The announcement late last week that head football coach Mike Gardner was leaving Tabor College for an NAIA school in Ohio was disappointing, but not surprising. Gardner was known to be a hot commodity following his unprecedented success with the Bluejays.
Except for a few rare birds like Bethany's Don Kessinger in football and Tabor's own Don Brubacher in basketball, long-term successful stints in coaching are all but unheard of at small colleges. But that doesn't make this latest transition easier.
We thank Gardner for two very golden years, and we pray for those at Tabor whose job it is to find a successor to take over a program in transition-again. Maybe consider someone named Don.
