Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 2, 1993 TAG: 9311030004
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: DURHAM, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
Nearly four years of losing football games convinced Barry Wilson that his dream for Duke wouldn't come true.
Wilson, a gray-haired, square-jawed ex-Army infantryman hoping to continue the success established by predecessor Steve Spurrier, announced Monday that he will resign as Blue Devils coach, effective at the end of the season.
"I was given a great opportunity. I was treated very fairly by all parties concerned," Wilson said during his weekly news conference. "And, the bottom line is that, in the won-lost column, I have not been able to get the job done."
Wilson has a 12-29-1 record with games remaining against North Carolina State and North Carolina.
The final straw might have come last weekend.
Two weeks ago, Duke defeated Wake Forest to snap a 17-game ACC losing streak. Despite a renewed optimism based on that victory, the Blue Devils lost to Georgia Tech 47-14 Saturday in a game filled with Duke mistakes.
"You hope and dream and pray and work for a lot of positive things that you feel you can accomplish," said Wilson, sitting next to Duke athletic director Tom Butters. "As this season has unveiled, and particularly after the Georgia Tech game, maybe it's just an intangible, a gut feeling that it's not working.
"I feel like we've given it our best shot as a staff. . . ."
The Blue Devils have a 2-7 record, including 1-5 in the ACC. It has been a season drifting between tough breaks and blowouts.
The announcement came at Sunday's regular team meeting.
"He came into the locker room and made the announcement," running back Robert Baldwin said. "It made me reflect on the coach as a person who stakes his livelihood and puts so much into it as he has, as all the coaches have, to have their fate decided by the bounce of a football."
by CNB