Where do they end up turning with Cov Cath's first hunt for a varsity baseball coach since 1976?

So where does CCH look now that the legend is gone?

You wonder if they hire a veteran coach or a young one.   I find it amazing that no media has got an interview or quote from Krumpelbeck.  I mean, if I was covering N Ky.  high school sports, he would have been the first person that I would have interviewed or at the very least had a quote from.  But, there's been nothing.     Just makes me wonder if there's more to the story. 

17 hours ago, FREEAGENT said:

You wonder if they hire a veteran coach or a young one.   I find it amazing that no media has got an interview or quote from Krumpelbeck.  I mean, if I was covering N Ky.  high school sports, he would have been the first person that I would have interviewed or at the very least had a quote from.  But, there's been nothing.     Just makes me wonder if there's more to the story. 

It's a little bit of "telephone" but I spoke to a NKY baseball coach whose word I trust, and he was told by an assistant on Bill Krumpelbeck's staff that he was informed of his retirement, so to speak. I know Bill is typically a man of few words and never was much for talking to news reporters, but I thought his conspicuous lack of any comment whatsoever in any of the news stories about his retirement is further proof that it wasn't his choice to step down.

It's no secret around Northern Kentucky that baseball players have been choosing not to attend CCH on account of Krumpelbeck over the course of the last 5+ years. The CCH guys I've talked to personally about it, across the board, have all said it was past his time to retire from coaching. He hung on impressively long, and that's extremely commendable, but I think it's a shame for his legacy that he hung on a little too long and left a lot of folks in his school community breathing sighs of relief that he's retired. I wish for his sake that he had left by his own choice, but it doesn't sound like he was making any plans to do that.

On 6/12/2025 at 6:29 PM, GoBucks97 said:

So where does CCH look now that the legend is gone?

I believe Rob Wermeling down at Holy Cross is extremely interested in the job. He played for Coach Krumpelbeck back around the time that CCH had Todd Etler and I believe one or two other guys who spent some time in the minor leagues.

Rob is an absolutely great guy who is really well liked in the classroom as well. His coaching resume may not be what Rowe and Bacigalupo are hoping for, but frankly speaking I'd attribute a lot of that to Rob just not really having the horses to do very much in his time at Holy Cross.

I've also heard Greg Pass' name mentioned a couple of times since Krumpelbeck's retirement was announced.

If you decide to replace a legend, shouldn't you have a good idea who you are going after to replace him? Even a 3 or 4 deep list?

7 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

If you decide to replace a legend, shouldn't you have a good idea who you are going after to replace him? Even a 3 or 4 deep list?

I am going to assume that Bob and Tony have a short list.  Whether you like them, dislike them or neutral they don't do things without having a plan.  

Where is Coach Eckler at now?  Is he still on the CovCath staff?  I kind of lost track of him.

Of course maybe they look about 2 1/2 miles South............

Or are there any former players besides at Holy Cross coaching somewhere that would make them solid candidates?

Is this a job that would get Brad Arlinghaus back into coaching? Cov Cath Grad, won a ton of games at Connor. I know he quit to spend more time with his kids, but I think he'd be at least on the radar.

11 hours ago, cincyswords said:

I am going to assume that Bob and Tony have a short list.  Whether you like them, dislike them or neutral they don't do things without having a plan.  

Where is Coach Eckler at now?  Is he still on the CovCath staff?  I kind of lost track of him.

Of course maybe they look about 2 1/2 miles South............

Or are there any former players besides at Holy Cross coaching somewhere that would make them solid candidates?

After talking with a buddy who is pretty close to Coach Eck, I'd be pretty surprised if he wanted job (not saying that in a negative way, I just don't know that the interest is there where it once was). I believe he is helping out currently on Ryle's staff along with his son Ryan. As a father with a kid just getting into baseball, I can't imagine there are many things cooler for a dad than getting to coach your kid, and the get to coach with your kid. Best of luck Coach Eck (x2)

On 6/15/2025 at 12:13 PM, Cincinnati Cobra said:

It's a little bit of "telephone" but I spoke to a NKY baseball coach whose word I trust, and he was told by an assistant on Bill Krumpelbeck's staff that he was informed of his retirement, so to speak. I know Bill is typically a man of few words and never was much for talking to news reporters, but I thought his conspicuous lack of any comment whatsoever in any of the news stories about his retirement is further proof that it wasn't his choice to step down.

