By Anthony Braviere

Staff writer

Eastern football lost its second assistant coach of the offseason when offensive line coach Charlie Roche announced he’ll take a job at San Jose State University.

Roche played an instrumental part in the Panthers’ playoff season by molding the Eastern offensive line into one of the best in the Ohio Valley Conference.

“What can I say, I wish we could have 90 Charlie Roches hanging around the team,” said Eastern head coach Bob Spoo. “But it is even more disappointing because we have known Charlie for so long.”

Although Spoo says that the loss of Roche will be one that his team will have to work to overcome, he knows going to San Jose State will be a great opportunity for the young coach.

“It is devastating because he was one of our own,” Spoo said. “But we know what a great thing this will be for Charlie to move up to a Division I program that is on the rise.

“Plus he will have the chance to go back out West, which is where he is originally from,” he said.

Roche played for the Panthers in the mid-1990s and was a member of Eastern’s playoff qualifying team, making it even more difficult for Spoo to see him go.

“He is one of those guys that does everything hard,” Spoo said. “That’s how he was as a player hear.

“That’s how he was as a restricted earning coach and a full-time coach,” he said.

Spoo has already begun looking for a replacement for Roche, and is still looking for a new defensive coordinator to replace Kim Dameron, who left in January.

“Well, we were meeting about that this morning, and we have been flooded with resumes,” Spoo said. “Hopefully we can get some interviews and get somebody in here to fill both positions before spring practice.”