Why is the option for this to be great or terrible. Firing Gundy sucks. That doesn’t mean it didn’t have to be done. Gundy’s nonchalant attitude was clearly wearing thin. And him having zero contriteness (or ownership) of where the program is today clearly turned off a significant portion of the fanbase, which likely included donors.
And for those who say this hurts OSU, I have to ask how? There is no worse than 0-9. And we’ve followed that up this year with the worst loss in over a century, and then, after a bye week, lost (got dominated) at home to a Tulsa team that was also playing its backup QB and had lost earlier in the year to New Mexico State. The next guy may not be any better. We may go 0-9 next year. But that would only be exactly where Gundy left it.
I wont argue too hard on VaTech, even though youre wrong ;). UCLA has the recruiting base. It has the Conf affiliation. It also has pretty good NIL backing, which is evident by them signing Nico Lama from Tennessee. Hes not been very good this year, but that doesnt take away the fact that they had the money to sign him. That matters.
Fan support is really the only thing that OSU has over UCLA.
I wont argue against whatever level of faith you may or may not have in the administration. You said “Who is talking about the job anyway? And who is even talking to them about the job? We don’t even have an AD”. The point is that there is no bigger responsibility within the history of OSU athletics than the firing of Mike Gundy. Someone up there obviously made that call. So if they have the ability to fire a football coach, they also have the ability to hire one.
Ok, let’s say that’s true. They did it in the absolute stupidest way possible. I believe I said this at the end of last season after the contract dispute that if they didn’t have any confidence in him going into this season (which they obviously didn’t), then they should have fired him at the end of last year when they had a huge public fight about it. They blustered about his fan comments as a reason to “fire him for cause” as if that had any chance of holding up. All that circus and all it did is set us back a year and delays a rebuild because they retained him anyway. So if they completed the biggest responsibility in OSU history (exaggeration) in the stupidest way possible (not an exaggeration), why won’t they hire a new coach in the stupidest way possible?
Reasons I don’t trust this administration:
The Gundy circus I just summed up containing many blunders
The Weiberg mini-circus where everyone begins speculating about his contract
The hiring of Kayse Shrum (bad hire)
The firing of Kayse Shrum (bad optics due to lack of initial transparency)
Pursuing Bill Self too long and wasting a basketball season
We’re two years behind most schools on a revenue plan (according to Bill Haisten)
They don’t know what they’re doing and everything they do they try to do it behind closed doors in the Information Age which just sparks rumors and makes everything worse.
Ok, youre bordering on spinning this convo into something different than the original, which is what that trolling idiot does. Dont do that. I said it was the biggest responsibility within the history of OSU athletics. If you think firing the greatest coach, in the biggest sport, during the season…isnt the biggest move in the history of the OSU athletic Dept, then I respectfully disagree. You cant be blind to how monumental a move that is. And you cant act as though that same set of people somehow can have the ability to fire the guy…but somehow dont have the ability to hire the next. Thats all that my point was. Youre a smart poster, so you should know that already.
Again, I wont argue and didnt argue anything in regards to whether you should or shouldnt trust this Administration.
The only two things im arguing you on are 1) When you acted as though there is no one capable of interviewing/hiring the next guy. 2) That firing him during the season gains you nothing. You may not like it. You may disagree with it. You may think its dumb to have done it during the season. But to say there is no point in firing him early as if there is no benefit to be gained…thats just not correct.
So, not like bringing the first black athletes into the athletics programs in the late 1950s when fans openly shouted racial slurs? Ok, respectfully disagree.
Weiberg said he’d be the one making the hire or implied it, but if his contract extension is agreed upon, I don’t think it’s been signed yet. If the board is making these decisions, why do you have an AD? Further, what the heck do board members know about hiring coaches? Are they plugged into that network? How knowledgeable are they are they on the specifics of the athletic program?
What is the value? They asked Weiberg and his answer didn’t even make any sense. He acknowledged he can’t actually talk to anyone yet, so he said something like, “we can start gathering a picture on the state of the program” or some such. Shouldn’t you know that day-by-day if you’re the AD? He should already have a shortlist of candidates. He should have that at all times. So, what is gained exactly?
The OSU admin/athletic office is in a definite state of confusion. Again, you’re a smart guy…..what do you expect to get out of a presser from the AD who may or may not be fired??
OSU’s season ends Noc 29. Signing Day is 4 days later. You cannot, in any way lose an entire recruiting class. If OSU were to wait to can a guy that you know you’re firing…..you want to use as much time as possible to find the right guy. It happens ALL THE TIME.
TCU fired Patterson in Oct & hired Dykes 4 days after the season finale.
USC fired Helton in Sep and hired Riley the morning after Bedlam.
OU fired Littrell in Oct and hired Arbuckle 3 days after the season ended.
Gundy himself met with Tennessee people in Nov of 17, before the Cowboys played their bowl game.
No one is supposed to do communicate/negotiate until the season is over.
All do. Like I said…..you’re smarter than that.
Rebuilding relationships with donors. Showing them he will fire Gundy and find someone who will work with them for NIL. Chad had told the coaches they had to work with donors to get NIL and Carson said Lutz has more NIL money than Gundy.
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