Also curious as to Sarah’s involvement. Did she push Greg to make the change and if so, why? Could it be that she felt Dana was not running the program she thought was best? In other words, not her minion and she felt Ashley would do as she wants?
Lots of rumors Ashley was the front runner for UCLA and “someone” convinced her to wait. Was it Sarah?
Asking b/c I don’t want to see us become UGA where Suzanne Yoculan’s thumb on the scale has led to Courtney destroying that program.
I know Sarah and David Patterson a little bit socially (nowhere near well enough to just straight-out ask what happened), and don’t see her as that level of a control freak. She is a genuinely good person. Or, if she’s not, she’s a better actress than Meryl Streep.
I guess anything you don’t have personal knowledge of has some theoretical probability of being true. But I’d put the probability of Sarah Patterson attempting to influence the gymnastics program with unwanted meddling as close to zero as the chances of me turning into a UTe fan.
I do know that she maintains a good relationship with Greg Byrne, and if I’m in Byrne’s chair and have Sarah Patterson living in town, I’m certainly going to ask her to help me get the best coach for the gymnastics program. I’d view that as being willing to help when asked….a far cry from unwanted meddling.
If your information about Ashley Priess-Johnston, the UCLA job, and waiting is accurate, I think there’s a much more likely scenario: Contrary to my initial feelings about Dana Duckworth’s stated reason for resigning, she (Duckworth) really truly just didn’t want to deal with the pressures of a major college athletic program anymore, She confided that to her mentor (Sarah Patterson), and maybe even Byrne. They collectively identified AP-J as their primary target. The UCLA job came calling, and knowing the Alabama job was a possibility, Patterson persuaded AP-J to wait.
That would explain the tank in the National Championship, the speed with which they named Duckworth’s replacement, and be 100% consistent with Byrne’s remarks.
To be clear: I have no inside information. I’m just using Occam’s Razor — when faced with multiple possible explanations, go with the simplest one unless and until it’s proven wrong.
BTW — the UCLA job is one of the best in all of college gymnastics. If it was indeed a possibility for AP-J, that’s an excellent indicator of how knowledgeable people in the sport view her coaching expertise.
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