I only had limited interactions with Tim DeRuyter, but there’s one that I think illustrates the kind of man he is overall.
I had an opportunity to explain my MFA thesis to DeRuyter, about the ongoing season, in the vein of literature like Friday Night Lights, when he asked me, “Have you ever had to drive through Odessa?” He joked about the obsession as he’d seen it firsthand, and he was amiable, cordial.
So in spite of his removal this afternoon as the head coach of the Fresno State Bulldogs, I feel for DeRuyter. But the game is about wins and losses and, when it came down to it, DeRuyter had to go.