Relative 'Unknown' Chosen Football Coach to Be Named Today

Harvard will name a relatively unknown man to succeed John Yovicsin as head football coach at a press conference scheduled for 2:30 p. m. this afternoon in Dillon Field House.

The new coach, who has reportedly coached both college and professional teams and is about 40 years old, was among the 15 considered most seriously by the committee set up to find a successor, but he was not mentioned by speculators in the Boston press.

Though Yovicsin's successor will be unknown to many here, he has apparently earned a name in football circles. "He hasn't gotten much press on the Eastern Seaboard," one source admitted.

The two candidates mentioned most often in the Boston newspapers lately were Ralph Jelic, defensive coordinator for Yovicsin, and Frank Ryan, the former star quarterback for the Cleve land Browns and now backup man for Washington's Sonny Jurgenson.

Jelic was extremely popular with the players he has coached at Harvard, but the committee was apparently more interested in finding a completely new person, someone not in the "Yovicsin mold," as one member put it. In addition, if Jelic had been selected, he would have faced some difficult personal situations in deciding which members of the present staff to keep.

The reasons for rejecting Ryan were not clear. Ryan, who was reportedly eager to take the job after an alumnus enthusiastically told the committee about him, was considered a likely choice by some because of his educational background (Ph. D. in math) and his young age. He was also thought to be the dynamic sort of person Harvard needed.

The committee reached a decision in the middle of December after weeks of intensive interviewing, but received the acceptance only a couple of days ago. The new coach must be approved this morning by President Pusey and the Corporation. He has already been approved by the Faculty Committee on Athletics and Dean Dunlop.

One member of the group which selected the coach expressed satisfaction that the Boston papers had been unable to guess who Yovicsin's successor was "Joe Concannon [of the Boston Globe] was really beating the bushes," he said. The committee member said that some of the names mentioned by papers appeared after reporters found their names in Boston hotel logbooks.

When Yovicsin was selected as Lloyd Jordan's replacement in 1957, speculators were also surprised. He announced last Spring that he would retire after the 1970 season because of a weak heart. Yoviesin is now director of physical training and recreation.