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[Anonymous]

I was a coach in various Division I programs for 20 years. For the past two years I was in an interim head-coaching position. However, at the end of the 2001 season the athletic director and his administration decided they wanted to take the sport I was coaching in a new direction. They decided to combine the men's and women's programs into a single program and hire a director to oversee that program.

I was interviewed for the job, but was not fortunate enough to get it. My contract was not renewed. For the past seven months I have been trying to get back into coaching. I applied for over 20 jobs last summer and didn't get even a single favorable response.

I have four questions:

• I left my position on great terms -- at least that's what my former employer told me -- but since I've yet to land an interview for any of the positions I applied for I'm wondering if I should omit my last employer from my résumé and remove him as a reference. What do you think?

• If I do, will it hurt me?

• Should I tell potential employers about what happened in my cover letter or should I just wait for them to ask about the situation at a job interview?

• If it's best to tell potential employers about the situation, what's the best plan of attack?

[Anon Again]

You need to address what happened in the last two years.

Assuming you were in the same sport for your 20-year history, other Division I institutions probably know your name, one way or the other.

There are a couple things you can do.

First, you might use a friend to check your references for you to find out what's really being said about you. It may be that your references are quite positive and you're simply encountering a tough job market. On the other hand, it's possible that you'll need to change who you use as a reference.

You can easily explain your desire for a transition by stating that your program was merged with another program and that an outside director (with more experience coaching the opposite sex) was picked to take over the joint program. Especially if your references otherwise state that you were a great coach, if your teams had a good track record in competition, and if your players remember you fondly. That's the bottom line for many institutions.

If you can say, for example, that under your interim leadership the team went from 10 wins and 20 losses to 25 wins and 5 losses, while graduation rates improved by 15 percent, you'll find yourself, like Bobby Knight, employable.

If the merger followed a dramatic decline or a "rebuilding year" then you are likely to have greater problems, even though interim head coaches are often brought on because a rebuilding year (or three) is necessary.

I hope this helps.