Athletic Dept. will not renew M. Soccer coach's contract

Penn men's soccer coach George O'Neill's contract will not be renewed, meaning his tenure will end after this season, the Athletic Department announced Friday. With O'Neill at the helm, the Quakers struggled to a 28-47-4 record in five years including a 4-12-1 mark this fall. O'Neill became interim head coach on Aug. 18, 1993, following the resignation of Steve Baumann. He was elevated to head coach in his own right after the 1993 season. The 1997 campaign was a disappointing one for Penn. The year before, O'Neill's Quakers had closed the season at 7-1-1, making a serious run at Penn's first Ivy League title since 1980. Returning all 11 starters, another run at the championship, not a 1-6 Ivy League record, was expected. Athletic Director Steve Bilsky acknowledged that Penn's on-field performance this season was below expectations, but said the decision, like all coaching changes, went beyond on-field results, which are "only the most obvious factor." Those factors include relations with parents, alumni and players, although Bilsky didn't say any of these was a specific reason for dismissing O'Neill. O'Neill is not the first Penn coach to have a contract not renewed this year. After 23 seasons as Penn softball coach, Linda Carothers was allowed to leave this summer. Like O'Neill, Carothers had a career losing record and had come to the end of her contract. "We're not looking at it in terms of who should be coaching this year," Bilsky said. "We're looking at who's going to coach for the next number of years." O'Neill declined to comment last night. The search for a new coach is already underway, Bilsky said. The Athletic Department expects to begin interviewing candidates as early as next month. "It's an important position," Bilsky said. "The job is appealing to a lot of people, but frankly, Penn's soccer program hasn't done too well lately." The Penn players were informed of the decision in a meeting Friday morning with O'Neill and Senior Associate Athletic Director Carolyn Schlie Femovich, said senior defender Brad Copeland. Although Penn has been an infrequent visitor to the top of the Ivy League standings in recent years, Copeland does not believe O'Neill was a victim of unreasonably high expectations stemming from its remarkable run at the end of 1996. "I really don't think the expectations were that unrealistic," Copeland said. "We lost a lot of games, obviously, [but] we were in every single on of them." Despite the inglorious end to O'Neill's tenure, Copeland praised his only college coach for his work ethic. "George is a great man -- I feel sorry for him," he said. "It's a rough position for him. I appreciate everything he's done for this program?. He expected a lot. That's a good thing." O'Neill, a native of Port Glasgow, Scotland, has strong ties to soccer in the Philadelphia area. He spent three years (1973-76) at the end of his playing career with the Philadelphia Atoms of the now-defunct North American Soccer League. He also made several appearances with the United States national team. After his playing days, he coached several local club teams and in the indoor soccer ranks.