KIRWAN SAID HIS DREAM was to be an offensive coordinator in the ACC. He got to do it by age 26.
And with Connor Shellenberger, Payton Cormier and Griffin Schutz back, he could have helped churn out another juggernaut in Charlottesville next spring.
But Tiffany saw a maturation and evolution in Kirwan over the last year or two toward greater collaboration, something which probably becomes more comfortable to do with experience and success.
“The brilliance of Sean Kirwan is he’s been able to take extremely talented lacrosse players and provide a regimentation, a structured offense that demands being compliant to it,” Tiffany said. “There’s freelance built in it, don’t get me wrong, but Gus Malzahn at Auburn would say, ‘Stand here,’ that’s one step over when you’re in the slot, and it makes a difference. Sean can be that meticulous.”
There is also some built-in knowledge of the Ivy League. Not necessarily personnel, but navigating a variety of added restrictions in place. Yes, the NCAA’s recruiting rules have changed since Kirwan left Brown for Virginia after the 2016 season. But there remains some hands-on experience.
One bit of it certainly appealed to Harrity. As part of the interview process, Kirwan presented a case study of Brown’s improvement in his two years with the Bears, who went from a mostly conventional team to an up-tempo dynamo led by Tewaaraton Award winner Dylan Molloy.
“There was a lot of similarity that Sean saw from afar,” Harrity said. “He’d watched a lot of film of us and was very familiar with the way we play, the men on our team, even back recruiting, he knew who they were as people and players. That was really compelling that he had been a part of a transformation within the league with all the same opportunities and dynamics that exist with the realities of an Ivy League institution.”
One of those realities is not surprising for institutions that reside in the elite academic echelon without the demands of a Power Five program: Athletics, school and outside interests tend to exist in greater balance.
But that can be something a coach outside the Ivy might underestimate, which further underscores the value of Kirwan’s time at Brown.
“We’ve seen the Ivies do fantastic with a limited schedule and restrictions that come from the Ivy League office,” Tiffany said. “But I do think it helps that you’ve been in the Ivy League to understand, ‘This guy’s really committed, but he also has passion for biology, for international relations and he’s going to jump on that committee and he’s not coming by tomorrow to do extra shooting.’ And that’s OK.”
It isn’t difficult to imagine what Kirwan’s ideal team will look like, given the potent offenses he’s helped field over the years. And all that time as a coordinator gave him time to think about his vision for his own program.
“He’s going to establish a really high standard of excellence,” Harrity said. “Why not Dartmouth? We can strive toward excellence here. I expect us to get better every day, every week, every month. I know we will with him as the leader, and I can’t wait to partner with him to absolutely elevate this program.”
And that process is already underway, with Kirwan scrambling to fill out a staff and getting on the road this summer. But eight months before his first game as a head coach, he’s already accomplished something remarkable.
He’s ensured that Dartmouth will be one of the most intriguing teams of the offseason — and, the Big Green undoubtedly hopes, well beyond that.
“I know this is not going to be easy,” Kirwan said. “It’s going to take a lot of work, but with everything we’ve spelled out, there is a path and there is a road map. It is getting clearer and clearer by the day. We know that that’s just the beginning of this thing. It’s going to take a lot of hard work and a lot of tough hours, some failure, hopefully some success we can rally around as well. But man am I excited for the challenge.”