News Article: Sarkisian letting Texas dictate his staff hiring

[crimsonaudio]

If Stoops is that good , why isn't he the DC at another program !

He's not, at least as a DC. Had tons of talent at OU and his defenses sucked.

 

[Isaiah 63:1]

I guess Sark got hypnotized by the $$$$ and didn't negotiate terms very well. When Mal went after Nick it was like - here are the keys, do what you want. At some point a coach needs to negotiate full control and have it in the contract to insure success. At least, that is what I would have done. But then again, $$$$ is very mesmerizing.

Sark doesn't yet have the credibility to negotiate what Saban got from Mal. I strongly doubt Saban could have got his 2006 Alabama deal when he left Sparty in 1999. It was his subsequent success at LSU that got him the standing he needed. All Sark could have done was stipulate carte blanche in advance (which he might have done) and if they denied him be prepared to walk away (which he apparently wasn't)...

 

[4Q Basket Case]

Sark doesn't yet have the credibility to negotiate what Saban got from Mal. I strongly doubt Saban could have got his 2006 Alabama deal when he left Sparty in 1999. It was his subsequent success at LSU that got him the standing he needed. All Sark could have done was stipulate carte blanche in advance (which he might have done) and if they denied him be prepared to walk away (which he apparently wasn't)...

So one of three things happened. None of them are good.

1. Sark asked for unimpeded power to hire and fire staff. UTw said he had it, then reneged.

2. Sark asked for unimpeded power to hire and fire staff. UTw said, “For the most part, yes......but sometimes not exactly.” Knowing UTw’s history of booster interference, Sark took the job anyway.

3. Sark naively assumed he would have that power. Never addressed the issue directly. And now here we are.

In none of those three scenarios does either Sark or UTw come out with a good look.

I put the over/under on his tenure at 3.5 years.

 

[Al A Bama]

If Stoops is that good , why isn't he the DC at another program !

Hmmmmm. Doesn't LSU need a DC?

 

[bvandegraff]

I remember only one time one of our head football coaches was not in complete control of his staff.

Counter–intuitively, it was Stallings.

At the time, assistant football coaches didn’t make anywhere near the money they do today, so they didn’t draw near the attention they do today.

Our offense was falling behind the times (Stallings’ great blind spot), and Hootie Ingram forced him to hire Homer Smith for a second tour in Tuscaloosa as OC. Don’t know if boosters influenced Ingram, but I tend to think not.

I definitely don’t remember boosters forbidding any head coaches to hire someone they wanted, though I guess that could have happened behind the scenes and not in the public eye. And I’m positive that we never rescinded a job offer because boosters objected to the candidate.

Saban was not allowed to hire Freeze in any capacity, but that was by UA and SEC Admin, not boosters.

Also, while I’m not naive enough to think there was no outside influence, I’ve always felt that Bryant, Jr. kept a lid on that. He‘s the biggest of big money boosters, but makes a point of keeping his nose out of the inner workings of the team, and lays a quiet but heavy hand if someone else tries to do so.

The influence that Alabama had been bad about (pre-Saban) was tugging on coaches to attend events — play in my alumni chapter’s golf tournament, speak at my company’s team-building event, speak at my kickoff party, speak at the fundraiser for my Rotary Club, etc., etc., ad infinitum.

Long story short, Saban teamed up with the National Alumni Association and they quashed that early on.

Going on a small tangent here, but I think this overall culture has spread to the University‘s academic side. We refunded the $25M that Hugh Culverhouse, Jr. donated to the law school when he tried to influence faculty selection and subject matter taught. Told him his money was too expensive. I was never prouder of the University than when they did that.

Some thoughts along these lines: I believe Stallings allowed the Homer Smith hire because he respected Hootie Ingram (he did hire Gene, after all) and they had a good relationship. When Bob Bockrath (and by extension Andrew Sorenson) tried to interfere with Stallings' program, he retired even through he wasn't ready to quit coaching.

Also, I seem to remember that Mal Moore wanted Mike Shula to replace a number of assistants (with very good reason), and Shula chose to resign rather than do that.

I tend to think that Saban's (Greg Byrne's) presence at UA has built a culture that should keep wealthy boosters at arms' length going forward. Byrne's astute hire of Nate Oats should give him some latitude when the time comes to anoint Saban's successor (if they haven't perfected the technology of implanting Saban's consciousness into a super-cyborg body by then).

