that was a week ago, but buried in the OTs hype
The writing was on the wall and there was some speculation since the end of cross country season last year that he would step down after the Pac 12 championship meet, which was held in the refurbished track stadium in Boulder this May. Or rather after NCAAs a couple of weeks later. It looks like they gave him the chance, but he didn't take it so they rather unceremoniously didn't renew his or his partner Heather Buroughs' contract.
You get some disparate accounts here. His former stars appear to back him (Kara Goucher, Jenny Simpson--not sure about Emma Coburn, she has always seemed to want to stay away from too many controversial statements, other than some things about Kenyans and doping). And the investigation was brought about those who were not top runners.
I think taking quotes from RTWB might be out of context, certainly out of date that was an entirely different era--25 years ago. So why didn't they can his ass in 2002 or 2006? Maybe because they were winning championships through about 2017 or whenever.
I read the report a year ago and don't remember too many of the details. Letsrun blame Burroughs more than Wetmore, but considering that's incel/misogynist central you have to take that with a huge grain of salt. I have heard both sides, that they were reasonable and fair in working with athletes on diet and body testing (finding issues, not shaming), but some accounts from the report say there was a culture of shaming, etc. That's a tough one, and not being part of the program nor not knowing anyone directly involved (I do have some friend who have daughters who ran for them in the past 5 or 6 years and there were no complaints).
That's some background, here's the important stuff. My take.
In a way Wetmore helped revolutionize college running, he brought in the philosophy of having college runners do a lot of volume, and was pretty good at the psychological/developmental aspects. But over the past decade other programs caught up, and started doing it better. And CU fell from perennial NCAA championship contender in cross country, while pumping out world class distance and middle-distance stars in track, to competitive (top 5 or 10 at NCAAs) for a number of years, but in the last few they have fallen pretty far back. In the past CU was also known as a place where local talent (not always the blue chippers) would either be recruited or walk onto the team and that would be the backbone of the squad. In the past 4 or 5 years they were not getting the top athletes from inside or outside of the state. Colorado produces some of the best distance talent high school distance in the country, and it's only getting better here. Thing is the runners weren't staying. A big tell for me was that runners like Cruz Culpepper a few years ago and Kiki Vaughan (both kids from pairs of parents who were Olympians themselves--CU runners tend to marry their own), went elsewhere.
Then the eating/body imaging report came out last year, not to mention Wetmore was approaching 70, and so the writing was on the wall.
Now the speculation is who will take the reins. I thought they would do a national search, but the recruiting announcement said they wanted someone with a CU connection. Part of the family. I found that surprising for a number of reasons.
Top candidates with a CU background include Dathan Ritzenhein, coach of On Athletic Club one of the premier pro teams in the US. (but seems like that'd be a step down for Ritz). He'd be the highest profile and most equipped to somewhat match the Deion flash that the football program has taken. One thing that might bring Ritz back into the CU fold is that he has two very talented kids, Addy and Jude who are in high school now--why not keep them at home to be coached by one of the best in the business.
Simpson has worked with the program as an assistant, and he's Wetmore's most successful athlete. I could see that, although she hasn't been tested beyond the team.
The Coburn-Bosshard duo. Emma is about ready to retire from the steeplechase--whether she knows it or not--had a severe injury this year and last year. Her husband Joe Bosshard (another CU grad) has coached the professional Bosshard group for the past 5-6 years and they have been quite successful on the track with Cory McGee, Dani Jones, and others (less so on the roads, but they have success with Emma Bates and Scott Fauble). I bet they put in a bid and if Ritz doesn't take it, I could see them getting the job.
Others with the CU connection:
Alan Culpepper. He coached NAZ elite for a year or two, but has skipped around a lot in different sports administrative roles (Competitor Group, R&R marathons etc.) for a bunch of years. Not sure what he's doing now. Moved back to Boulder to be with his family.
Jay Johnson, was a key 5th runner on the Running with the Buffaloes team and served as an assistant for 8-10 years afterward. But he was forced out when Wetmore promoted GF/partner Burroughs in the mid-2000s. He has since been coaching high school athletes in Lakewood/Littleton, CO and is considered one of the top HS coaches in the country.
Art or Chris Siemers. Both ran for CU in the 2000s. Older brother Art coached as an assistant at CU then went to Colorado School of Mines, and brought them from a decent program in the most powerful Division 2 conference in the country (dominated by Adams State and Western State for decades) and made them one of the top programs in the country. He went on to Colorado State and led them from mediocrity to top 10-15 at NCAAs. He moved on about 5 years ago because his wife is high-powered academic administrator and they moved out of state. Brother Chris took over at Mines and built on the success there, and they won several D2 championships.
Others (non CU connection): everyone is speculating that NAU coach Mike Smith, arguably the best coach in the US college or otherwise, will jump from Flagstaff to Boulder. Like Ritz, a definite possiblity, but he's done so well at NAU with pros and college teams, why move? Then there are number of good coaches around the country, Montana State's Lyle Weese, Jason Vigilante at Princeton, and others. It'll be interesting to see if outsiders (other than maybe Smith) even get much consideration.
