Put Down the Pitchfork! Conque is the right man for SFA

He's a college football coach who left a successful program with a proven record and took on a new challenge in a new state. Fans were ready to see a fresh chapter in their football program and the excitement made it clear: he was the right hire.

And then games started happening. Head-scratching losses started to pile up. It didn't take long at all before the optimism was vanquished by mounting defeats.

It's astonishing how quickly fans will turn on a coach if their football team hits a bump in the road. But not really, because this happens all the time.

See, I'm not talking about Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks head coach Clint Conque. That's the story of Frank Beamer, the former Virginia Tech Hokie who stands today among the greatest to ever coach the game.

He almost didn't make it out of his first five seasons.

Chris Low of ESPN reflected on those early years in Blacksburg through the eyes of Beamer's children in this long-form piece.

Frank's son Shane recalled times when local kids would taunt him in school. One day, his little sister answered a phone call in their home. "She was only 11 at the time, and the caller asked for Frank," writes Low. "When she told him her father wasn't home, the caller unloaded on Casey and told her what a horrible coach her father was."

When a person becomes passionate about a sports team, they stop being a person. They're a fan. A fanatic. Harassing little girls, booing the hometown team, blowing up social media with personal attacks - apparently none of this is out of bounds.

That doesn't mean it isn't seriously misguided though.

In 1993, Beamer finally led the Hokies to a Bowl game. Through his retirement last year, Virginia Tech never missed one again.

SFA is not immune to the collective fan temper tantrum. Whether it was attacks on Clint or his son (and quarterback) Zach, the Conque name has been trashed by Jacks fans in a disturbing way over the past couple years. If you've ever followed a struggling team, you know that's just what fans do. That doesn't make it okay. Do not be desensitized to the ugliness.

It is not unreasonable to expect a winning team or to demand higher expectations. In some ways, that's what fans are there for. Losing the big rivalry game year after year is a tough place to be. It's emotional, I know. I'm a fanatic too. That doesn't excuse losing sight of basic human decency.

Can I guarantee that Clint Conque is going to lead SFA on a roll like Beamer did at Virginia Tech? Of course not. This I do know: it is the obligation of this fan base to give him that chance so long as SFA's administration is behind him.

Right now, they have no reason not to be. Conque is a proven head coach who's guided a successful building project at Central Arkansas. He is highly respected by his peers and has among the best FCS recruiting classes in the nation signing this spring. He has budding superstars in Tamrick Pace, Kijana Amous and others, and could be a year away from another playoff run.

And yes, he's making some adjustments too with recent staff changes.

Zach, the other frequent target of Lumberjack ire, literally sacrificed his body for three years, played hurt nearly every week (almost an entire season with a Grade 2 MCL sprain), had both shoulders operated on, came back from a senior year benching to put up some of the best numbers in his career, and never complained once about the way he was treated by the community.

"A lesser teammate or one with less faith, love and character would have withered," one individual close to the football team told me.

How did fans respond? How about bombarding an SFA Athletics Facebook post with unfiltered hatred when the department had the nerve to post a congratulatory graphic with his clearly impressive career numbers?

Rand Champion, SFA's director of Athletic Media Relations, dropped this not so subtle tweet that day. I couldn't say it better myself.

Someday, I hope Lumberjacks fans recognize this easily discernible truth: the Conque family is one of us. If this is how Lumberjacks treat their own, maybe we're not all that we think we are.

Instead, let's lift a glass to the future. Clint Conque is your football coach. Sorry folks, he's not going anywhere.

If you don't want to stand behind him that's your right. Just know I have a feeling you're on the wrong side of history.