Larry Farmer Heading Back to Western Michigan

Levi Watkins and now Director of Player Development Larry Farmer have exited Mark Gottfried's program this off season, though neither of the two were key cogs in the brain trust. So far the Pack have managed to dodge attempts to lure assistant head coach Bobby Lutz from the program, and top assistants Orlando Early and Rob Moxley also remain in the fold.

The Farmer hire always seemed like Gottfried was doing a solid for an old buddy with UCLA ties, so his lasting just one year on the Pack bench is no surprise. Farmer was basically a PR and video guy, so he should not be overly hard to replace despite an impressive resume that includes head coaching gigs at UCLA, Weber State, and Loyola Chicago. And not many college assistants can boast of once coaching the Kuwaiti national team.

Farmer will be an assistant coach for the Broncos, where he had a previous stint in the same role.

With a couple of openings on the staff, hopefully Gottfried can target a defensive genius, as improvement on the defensive end will undoubtedly be the key to sustained success for the program.