Former Towson football coach Rob Ambrose, whom the school opted to move on from following the 2022 season, says that even though the decision leaves a “pretty big hole,” he does not hold any animosity toward the school or program and is grateful for the opportunity to raise his family in one place.
Ambrose, 52, had been the head coach at Towson for the past 14 years and 13 seasons. He finished his tenure with a 76-76 mark, which included a 29-10 run from 2011-2013. The Tigers qualified for the FCS playoffs twice during that three-year span, reaching the national championship game in 2013.
But Ambrose entered 2022 not under contract beyond the end of the season, and Towson had hired a new athletic director (Steve Eigenbrot) in February 2022. The Tigers began the season 2-5 but won their final four games to finish 6-5 on the season. Still, the school decided to move in a different direction.
Ambrose was not blindsided by the decision.
“Knowing that it’s a new AD and I need a contract, it’s a realistic possibility,” Ambrose said on Glenn Clark Radio Jan. 5. “That is the business. The minute that you take the job, you’re either getting fired, retiring or taking another job. It’s one of those three. I’m not old enough to retire. I’ve turned down a bunch of jobs to stay here. Eventually, that was going to happen. It’s the nature of the beast.”
Ambrose graduated from Towson in 1993 after spending time on the football team as a quarterback, receiver and student assistant. He joined the Tigers’ coaching staff after that, becoming the receivers coach in 1993, offensive coordinator in 1997 and associate head coach in 2000. He then spent one season as the head coach at Division III Catholic University (2001) before jumping to UConn. He was first the Huskies’ quarterbacks coach (2002-2005) and later the offensive coordinator (2006-2008).
Ambrose then landed the head coaching gig back at his alma mater, which had fallen on hard times on the gridiron (6-17 in the two years prior to his arrival). Given that he stayed for 14 years, Ambrose had an opportunity to settle down with his wife, Melissa, and their two kids, Grace and Riley. The Middletown, Md., native also remained close to his parents.
“I’m a Division I college football coach who somehow found a way to keep both of his children in the same house, in the same town, in the same schools for 14 years,” Ambrose said. “That doesn’t happen. That was what was important to me. This place, this town that I accidentally ended up going to college [to], I’ve lived in this town more years than I haven’t. It’s a part of me and I love it to death.”
Ambrose admitted that Towson’s decision to move on did leave a “pretty big hole” given that who he is as a person is wrapped up in coaching, but he will still support the program. Towson opted to hire Pete Shinnick away from Division II West Florida to fill its head coaching vacancy.
Ambrose says he’ll be rooting for Shinnick.
“I don’t have any animosity to the school or the program,” Ambrose said. “I’m an alum. I preach to these kids that one day they’re going to watch the team on the field and that team is going to represent their diploma. I’m rooting for these guys. If these guys can do what we did in the past, it’s just going to make our diplomas worth more money and make the school look better. That’s the only thing that the football program really should be doing is growing young men and shining a spotlight on the institution, all the great things about the town and the school. I think in the time we were here, we did that. We definitely moved the needle.”
Ambrose has been re-energized by all of the former players who have reached out to him of late, and he’s ready to roll once the right opportunity comes along.
“FCS money is not FBS money, and everybody doesn’t make what Nick Saban makes. In fact, none of us do,” Ambrose said. “Would I like to take a year off? Sure, wouldn’t you? … I’ve still got one in college. I can’t afford to take a year off. Yeah, I’ve got to go keep doing it. And as I’ve explained to [my wife] since she first got with me, we go where the work is. … We’ll see where the next step takes me.”
For more from Ambrose, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: ENP Photography