Carleton finds their man, introduce new head football coach

Steve Sumarah is flying west to the Ravens’ Nest.

This morning the Carleton Ravens introduced the former St. Mary’s Huskies boss as their new head coach. Sumarah said he is excited to be a part of a football program building itself from scratch.

“The opportunity to run your own program from the very first nuts and bolts is an opportunity you just can’t pass up,” he said. “It’s a dream come true and I’m just so excited to get started.”

Sumarah is an offensive mastermind who compiled a 42-18 record as head coach of SMU for the past seven seasons. During his tenure he led SMU to four straight AUS Championships between 2007-2010 and a Vanier Cup appearance. Sumarah said he plans to build a winning program at Carleton.

“Realistically you need three years to get those guys gelling as a group,” he said. “But winning a championship is the plan and anything less than that would be disappointing.”

Sumarah was surprisingly let go by St. Mary’s last month after 13 successful seasons on Huskies coaching staff. As offensive coordinator between 1998-2005 he helped the Huskies earn four Vanier Cup berths and win two national championships.

Last season, Sumarah led SMU to an offensive output that ranked second out of the country’s 26 teams in points scored, while allowing the fifth least points on defence.

Sumarah said he hopes to build another successful offensive unit at Carleton.

“I think the biggest thing is that you’ve got to run the ball, be able to spread people out, and get the ball in the best athletes hands,” he said.

Carleton’s Athletic Director Jennifer Brenning said the university felt an immediate connection with Sumarah when he first interviewed for the job.

“His personality, his characteristics, his values, his education; Steve has all the elements we were looking for in a head coach,” she said. “He’s done everything, he’s recruited, he’s built programs and he’s been involved in the community.”

Sumarah is not the only one excited about this opportunity. As he took to the podium this morning, his three-year-old daughter Brooke shouted “Hi Daddy!” right next to his beaming wife Amanda in the crowd.

“My roots are in Halifax, our families and parents are there,” Sumarah said. “But Ottawa is a city of great opportunity and I’m proud and honoured to wear my jacket and say ‘Go Ravens Go!’”

Sumarah was the CIS coach of the year in 2009 and the AUS coach of the year from 2007-2009. Last season, Sumarah’s Huskies enjoyed a 6-2 season but lost to Acadia in the AUS Championship.

St. Mary’s Athletic Director Steve Sarty would not comment on the specifics of Sumarah’s firing last month, but said Sumarah served SMU well during his tenure.

“Steve was a good coach, a great offensive mind, a very organized guy and he did a great job for us,” he said. “It was just time for a change and we’ve all turned the page.”

The Carleton Ravens’ football revival was officially announced earlier this year after much demand and fundraising pushed the athletics department to reinstate the program, beginning in 2013, after a 15-year hiatus.

Carleton’s staff and alumni are extremely excited and committed to building a successful football program and are convinced they found the best man to coach their team.

“This is an important milestone on the road to bringing football back to Carleton University,” said Carleton University’s President Roseann O’Reilly Runte. “Coach Sumarah has an outstanding record of mentoring student-athletes and working with the community.”

Sumarah acknowledges the challenge of recruiting 85 football players to come to Carleton and form a team by the start of the 2013 season, but points to his experience at SMU and his command of one of the nation’s leading offences as foundations for forming success.

“In this situation, I’m going to take on more of a managerial role and contribute on offence, defence, and special teams,” he said. “The next step is looking for assistant coaches so we can get started.”

Sumarah said he’s had informal conversations with a couple people to fill his staff. For today though, Sumarah is all smiles and excited about the university’s optimism and opportunity.

“You can just see this campus is ready to explode,” he said. “Everyone has lots of energy and it’s going to be great to be a part of it.”

PHOTO CREDITS: (from left to right)
Carleton President Roseann O’Reilly Runte, Old Crow & former Raven Kevin McKerrow, new Head Coach Steve Sumarah, Athletic Director Jennifer Brenning