I too was proud when they told Culverhouse to keep his money. A moment of great integrity.

 

[Isaiah 63:1]

In none of those three scenarios does either Sark or UTw come out with a good look.

I put the over/under on his tenure at 3.5 years.

Agree; and under...

 

[CrimsonNagus]

I‘ll repeat what I said in the thread that announced his hiring after the SECCG, and two folks “face palmed” my post.

The decision to go to Texas will ruin his career, or at least set it back a number of years. He’ll be fired in 3, 4 years tops. No one will ever succeed at UT to the level the boosters demand. We’ve seen this movie too many times ever since Bama crushed their little hearts in 2009.

 

[4Q Basket Case]

Also, I seem to remember that Mal Moore wanted Mike Shula to replace a number of assistants (with very good reason), and Shula chose to resign rather than do that.

According to Mal Moore’s book, in combination with what I was told by credible sources who had first-hand knowledge, Shula didn’t resign. He was fired, and with good reason.

The Auburn game was early that year. I’m not Selma, so I just checked, and it was November 18. I don’t know if we had been invited to the Independence Bowl at that point. But even if we had been, it was over a month off.

So the team and staff dispersed for the Thanksgiving holiday. Shula spent time with his dad in South Florida.

It’s true that Mal Moore, then AD, had asked for a plan to re-vamp the staff in the wake of an entirely underwhelming season in which we clearly hadn’t performed to our talent level (which, due to factors out of Shula’s control, was at best middling to begin with).

Shula submitted a plan that was essentially shuffling the staff around, not the wholesale changes Moore believed were necessary. Moore rejected the plan and told him to try again.

Immediately before packing up the family and driving to South Florida for the holiday, Shula dropped off a second plan. When Moore reviewed it during Thanksgiving week, he found that it wasn’t materially changed from the original version he had already rejected. Moore viewed this as not just inadequate performance, but borderline insubordination.

Moore tried repeatedly to contact Shula while he (Shula) was driving back from South Florida. Compounding the mess he created with the inadequate plan for staff, Shula ignored Moore’s calls, and not only didn’t answer, but didn’t return them.

Now, Moore views it as definite insubordination, bordering on a personal insult.

When Shula reached Tuscaloosa, well into the night, Moore had left a hand-written note that he wanted to meet, that night, no matter what the time was.

Shula went to Moore’s house around midnight +/-, where he was fired.

Not long afterward, at a non-athletic event, I had the opportunity to speak with a member of the executive level of UA’s campus administration. I asked if the decision to fire Shula was a difficult one. He said, “It was a sad decision. But it wasn’t a hard one.”

 

[crimsonaudio]

It wasn't even a sad decision, they just said that.

 

[Keeter]

According to Mal Moore’s book, in combination with what I was told by credible sources who had first-hand knowledge, Shula didn’t resign. He was fired, and with good reason.

The Auburn game was early that year. I’m not Selma, so I just checked, and it was November 18. I don’t know if we had been invited to the Independence Bowl at that point. But even if we had been, it was over a month off.

So the team and staff dispersed for the Thanksgiving holiday. Shula spent time with his dad in South Florida.

It’s true that Mal Moore, then AD, had asked for a plan to re-vamp the staff in the wake of an entirely underwhelming season in which we clearly hadn’t performed to our talent level (which, due to factors out of Shula’s control, was at best middling to begin with).

Shula submitted a plan that was essentially shuffling the staff around, not the wholesale changes Moore believed were necessary. Moore rejected the plan and told him to try again.

Immediately before packing up the family and driving to South Florida for the holiday, Shula dropped off a second plan. When Moore reviewed it during Thanksgiving week, he found that it wasn’t materially changed from the original version he had already rejected. Moore viewed this as not just inadequate performance, but borderline insubordination.

Moore tried repeatedly to contact Shula while he (Shula) was driving back from South Florida. Compounding the mess he created with the inadequate plan for staff, Shula ignored Moore’s calls, and not only didn’t answer, but didn’t return them.

Now, Moore views it as definite insubordination, bordering on a personal insult.

When Shula reached Tuscaloosa, well into the night, Moore had left a hand-written note that he wanted to meet, that night, no matter what the time was.

Shula went to Moore’s house around midnight +/-, where he was fired.

