seek out the smart cookies.
"In the long rum" he said, "weT be better. So will
the players Football like most other things today has
gotten complicated Brains just important as brawn
OF course If big hety ineman who's also smart comes
along we won't discriminate against him."
FRY HIMSELF, is pretty hep guy. In his collegiate
days at Baylor he third-strng quarterback behind
Adrian Burk who played briefly for the Philadelphia
Eagles and Larry Isbell, No. Redskins choice who
purned pro football for 1000 Boston Red Sox baseball
contract However the players respected Fys sav When
they out of the game they hudded first with Fry,
then their coaches
title for the past three years. Head Coach Frank Broyes
entrusted his quarerbacks completely to Fry Can you
imagine that?" asked Athletic Director Bell I'm my 50
years Of coaching let anybody except myself handle
my quarterbacks didn't mind too much about the tackles
guards and cente but the quarerbacks personal
property But at Arkansas they let Hayden handle EN-
That's quite compliment, tell you"
Hayden's teams will strike from the conventional T.
formation, the wngedT and something else called the
sprint-out-T "Bascay Fry added well be defensive
team If hold the other fellow down chances
of losing badly decrease he said with perfect logic I'VE
won't be a hury-burly outfit"
sMU HASN'T HAD A winning season since 1859 when
posted SAL record under Meek. At the gate where
heavy consideration is placed Mustangs have been
losing customers steadily since 1949 This the last
year Of perhaps their greatest star, Doak Walker.
In Walkers three-year reign the Mustangs played to
$4,000 in their appearances in the Cotton Bowl This
averages to about 500 game Business has dropped
off greatly then In the past two when the
team only games SNGU drew only total OF 10000
fans to the $4,000 capacity Cotton Bowl.
The Mustangs are not atruStc to the point where
they don't care anybody not They estimate
tuition fees alone them 100000 Just for schol
arship football players Were hurting hurting badly
oaned Bell whose job is to the turnste wounds are
healed, but quickly.
Seldom has head coach been greeted by the run OF
tough luck some of it tragic that visited Fry week
before practice began lost firStstring defensive back
who failed to pass his physical Then the death Of
Center Mike Kelsey day after the first workout of the
season.
QUARTERBACK JERRY RHONE, the conference pass
ing last year. dropped out Of Schoo-hes now at
Tulsa-because Frys plans did not include protype Of
fenSe the second day of practice No. Left End Happy
Nelson of Cabin John Nd who played at BethesdaChevy
Chase High, failed his physical exam
SMU probably has more ou-of-Sate players than any
Texas school, but even it's roster 80 per cent beef
from the Star State Several years ago Coach Don
Faurot of Missouri commented the number of non
Texans the squad.
"You ought to check the roster of glee club he
was told. "They got non-Texans than the football
team, and both are 55-man squads"
Fry is realist but he doesn't think that changing
coaches is the complete to SINUS reluctant no
win" policy. This years team he will not be good
because he doesn't have enough good football players.
"Td like to tell you otherwise" he said, "but I'm too
country to lie"