I feel some don't realize how unusual it is. I remember going into Bob Hawkins office inquiring about an Asst. Position and getting a cold shoulder because it was not "Protocol" without going through the Athletic Office first. Usually, you can't just call,email, or speak to HC's.
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I feel some don't realize how unusual it is. I remember going into Bob Hawkins office inquiring about an Asst. Position and getting a cold shoulder because it was not "Protocol" without going through the Athletic Office first. Usually, you can't just call,email, or speak to HC's.
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#1 will become #24 next season....just posted today..
Number opened up w/the departure of CBH....
#1 will become #24 next season....just posted today..
Number opened up w/the departure of CBH....
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Until your D3 player gets absolutely smoked in the first play of the game...and people on the message boards tear into you, demanding you not only be fired, but said to be the absolute worst ever at MU, as many tend to do.
Guys, any way you look at it, hiring a HC, particularly at MU's level, is nothing more than a "crap shoot" even if the person doing the hiring has a very reliable Ouiji Board!!'
Today, ETSU lost their HC of 5 years, Steve Forbes, to Wake Forest. Hired by the Bucs a year after Danny was at MU, Forbes won about 4 SO CON titles overall, 130 games or 25 a season, including winning road games against the likes of Miss. State, LSU, etc. Never was a D1 HC prior to ETSU, but a long time asst. at Tenn. and with Greg Marshall at Wichita State.
So, this time the BUCS caught lightning in a bottle; but now their HC is GONE; such is life in the Mid Major world.
So what would MU look for in its next HC? Some would say head coaching experience is a MUST! Like, perhaps, A Dub. Others would say a solid resume as a D1 assistant, perhaps, would suffice. Like a Corny Jackson or Coach Forbes.
Corny has no HC experience at D1. Neither did Danny. Ditto for Greg White. So would Corny be another Rick Huckaby or Stu Aberdeen, ditto on the head coaching things, or (OUCH) another Dwight Freeman? Also, Doc Holliday was only a "career assistant"!! (FIRE AWAY!). Would a Hamilton be another Donovan or Dana Altman, who were pretty much out of H-town for greener pastures and lot of $$$$ before their bags were completely unpacked? Or as ole Sonny Randle would say, "quicker than a hiccup!!
Can or would MU try to hire another D1 current head coach? Or, as some note, have the funds and wherewithal to do so? I note as James Madison opens their new $85 million basketball arena this season, they went out and hired a HC from a Sun Belt school, Georgia Southern, A sure guarantee of success for JMU? Of course not!
Back to MU and its "Basketball Future". Well, as ole Ernie Salvatore would say, "Staaaaaaaa Tuned!"
Today, ETSU lost their HC of 5 years, Steve Forbes, to Wake Forest. Hired by the Bucs a year after Danny was at MU, Forbes won about 4 SO CON titles overall, 130 games or 25 a season, including winning road games against the likes of Miss. State, LSU, etc. Never was a D1 HC prior to ETSU, but a long time asst. at Tenn. and with Greg Marshall at Wichita State.
So, this time the BUCS caught lightning in a bottle; but now their HC is GONE; such is life in the Mid Major world.
So what would MU look for in its next HC? Some would say head coaching experience is a MUST! Like, perhaps, A Dub. Others would say a solid resume as a D1 assistant, perhaps, would suffice. Like a Corny Jackson or Coach Forbes.
Corny has no HC experience at D1. Neither did Danny. Ditto for Greg White. So would Corny be another Rick Huckaby or Stu Aberdeen, ditto on the head coaching things, or (OUCH) another Dwight Freeman? Also, Doc Holliday was only a "career assistant"!! (FIRE AWAY!). Would a Hamilton be another Donovan or Dana Altman, who were pretty much out of H-town for greener pastures and lot of $$$$ before their bags were completely unpacked? Or as ole Sonny Randle would say, "quicker than a hiccup!!
Can or would MU try to hire another D1 current head coach? Or, as some note, have the funds and wherewithal to do so? I note as James Madison opens their new $85 million basketball arena this season, they went out and hired a HC from a Sun Belt school, Georgia Southern, A sure guarantee of success for JMU? Of course not!
Back to MU and its "Basketball Future". Well, as ole Ernie Salvatore would say, "Staaaaaaaa Tuned!"
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Again, we hired the proven winners and they stayed an average to 2 yrs. Mike is not the only AD over the last 30 years to have this decision. Whte and Dan have been the two most successful coaches in the last 30 years and you say they should not have been hired. Odd!
True. As many years as a radio play by play guy and a newspaper sports writer, I have NEVER seen such access. He is such a refreshing individual to be around. First and foremost he is a fan of Marshall University and the state of WV
No one outside of the athletic department should have as much access to the program as they do.
