In March, the Oregon women’s volleyball head coach, Jim Moore, and his wife, Stacy Metro, stepped down from their coaching roles. Moore was the winningest head coach in Oregon volleyball history and tallied 197 wins in 12 seasons at Oregon.
It was later reported that the couple had been fired for cause. A press release sent out by the university later that day said that “his coaching style is mismatched with the standards of the University of Oregon athletic department.”
Matt Ulmer/Oregon Athletics
In that same press release, Moore had acknowledged that his coaching style – which at times had been overly aggressive – may have been viewed negatively by his student-athletes and he had apologized. Other than that, no other information was given about why he had been dismissed.
Although it was said the Moore would continue coaching from afar, no information was given about his role during that time. Matt Ulmer, who had been named the new head coach, declined to answer questions about his involvement when he spoke with the media for the first time on Tuesday.
Assistant coach Matt Ulmer, who had been named the new head coach, declined to answer questions about his involvement when he spoke with the media for the first time on Tuesday.
Ulmer, who had served as an assistant coach for two years and one as the associate head coach under Moore, was initially named the interim head coach. He recently signed a one-year contract with the Ducks to become the official head coach.
When Ulmer spoke with the media, he declined to answer any questions about Moore. When asked if during his tenure as an assistant, if had he noticed anything that he would want to change immediately, he simply replied, “I’ve always been supportive of Oregon volleyball, and I will continue to be supportive of Oregon volleyball.”
When Ulmer took the associate head coach job in 2016, he said he had no indication that the program wasn’t going in an appropriate direction.
“I think I just do my job, and so I’m here to support whoever I’m working with and that’s the University of Oregon and the administration,” he said. “So I think I’ve always just done my job to the best of my ability, and I’ll continue to be here for the girls.”
He also wasn’t aware that he would be named the head coach until he was asked by the administration. However, when asked if he was surprised, he declined to answer. He also declined to answer about the teams’ response to Moore’s dismissal, saying he “didn’t want to put words in their mouths.”
Ulmer’s new coaching staff has been mostly finalized but isn’t yet official. Oregon will make an announcement with the names of the new coaches at a later date.
Follow Hannah Bonnie on Twitter @hbonnie03
