The East Tennessee State University football program will be in the market for a new head coach after Carl Torbush’s sudden resignation of the position.
Torbush took over the football program five years ago when it was revived at ETSU. In his first season at the helm, Torbush led the team to a 2-9 record in 2015. That 2015 team was very young and not yet ready to compete at a D1 level.
The Bucs 2016 season was much different for Torbush as he led the team to a 5-6 season with not just the record improved but also the players.
This season in 2017 came with a lot of expectations for the Bucs and Torbush. However, the Bucs did not improve their record from the past season, finishing with a record of 4-7.
“I came to ETSU because of my love for football,” said Torbush. “East Tennessee, ETSU, the people and the passion for restarting a program — that hurt all of us when it was dropped.”
Torbush’s career includes head coaching jobs at North Carolina and Louisiana Tech, and defensive coordinator positions at six FBS programs, including Alabama, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Kansas, Texas A&M and UNC.
As for his reason for retiring, Torbush just felt like it was time for him to settle back.
“I am 66, and I don’t want to be 72 coaching football,” said Torbush. “I want to enjoy football and other things in life.”
As the head coach of ETSU football, Torbush has done his best to bring in talent year after year to the football program. He has talented players on the roster, four of whom were selected as All-SoCon players.
With Torbush retiring, the Bucs football program must turn to finding a new head coach in the near future. Torbush has agreed to stay with the program until June.
