12/21/24
December 21, 2007
When Is It OK To Go?: Some college coaching departures are different than others article By TheQatarian
posted by kyrilmitch_76 to football at 06:41 AM - 11 comments
Speaking of Paul Johnson, I was under the impression that he was going to coach in the bowl game. Also, I think going to Georgia Tech would constitute moving up as per unwritten rule #3.
posted by bender at 08:22 AM on December 21, 2007
I think that alot of this makes sense Qat, but i think that we have to remember that teams aren't going to be loyal to coaches who aren't producing winners. That being said, i guess if it looks like you are going to be canned, i see no problem in leaving before you "put in your time" because the actual event of getting fired is extremely detrimental to one's career. My only problem when we have these discussions (not necessarily you Qat: this is more general) is that we act like schools are loyal to coaches. They're usually not. Most coaches don't get the time they need to build their program (see Willingham, Tyrone). If they did, maybe they would be more successful and not have to jump ship so often. Case in point: Mark Mangino of KU has been at Kansas for 6 years. Weak schedule or not, they have vastly imporved under his leadership. Most schools would have canned him after year 3 or 4, and KU football would still be struggling to get to .500. My basic question is why do schools get a free pass most of the time?
posted by brainofdtrain at 10:14 AM on December 21, 2007
i think thats a very good point, brain. schools constantly cut coaches short on their contracts because they arent showing the immediate results that the AD wants. but even if that werent the case, i think a simple question can tell us when its ok to move. is it a step up, or just a step? west virginia is a good program. it is a good program because rich rodriguez built it into one. michigan is the winningest program in the history of NCAA football. that is the top rung of the ladder. a coach does owe some loyalty to his team, but we also have to remember that this is a job. if you are offered a better job than the one you have, are you gonna turn it down just because you trained your staff? not very often. most of the time you say "where do i sign?" lets also not forget, that wvu screwed rich on some of the things they had promised him, not the least of which being a raise for his staff. how often do you hear a coach and school arguing over money, and it isnt for the coach, but for his staff? i say good for him. standing up for his staff like that is the mark of a good leader, and in the days of petrino, and so many others like him, thats a rare and precious commodity.
posted by elijahin at 11:12 AM on December 21, 2007
I didn't realize that Johnson was coaching out the season, if he is than that is the classy way to go in my book. Bo Pelini has accepted the Nebraska head coaching job but he will continue to coach the LSU defense through the title game. I have no problem with guys leaving for greener pastures. There was a post a while back where someone's point was more or less, "Haven't you ever changed jobs?" I just feel that leaving a school, or the Falcons for that matter, during the season is more like quitting in the middle of your shift rather than giving two weeks notice. You leave the people that depend on you hanging, and I think you should finish the season even if the job is a lucrative step up. I personally wouldn't hire an employee if I knew that they had just walked out on a job without notice, its unproffessional.
posted by kyrilmitch_76 at 11:32 AM on December 21, 2007
I was shocked when Rodriguez left WV. He was born there I heard him say, went to school there, and coached there. Got them to a BCS game and left prior to the bowl game.... I am not so impressed with him. Petrino is another story altogether. Totally classless. Could have at least done a Saban and waited until the season ended. Miles did it to OSU, Saban to LSU and on and on. One coach I am proud of is Bob Stoops. He took the OU job and has turned down offers from various schools such as Ohio State, the NFL and others and kept his word and location in place. He has lost many assistants such as Mike Leach (Texas Tech), Mike Stoops (Brother to Arizona), Sumlin to Houston, Mangino to Kansas, and even Chuck Long. I admire him for staying put and fighting through adversity and keeping his roots to the team that gave him his first real chance as a head coach. He is very well respected here in Oklahoma.
posted by Mickster at 07:35 PM on December 21, 2007
Qatarian, very nice article, well thought out. I liked it very much. I have a question for the people that have no clue why Rich Rodriguez would leave West Virginia when he did. Prior to their bowl game, as soon as he could after finding out he got the job at Michigan. Here it is: Would you rather had him not say anything at all until after the bowl games were done and over with, giving WVa. almost a month less to look for a replacement? Plus being even more devastated by the announcement if they win their Bowl game? One of the biggest reasons the coaches do this is to benefit both teams. In the Rodriguez case for example, W Va. knew earlier what was going on, and could start to look for their new coach, and name an interim head coach for the bowl game. It won't be long after that before a new head coach is named, for recruiting purposes. The same reason Michigan wanted him to start right away, that way they can tell the new potential recruits that this is definately who you will be playing for. This is one thing that has got to be hurting Penn State's recruiting. If you are a recruiter for their football team, and you go to this all star high school quarterback's house to talk to him about playing for Penn State, and you run through all of your sales pitch about the school and the team. Then it is the kids turn to ask you some questions, the first thing out of the kids mouth is "Joe Pa is there now, while I'll be a freshman. Will he still be there when I am a senior? I don't want to go through any relearning with a new coach." What do you say to that? Nobody knows how long Paterno will be the Head Coach at Penn State. Things like these are the reasons that the schools like the coaches to take the new job ASAP.
posted by jojomfd1 at 12:16 AM on December 22, 2007
elijahin: The West Virginia athletic department DID give a huge raise to Rodriguez' staff, in most cases around 30-40%.
posted by netbros at 06:00 AM on December 22, 2007
Well put jojo.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 06:27 AM on December 22, 2007
Thanks YYM.
posted by jojomfd1 at 08:02 AM on December 22, 2007
Good points jojo as well... I really didn't so much have a problem with Rodriguez's timing as the decision itself. If you were from there and had built such a good program, got raises, and had a talented team competing in BCS games, why go to Michigan after turning down Alabama. But, not a problem really with him. If he wanted to change jobs, Michigan is certainly a good job. I did question though the others like Petrino, Saban and Miles for past early departures. It is their right to do so, just though Petrino most of all looses all credibility when going into the home of a recruit.
posted by Mickster at 08:08 AM on December 22, 2007
Great Article Qatarian. Ever since the Rodriguez announcement I have been wondering to myself why some guys are vilified (Petrino) while others like Rodriguez get a pass. To me Rodriguez is just as bad as he abandoned a team right before a BCS bowl game. The Falcons can suck just as easily without Petrino. Under the radar is Navy's Paul Johhnson who also abandoned his kids right before their bowl game to take the Georgia Tech job.