Not long afterward, at a non-athletic event, I had the opportunity to speak with a member of the executive level of UA’s campus administration. I asked if the decision to fire Shula was a difficult one. He said, “It was a sad decision. But it wasn’t a hard one.”

I had read something along similar lines about it......... I had read that the Shula family tried to whip up sympathy for Mike from outside quarters and stir up people against the University, but all things considered, Shula’s actions more or less dictated his fate ...I know some feel he was done wrong, but considering Shula’s handling of the whole thing, I don’t see how they could

 

[Padreruf]

It is one thing to allow the backers of the school to dictate coaching moves...it is another to ignore your AD -- who is a knowledgeable football person -- when he asks for a plan moving forward. From what I heard Ray Perkins was in Mike Shula's ear telling him to ignore Mal Moore and do what he wanted. Not all advice is good advice...

 

[Keeter]

It is one thing to allow the backers of the school to dictate coaching moves...it is another to ignore your AD -- who is a knowledgeable football person -- when he asks for a plan moving forward. From what I heard Ray Perkins was in Mike Shula's ear telling him to ignore Mal Moore and do what he wanted. Not all advice is good advice...

I’ve heard many people refer to Perkins as a complete “jerk”

 

[Padreruf]

I’ve heard many people refer to Perkins as a complete “jerk”

His personality was less than charming...sort of like the way he played football...hard nosed.

 

[irNate]

It is one thing to allow the backers of the school to dictate coaching moves...it is another to ignore your AD -- who is a knowledgeable football person -- when he asks for a plan moving forward. From what I heard Ray Perkins was in Mike Shula's ear telling him to ignore Mal Moore and do what he wanted. Not all advice is good advice...

worked out well in the long run... haha

 

[Con]

I‘ll repeat what I said in the thread that announced his hiring after the SECCG, and two folks “face palmed” my post.

The decision to go to Texas will ruin his career, or at least set it back a number of years. He’ll be fired in 3, 4 years tops. No one will ever succeed at UT to the level the boosters demand. We’ve seen this movie too many times ever since Bama crushed their little hearts in 2009.

I just had to do it.

 

[4Q Basket Case]

It is one thing to allow the backers of the school to dictate coaching moves...it is another to ignore your AD -- who is a knowledgeable football person -- when he asks for a plan moving forward. From what I heard Ray Perkins was in Mike Shula's ear telling him to ignore Mal Moore and do what he wanted. Not all advice is good advice...

I wasn't aware of Perkins' advice to Shula, but you're right....it was horrible advice.

When Perkins was in Tuscaloosa, the story went that if he (Perkins) found out that there was somebody he hadn't yet hacked off, he made sure to correct the oversight immediately.

 

[4Q Basket Case]

I had read something along similar lines about it......... I had read that the Shula family tried to whip up sympathy for Mike from outside quarters and stir up people against the University, but all things considered, Shula’s actions more or less dictated his fate ...I know some feel he was done wrong, but considering Shula’s handling of the whole thing, I don’t see how they could

Shula wasn't done wrong.

At the time of the firing, I thought it was for the best, but still felt bad for him.

Then, I found out about he handled his last month on the job.

After that, I found out about some stuff that he did (or, more properly, didn't do) regarding players who sincerely needed help with some off-the-field issues. He could have helped them, entirely within NCAA rules. But he ignored the situations, and essentially told them to grow up and handle it themselves.

It was a professional mentality, not appropriate at the collegiate level.

I no longer felt bad for him.

The thread's drifted a good deal, and that's largely my fault. Let's get back on the Sark / UTw topic.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

Methinks it’s the latter...........

Yeah, probably didn't listen. People can be stubborn. I was warned by my uncle to not go into architecture because the business was so hit and mostly miss. I didn't listen either. People tend to foolishly think, "No, it will be different with me".

 

[Keeter]

Yeah, probably didn't listen. People can be stubborn. I was warned by my uncle to not go into architecture because the business was so hit and mostly miss. I didn't listen either. People tend to foolishly think, "No, it will be different with me".

I can sympathize

 

[GrayTide]

IIRC Mike Stoops had some serious anger issues while at Oklahoma and Arizona. He entered counseling for anger management, but don't know if it was ever resolved. Not saying this was why Texas balked at hiring him, just an observation.