![Marquette’s Jake Richard](https://www.wisconsinsports.today/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Jake_Richard.0.jpg)
I don’t know if this was the right choice, but it’s the choice that Marquette made.
A two week search for a new head men’s lacrosse coach at Marquette landed right back where it started, in the team offices at the PRC on campus. On Friday afternoon, Athletic Director Bill Scholl announced that long time assistant coach and former MU short stick midfielder Jake Richard would be the third head coach in Marquette history. The promotion will allow Richard to continue his streak of being a part of every single men’s lacrosse game in Marquette history.
.@JakeRichard27 will serve as the third men’s lacrosse head coach in @MarquetteU history. Richard is a PLL/Team USA athlete and former MU USILA All-American who has been part of every game in Marquette history. #WeAreMarquette
MORE INFO ⬇️https://t.co/YnvJFsDs20 pic.twitter.com/BNtPPzYryv
— Marquette Lacrosse (@MarquetteMLax) May 17, 2024
After a decorated four year career with the Golden Eagles ended in 2016, Richard was immediately hired as an assistant coach by then-head coach Joe Amplo. In 2019, when Andrew Stimmel came on board to lead the team, he retained Richard on his staff, and Richard has been there ever since. That’s eight years of service as defensive coordinator for Marquette men’s lacrosse after four years of playing short stick defensive midfielder for MU.
This is where we get into uncomfortable question time. You can read the Marquette press release for all of the reasons why the athletic department can highlight to say that Richard was a good to great defensive coach for the Golden Eagles. You can’t debate the stats that they are pointing out and the player development and so on.
What we can debate is 1) whether Andrew Stimmel was let go as head coach or actually stepped down and then 2) how much culpability Richard’s end of the field bears for Marquette’s record the past two seasons.
For example: It’s hard to say that Marquette was doing just fine on defense in 2024 when Lacrosse Reference has them at #49 out of 76 teams in the country in defensive efficiency. It’s also hard to say that the 4-10 record should be pinned on Richard’s defense when the offense ranks #59 in the country overall in efficiency as well as #59 out of 76 teams in turnover rate. Would MU’s defense look a little bit better if the offense wasn’t losing the ball on more than one-third of their possessions? Yeah, probably!
If the MU administration truly believes that the lacrosse locker room just needs a new voice on the offensive end of the field and that will fix things, then sure, maybe turning over the reigns to Jake Richard is a good idea. On the flip side, this does mean that Richard needs to show immediate improvement in 2025. This is a “stay the course” hire at the very least, and if that’s the case, then that faith needs to be rewarded with results on the field post haste.
At worst, it’s a “we’re afraid to hire someone that wasn’t a Marquette assistant coach” hire, as Stimmel worked for Joe Amplo back when Richard was a player on the field. If Stimmel was in fact let go or not renewed or whatever that’s not him actively telling Bill Scholl that he wants to walk away, then promoting one of his assistants, someone who bears some responsibility for the 10-18 record the last two seasons, is an actively bad decision.