HOLMOE SEES THE END IS NEAR.Byline: STEVE DILBECK There are no secrets here, no surprise endings. Tom Holmoe Thomas Allen Holmoe (born March 7, 1960 in Los Angeles, California) is a former professional American football player who played with the San Francisco 49ers from 1983 to 1989. has spent his football life knowing the score and no one has to tell him how things add up. Before Cal's season began, he knew the edict A decree or law of major import promulgated by a king, queen, or other sovereign of a government. An edict can be distinguished from a public proclamation in that an edict puts a new statute into effect whereas a public proclamation is no more than a declaration of a law . Understood what had to happen if he were to coach the Bears beyond his fifth season. ``It's a really big year for our team and me personally to determine my future with this team,'' Holmoe said before the season began at the Pacific-10 media day. And now the Golden Bears are 0-5. Winless as they prepare to play at fourth-ranked UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX . He knows the score. Realizes he is Dead Coach Walking, the remaining season left to a battle for pride and a show of character. ``I had a great opportunity to come in here and be a head football coach at a Division I school at one of the best in the country, as far as academics and tradition and reputation,'' Holmoe said. ``It came down to this year. We don't win and I'm going to get fired. That's the realism of it.'' This is all very new to Holmoe, a former star defensive back at Crescenta Valley The Crescenta Valley is a small inland valley in Los Angeles County, California. Its name derives from its crescent-like shape, with the convex portion facing roughly northeast and the concave portion southwest. High of La Crescenta, Brigham Young University Brigham Young University, at Provo, Utah; Latter-Day Saints; coeducational; opened as an academy in 1875 and became a university in 1903. It is noted for its law and business schools. and the San Francisco 49ers Holmoe - pleasant, honest, forthright forth·right adj. 1. Direct and without evasion; straightforward: a forthright appraisal; forthright criticism. 2. Archaic Proceeding straight ahead. adv. 1. about his situation - entered this last year on his contract with eight returning starters on both offense and defense. Hopes were high that Cal's fortunes could finally turn around. The schedule has not been kind - counting the Bruins, Cal's first six opponents are a combined 34-2. The season started with a humbling 44-17 loss at home against Illinois. There was a tough 31-28 loss to Washington, but blowout Blowout The rapid sale of all shares in a new securities offering. See: hot issue. blowout The nearly immediate sale of a new security issue because of great investor demand. See also hot issue. defeats to BYU BYU Brigham Young University BYU Bayou BYU Bob's Your Uncle BYU Bayreuth, Germany - Bindlacher Berg (Airport Code) BYU Beyond Your Understanding , Washington State and Oregon. ``I've ridden on the crest of a big wave,'' he said. ``There haven't been any years until I got to Cal, where I haven't been on the crest. ``In this life you don't always have that. Dealing with adversity and struggle is part of life, you hope to deal with it in a manner that shows character. That's what I'm trying to do, trying to teach to the kids. That's one of the toughest things, trying to keep the players on the team strong and together.'' There are friends he's met along the way who offer support, former teammates at C.V. and BYU who remain in contact. A wife and four children who remain his pillar. There are those in the administration who appreciate his efforts but also a first-year athletic director Athletic director (commonly, "athletics director") is a position at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, which oversees the work of the coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic who hasn't tried to conceal his appraisal. New athletic director Steve Gladstone Stephen C. Gladstone, or Steve Gladstone as he is better known, is one of the premier rowing coaches in the United States. He currently coaches at the University of California, Berkeley, whose athletic teams are known as the California Golden Bears. will be hiring his own Bears coach in the offseason. He doesn't bother to conceal it. He simply told a Bay Area newspaper this week that midseason was the wrong time to fire Holmoe. ``I think it would send the wrong message,'' Gladstone said. ``Our football program is obviously at a low ebb, but having said that, there is a thing called a season. For our integrity in building a program, we have to let people know we don't do things this way.'' Cal is a difficult place to win under normal circumstances. The Bohemian Berkeley student body's interests typically don't run to football. Entrance requirements are high. The football facility borders on ancient. Cal hasn't been to the Rose Bowl since 1959. Add to that the pressure of having to win in a year when the Pac-10 is swarming swarming 1. a phenomenon observed in cultures of Proteus spp. on solid media in which there is progressive surface spreading from the parent colony. 2. the periodic bee migration of the old queen and accompanying workers and drones from a full original hive which is with Top 25 teams, and Holmoe's fate seemed sealed even before this season's losses began to mount. None of this is lost on the players, of course, but because of that, Holmoe has almost found new motivation in his daily battle to continue. He knows they are watching how he handles a trying situation. ``In my estimation, maybe some of the things I'm doing right now are more important to the kids than whether I can teach them to catch a pass or not,'' he said. ``I think it's important I look out for the best interest of the players on this team. ``I have to do that, in not just trying to survive, but to compete. There's a time when you have your back up against the wall and you fight and there's a time when you kind of run, and I don't want to do that. I want to do what's best. Right now we're getting ready to play a team that's one of the best in the country.'' Holmoe, 41, said there have been frank conversations with his children, ages 17, 15, 13 and 7, and they recognize what looms. ``I talk openly and honestly with them about prospects and possibilities,'' he said. ``They understand.'' Cal has six games left. Holmoe doesn't just want to play out the string, but for his team to compete, to feel good about itself, to again taste confidence, to find victory even in the struggle. ``But the bottom line is it's an athletic business and winning games is extremely important, and important to me,'' he said. ``I know that and that's why this was a big year. We have six games left.'' The final numbers are not in, but Holmoe knows the score. California at UCLA Saturday, 7:15 p.m. TV: FSN (Full-Service Network) A communications network that provides shopping, movies on demand and access to databases and a variety of interactive services. Radio: 1150-AM CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: (color) With Cal 0-5, Tom Holmoe realizes he won't be back as coach next year. Paul Sakuma/Associated Press Box: California at UCLA (see text) |
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