I’m no different.
The first time I met Dan personally, he told me something that was not only concerning, but shocking that any coach would tell a complete stranger.
Now, he may have been setting a trap, but I can’t know that.
There’s no perfect way to operate a program (internally or externally), because you’re always going to rub someone the wrong way. With that said, I think Dan could get a lot more of the things done that he wants to accomplish if he’d bite his tongue every so often.
...Probably the best post I have read on this board!! The predicament facing all mid-majors. I am sure the overwhelming majority of the ETSU fan base, while not happy their 5 year HC has been hired away, are grateful they had him that long! + I would submit they are confident the shelves are stocked and their next HC has every opportunity to continue their success. On the flip side, Forbes takes on a Herculean task of rebuilding a Wake program that has been “Freemaned” by Danny Manning. Being successful at the ACC level is a far cry from the SoCon. He can take solace in the millions he will make over the next 5 seasons, since Wake’s AD seems to have “Doc” level patience!!
Yes, very provocative! Hopefully, Danny will stay a couple more years and we won't have to face this problem until then.
I find it quite refreshing that he wants donors to the basketball program to know exactly where their money is going. He wants it all above board.
There’s nothing wrong with letting your donors know where money is going but Dan takes that to another level.
That’s the problem.
Beyond that, he voices his displeasures with Hamrick to the donors instead of engaging him directly. Those actions have led to at least one member of the administration being berated in public. I’m sorry, but that’s not how you do business.
It doesn't look good when aired in public but sometimes you have to ruffle a few feathers to get action. I am sure the egos run amuck in the Schewey but everyone needs to work for the common good of MU. We're all on the same team. This school can ill afford a divided AD and animosity.
Agreed.
Again, there are things there, even dealing this COVID nonsense, that’s being done to undermine Hamrick.
Just seems childish to me.
Sorry, Josh, but if anyone is "undermining" Hamrick in the AD it is, IMO, Mike himself. He has joined at the hip and tied his, and MU's athletic future, to a rapidly "falling star", Doc Holliday. If not rapidly falling, at least on a definite steady downturn! Clear to all too many fans, alums, etc., that Hamrick has put more emphasis on making sure he and Doc end up their careers in Huntington with a lucrative and comfortable exit package financially more than on what shape the entire AD and football program are in, competitively and financially, when they depart!
COVID or no, its pretty clear that the football program is NOT heading in the right direction, if one has had his or her eyes open and their hearing has been reasonably normal for the last year or two. Unimaginable offense and overall style of play, decline in the quality and caliber of recruits, while at the same time the team roster turnover seems to be yearly pretty high, if not accelerating!
So, sans any COVID-19 factors in 2020, the "Buzz" around MU football, even with potentially one of the best hone schedules in school history, remains about at the same level as what you would find in any local mortuary at midnight on any Saturday!! DEAD!!!
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this is the last year on Doc's contract. IMO, Mike had to let this contract expire so there was no buy-out. Now, what will be interesting is to see how Mike handles a new contract or exit of Doc. Im sure Mike has an idea who he would want as new coach. I have not followed recruiting on the football side recently but its my understanding form talking to an alum that Doc is loading up on grad transfers and jucos because he knows he has to win big this year.
I’ve always said GW was not appreciated enough. One point loss from NCAA on a fluke play and remember Van Hoose hurt his knee very badly IIRC before he ever played a game? Otherwise he would have been even better and the team more successful.
Many fans didn't care for his resume when hired, and many fans never understood the leap in competition from the Southern to the MAC in basketball. As I recall back then SC might have been around early to low 20s in conference ranking and back at that time the MAC was right behind the A10 in more like the top 12 or so conferences. So, I agree, he was under appreciated but he did well. He also barely missed on David West and I believe Brandon Hunter of OU and either of those and especially West could have changed every thing for White combined with the good roster he had built.
Problem is, he didn't look at grad transfers for the most crucial need we have - QB. Unless Wells is the second coming of Trevor Lawrence, we'll be lucky to win 7 games. jmo.
What Grad transfer is going to go to a program to compete with a 2 year starter at QB? A QB by all accounts is a good kid, doesnt cause issues inside the program, and is well respected by his peers and coaches.
What quality Grad transfer are we even going to get? We tried with Alex Thomson and Michael Birdsong. How that worked out? Want to get a P5 benchwarmer? How many of those have worked out?
As has been written here before, Dan took the team to NCAA with 3 WV guys a major nucleus of the team. So, talent is the factor, not where they played their high school ball. OAK and Early appear to be Div I talents. Time will tell. Perhaps Dan does lean toward the WV kids more than other coaches would, but he still remembers how he was under- recruited back in the 60's because he was from a small high school in WV. It appears that the next round of recruits will come from other states.
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