It's no secret around Northern Kentucky that baseball players have been choosing not to attend CCH on account of Krumpelbeck over the course of the last 5+ years. The CCH guys I've talked to personally about it, across the board, have all said it was past his time to retire from coaching. He hung on impressively long, and that's extremely commendable, but I think it's a shame for his legacy that he hung on a little too long and left a lot of folks in his school community breathing sighs of relief that he's retired. I wish for his sake that he had left by his own choice, but it doesn't sound like he was making any plans to do that.

Wasn't told from any horses' mouths but I've heard from a couple of very reliable 2nd-hand sources now that Coach Krump was told he was retiring. Honestly he did hang on too long and it did do some damage his legacy. Bobby Bowden is still as an all-time great but there are still alot of FSU fans who still remember that he hung on too long. I think the same will go for Coach Krump.

On 6/15/2025 at 1:56 PM, Voice of Reason said:

If you decide to replace a legend, shouldn't you have a good idea who you are going after to replace him? Even a 3 or 4 deep list?

Hadn't heard Pass or Wermeling mentioned. Pretty sure the pipedream hire is Gray. It sounded like they were gonna take a flyer and pitch the job to him but I think the assumption was that he'd say no. Same thing with Ayler. There's also an assistant over at X that's being talked about. He's married into a CCH family but having GCL South pedigree has to look good to Bob & Tony.

I'm assuming Michels has applied. He's worked with Coach Krump for years, spent time as head freshman and jv coach, both. Michels has been the forward face of CCH baseball to player parents for quite a while. Dunno if the admins would worry about him being more of the same as a head coach, but I think most everyone knows that Michels was so faithful as an assistant because he knew the wheels would completely fall off if Krump was left entirely to his own devices.

1 hour ago, The Oracle said:

Wasn't told from any horses' mouths but I've heard from a couple of very reliable 2nd-hand sources now that Coach Krump was told he was retiring. Honestly he did hang on too long and it did do some damage his legacy. Bobby Bowden is still as an all-time great but there are still alot of FSU fans who still remember that he hung on too long. I think the same will go for Coach Krump.

I don't think hanging on too long was the issue. The issue was his lack of willingness to evolve as the game changed. Had he been willing to change with the game as it changed, this might have had a different outcome. Even so, he still won a lot of games, and his teams were always hard to beat. In the end, many coaches end up usually coaching a few more years than they should have.

10 hours ago, rjs4470 said:

I don't think hanging on too long was the issue. The issue was his lack of willingness to evolve as the game changed. Had he been willing to change with the game as it changed, this might have had a different outcome. Even so, he still won a lot of games, and his teams were always hard to beat. In the end, many coaches end up usually coaching a few more years than they should have.

How has the game changed?

I know at the College and Professional level, the game has changed immensely.

High School? I haven’t seen that great of change. You still have to throw it and catch it. Offensively, you can win with small ball or wait for big hits.

18 hours ago, The Oracle said:

Wasn't told from any horses' mouths but I've heard from a couple of very reliable 2nd-hand sources now that Coach Krump was told he was retiring. Honestly he did hang on too long and it did do some damage his legacy. Bobby Bowden is still as an all-time great but there are still alot of FSU fans who still remember that he hung on too long. I think the same will go for Coach Krump.

 

16 hours ago, rjs4470 said:

I don't think hanging on too long was the issue. The issue was his lack of willingness to evolve as the game changed. Had he been willing to change with the game as it changed, this might have had a different outcome. Even so, he still won a lot of games, and his teams were always hard to beat. In the end, many coaches end up usually coaching a few more years than they should have.

 

5 hours ago, Falcon Pride said:

How has the game changed?

I know at the College and Professional level, the game has changed immensely.

High School? I haven’t seen that great of change. You still have to throw it and catch it. Offensively, you can win with small ball or wait for big hits.

I don't think much has changed on the field. Maybe the change that has happened is outside the foul lines?

Do we think or know of any local Cincy coaches are looking?  Landing a GCL coach or qualifed assistant would be great.   I'm sure this didn't come up overnight and Tony & Bob have people on their short list they'd reach out to.