"On his first day on the job Tuesday, he stepped into a minefield." (Sark at Texas)

[Evil Crimson Dragon]

I appreciate all of Sark's hard work while he was here, but now he is at another major university that we may compete against on the field and on the recruiting trail so I hope he finds a lot of "land mines". If he comes back like he did before, I will welcome him with open arms.

He’s definitely in the arms of the Hydra now.......... and they only get tighter from here on out

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Is that what the boosters hired him to do though? I imagine people set some terms when they wrote a big check. May be that's incorrect but my understanding is booster money comes with strings attached.

I've seen plenty of Alabama supporters basically say they'd rather lose than endure certain things. Some of those things I find to be rather silly but they really got all worked up about it anyway.

Yeah, a "donation" in terms of boosters is never truly a "donation". It's the purchase of perks that the average joe fan doesn't get. Sark was in the same seat Saban was in when negotiating the terms of his "deal" before he accepted. Saban didn't agree to it until he basically got what he wanted. Sark may look back and wished he hadn't of agreed to a lot of things he did.

 

[uaintn]

He should have said, "Have you watched this team? Singing is the least of my concerns. Anybody want to ask questions about football? If not, let me get back to hiring away Nick Saban's entire staff."

 

[AlexanderFan]

He should have said, "Have you watched this team? Singing is the least of my concerns. Anybody want to ask questions about football? If not, let me get back to hiring away Nick Saban's entire staff."

You can’t sidestep whatever constitutes racism in today’s society. He had to choose a side, and if the above posts are true, he was given a side to take.

Time for turbulence. Good news is he’s got the boosters on his side so far. Bad news, he may not have the base needed to recruit to now.

 

[Evil Crimson Dragon]

You can’t sidestep whatever constitutes racism in today’s society. He had to choose a side, and if the above posts are true, he was given a side to take.

Time for turbulence. Good news is he’s got the boosters on his side so far. Bad news, he may not have the base needed to recruit to now.

I’m sure other teams in that conference are already getting their negative recruiting going and knife sharpening started up.....

 

[Bamabuzzard]

You can’t sidestep whatever constitutes racism in today’s society. He had to choose a side, and if the above posts are true, he was given a side to take.

Time for turbulence. Good news is he’s got the boosters on his side so far. Bad news, he may not have the base needed to recruit to now.

Here's the brass tax of any team , the players run the team. When I coached, I told my assistant coaches, "the parents/players ultimately run the team". We can make all the rules and policies we want, but if no one shows up to play or if no one follows them, it doesn't matter. We'll be on the practice field and it be just us (the coaches).

It's no different in college. Coach Saban can yell, scream and raise hell all he wants. But if he can't get players to come to his program, his rules don't matter. To get someone to follow you and go by your "rules", they have to believe you care about them and have a genuine interest in them. That's why Saban's players love him so much. What's important to the team, is important to him. That's why he handled the on campus march for social justice the way he did. Ultimately, it was important to the team and I have no doubt he sat them all down, they talked about it, probably "shared some feelings" etc. There may have even been some disagreement among the team. But you know what, when they came out of that meeting they came out as a team and coach saban was leading the way. THAT'S how you handle the clutter.

Because you're right, in today's technological world where what someone says or doesn't say can literally be streamed around the world in real time. No one has a choice of IF they're going to address something or not. It's HOW.

 

[JayBama_in_PCOLA]

Not a good start.

 

[Evil Crimson Dragon]

Not a good start.

