Through two weeks of action, there are a whole lot of Division III teams across America who would have loved to start their seasons 1-0.
Willamette (D-III - OR), who hadn't won more than two games in a season dating back to 2016, was one of those teams who was feeling good at 1-0 following an opening season victory over La Verne (D-III - CA).
However, that 1-0 start to Isaac Parker's fourth season leading the program apparently was not enough for him to keep his job.
The school and Parker parted ways late last week, just before their second game of the young 2023 season.
The program, which did not play during the COVID season in 2020, went 2-8, 1-9 and 2-8 during Parker's tenure.
Special teams coordinator / defensive pass game coordinator Tim Rude is now listed as the Bearcats interim head coach.
Prior to joining the staff, Rude was the running backs coach at Western Oregon from 2015-20, where he helped lead the team to a conference title. He coached the running backs at Willamette in 2021 before making the jump to the defensive side of the ball, where he currently works with the defensive backs.
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