Two days before 73 young men he barely knows are to report for football camp, James Rosenbury is as energized as any head coach could be. For Kenyon, for himself, for those young athletes, a fresh start is just 48 hours away. To say he is excited about the possibilities would be something of an understatement. This, in spite of the fact that the task before him is Herculean.
Rosenbury has been charged with turning around a football program that has managed just 33 winning seasons since it began in 1890, and 12 of those winning seasons came before 1915, when Woodrow Wilson was still in his first term as president. As Kenyon begins its 130th year of football, the Lords have yet to produce a single perfect season or win an outright championship. (The highlights of Kenyon’s football fortunes are the 7-0-1 team in 1972 and the 5-4-1 team of 1989, which tied for first place in the North Coast Athletic Conference.)
So what makes this 34-year-old, first-time head coach certain he can turn around a program that has produced 37 zero- or one-win seasons? And what motivates these players to show up and suit up for a team that’s riding a 26-game losing streak at the start of the 2019 season?
Confidence, baby, confidence.
In the heart of football-rich Ohio
Rosenbury grew up in what he called “a big football family” near Salt Lake City. Two uncles played for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and Rosenbury was a standout at Juan Diego Catholic High School in Draper, Utah. At Case Western Reserve University, he was a two-time all-conference running back.
His early career followed a nomadic path familiar to many assistant football coaches. After stints at Case Western Reserve University, Grinnell College and the University of Redlands, Rosenbury became an assistant at Macalester College, where he also directed football operations and recruiting.
Rosenbury, who knew of Kenyon from his playing days, was intrigued when the Lords announced that they were in the market for a new coach. His best day as a collegiate running back came against the Lords in 2004, when he rushed for more than 200 yards and scored four touchdowns in a 46-24 win.