[MoonlightGraham]

May 1, 2018

At this point in our story, I make a significant decision about Graham Sims's future.

When I began this dynasty, I envisioned Coach Sims gradually climbing the coaching ladder. I've never been terribly successful at FBCB, so I figured his Lafayette teams would, at best, improve slowly into a decent Patriot League team within a few years. I didn't envision Graham posting a 177-58 record and winning five conference championships in seven years, or turning Lafayette into one of the most highly respected teams outside the Power Five. If Graham ever reached those heights, it wouldn't happen at Lafayette.

Lafayette's Prestige is now up to 62, which is higher than Penn State (55) or St. Joseph's (59). Temple (74) is still a bigger job, and so are Villanova (88) and Pitt (93).

Of those three, Villanova is the only position I would have Graham accept without hesitation. It's Graham's alma mater, after all.

Pitt's coach is Blaine Boyd, who is one of the two or three best young coaches in the business. Boyd is 38, and he's not going anywhere unless, perhaps, one of the true blue bloods comes calling. Villanova's head man, James Glazier, turns 52 this season; he's got a lot of years left, too. Temple's Cory McEwen is a year older than Glazier. He could end up staying at Temple for a while.

Graham was offered the Temple job before McEwen took it in 2015. I didn't think Graham was ready to run a program with 82 Prestige then. Perhaps he would be now. I still think it might be more fun to see if Graham can improve the Lafayette program enough to surpass Temple in the Prestige rankings.

There is one scenario in which I would consider changing the focus of Graham's story. Vanderbilt head coach Joshua Moll is now 73 years old. If Coach Moll retires and Graham is offered the Vanderbilt job, I'd seriously consider accepting it.

Why Vanderbilt? As a high school senior, I applied to Vanderbilt and was accepted. I received a better financial aid package from another fine university, a Division III school, and accepted it instead. Two years later, Vanderbilt offered acceptance to another member of my family. My younger sister went there, loved it, and graduated. She's a Commodore, and I could have been one, too. So I'll let Graham think about becoming one in my place.

As the Head Coach Round begins, the plot twists in an intriguing way. Cory McEwen is offered the Seton Hall job, and he takes it. So much for Coach McEwen staying a while.

Temple promptly offers its head coaching position to Graham...and I decide to pass. The Owls hire a bright young thing named Clayton Mintz, who is taking his fourth job at the age of 33. The peripatetic Mintz won 30 games at Davidson and Miami-Ohio before moving on to Northern Iowa, and now to Temple.

I go into the Tools menu and add two new coaches: Louis Hewett, Lafayette '15, and Moses Washington, Bucknell '15. Coach Hewett is moving into the collegiate ranks after a short tenure as a high school coach, and Coach Washington is a newly "graduated" graduate assistant. Louis doesn't land a job in the Assistant Coach round, but Moses does. He's now the Lead Scout at Coppin State.