Coaching Search Over

Word on the street is that BGSU's search for a new coach has concluded and an announcement will be made today that Miami Assistant Chris Bergeron will be the new face behind the Falcon bench.

A former Miami hockey player and member of the school's 1992-1993 CCHA Championship team, Bergeron has been on the Redhawk coaching staff for 10 years. He will not be a completely new face to the Northwest Ohio scene, as he spent time with the Toledo Storm in his ECHL playing days.

You can't argue with the success Miami has had in recent years, as the Redhawks have made six of the last seven NCAA tournaments and reached the Frozen Four in consecutive years. Miami ended the 2009-2010 season with an overall record of 29-8-7 and 21-2-5 in conference play. Hopefully Bergeron will be able to bring some of that successful pedigree to the Falcon bench in the 2010-2011 season.

Of course, I can't conclude this post without saying how disappointed I am for Coach Williams. He performed admirably with a team that had just come back from the brink of non-existence, was making strides, and had the support of the Falcon faithful. As much as I have hope that Coach Bergeron will bring this team back to glory, I can't help but feel for Coach Williams, if the rumors turn out to be true.

I'll be keeping my eyes and ears open the rest of the day for any official word of the hire.

I know there are strong opinions out there about this situation, and I'd love to hear what you have to say. Feel free to drop a line or two in the comments to tell me what you think.

*Update* 10:33AM - The new hire has been confirmed. BG News Sports blog posted an article about the pick at 9:45 and BGSUFalcons.com now features a splash page welcoming Coach Bergeron to BGSU, along with an article about the hire. A press conference has been scheduled for 4:00pm.