Yeah, probably should have known it was a snake before he picked it up...............good luck to him anway

 

[BamaInBham]

I am not taking sides on the issue; just adding context as a recently-former Texan. The Eyes Of Texas became a bone of contention against Tom Herman amongst Texas Exes once players stopped singing it after games. There's an iconic picture (below) after this year's loss to Oklahoma of Sam Ehlinger standing alone in front of the student section singing it. It caused outrage among the faithful. After Herman's firing, a Texas Ex friend of mine even listed allegiance to the song as a shortlist criterion for their next coach. It looks as if he got his wish, and that Sark was by his new boss both prepped for the question and specifically instructed how to answer. To no fault of his own, it doesn't bode well for Sark's prospects on the Forty Acres...
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Exactly. There is no way that Sark was not prepped on this issue and had plenty of time to ponder how to word his response which had already been agreed upon. Sark is smart and articulate, so he doesn't need to learn how to avoid the "gotcha" questions or how to avoid being baited. He knew exactly what was coming and enthusiastically supported this requirement from his employer. It will be interesting to see how this issue plays out, knowing that logic and common sense will likely play no part in the outcome. IMO, UT is passing through a mine field. Fascinating since their faculty and overall university philosophy is diametrically opposed to that of the football boosters.

 

[BamaInBham]

I would say if this topic came up in the interview with an instructed response, red flags would/should have gone off in Sark's mind. Like BIG RED FLAGS. This has nothing to do with football, winning games or what a football coach should have to be dealing with in an interview for a FOOTBALL COACHING job.

He obviously wanted the job badly. He must have gone in with his eyes wide open. No way that he would be so naïve.

 

[Padreruf]

He obviously wanted the job badly. He must have gone in with his eyes wide open. No way that he would be so naïve.

I'm totally surprised at his reply...indicative that either he was not well prepared for the obvious question...or that he is in over his head. Probably the latter...he's lost/left more good jobs than any other coach not named Larry Brown...

 

[BamaInBham]

Sure he can. Take no position, defer to the AD and move on. Saban has been asked a ton of questions that he refused to take a position on, mostly for political reasons. Well, the mess around this song is all about politics.

I'm sure acceptance of this position was at least an implicit job requirement. I've read previously about this matter. It is a nuclear hot button issue for many athletic boosters and a significant segment of influential alumni. So, if he wanted the job he must enthusiastically support that position.

 

[BamaInBham]

If he doesn't begin handling it like Saban, it will be an endless cycle of "what do you think about this?" "What's your stance on this?" and before you know it, he's reading a prepared statement from a piece of paper on live tv with his head hung down "I sincerely apologize for my choice of words, that is not who I am or what I stand for, I misspoke etc." He needs to understand the questions aren't being asked with pure motives. They're being asked hoping he missteps.

IMO, he understands the motives, etc., he knows all of this. He made an informed, conscious decision. He may back down but it will be because the ptb have backed down or he wants to resign.

 

[Evil Crimson Dragon]

IMO, he understands the motives, etc., he knows all of this. He made an informed, conscious decision. He may back down but it will be because the ptb have backed down or he wants to resign.

I dont think either side will back down, nor resignations come...........I bet they stay the course and catch alot of flak over the target. Liable to be a rough ride

 

[selmaborntidefan]

(Ponders whether he should do an in depth post about how in all reality, Texas has more in common with Ole Miss than they ever will with Alabama..........)

 

[Con]

(Ponders whether he should do an in depth post about how in all reality, Texas has more in common with Ole Miss than they ever will with Alabama..........)

I’m up for a good read.

 

[crimsonaudio]

(Ponders whether he should do an in depth post about how in all reality, Texas has more in common with Ole Miss than they ever will with Alabama..........)

 

[Crimson1967]

The song was kind of a big story at the time but it blew over quickly and if you don’t closely follow the news you might not have seen it or forgotten about it.

I would have just said I was new here and those decisions are made by my athletic director and university president. I am here to coach football and I don’t concern myself with the other stuff.

Not a good look but it isn’t like he got the Ole Miss job and came out in favor of waving the Confederate flag.

 

[Evil Crimson Dragon]

(Ponders whether he should do an in depth post about how in all reality, Texas has more in common with Ole Miss than they ever will with Alabama..........)

Go for it...........

 

[Elefantman]

CSS is doing just fine. Like CJP, he is the 2nd REC operative hired to ruin a UT program.