Topic: H-D: Contracts mean MU coaches are staying

[Pinkerton99]

Guys, I got to say I just lost a lot of trust in Mike Hamrick.  To my face, he indicated when he would be reviewing the contracts of the head football and basketball coaches when he said after the 3rd year for basketball due to coming in when success was somewhat going on, and 4th year for football based on the status of the program when he arrived.  And guys, if my memory is correct, this comment was stated after the bowl game for sure, and I would content (although my memory is less clear about the NIT timing) after the NIT as well. As a matter of fact, the impression was that even with both results it took longer to see what the development of the product was when the coaches started running programs with their own kids and cultures.

And as others have said, the fact neither was announced when they happened is a fact that speaks louder than the silence it was designed to provide.  I think Mike hurt himself a lot here, I know he did with me.  What will and should we believe now?

I was at this QB club meeting and remember Mike saying this. At the time I remember thinking that was good policy and felt good that we would not be saddled with long term contracts for under performing coaches.

[HerdBlizz]

Kopp and Hamrick are like the people in political office.  They are in it for themselves and that's it.  I wouldn't trust Hambone around my dog.  He is like a snake in the grass and we were warned about it when he got here about how he operates.....

[Thundering In MD]

hamrick is swallowing., We must have the #1 AD in the nation just like the BB coach has us #1 in free throw shooting in the nation (345 of 345). Just turn everything upside down and we are "rosy".
after 70 years of faithful following, I am DONE. I am mortified, embarrassed beyond reason. I am changing my wardrobe. I will no longer wear Herd gear and be embarrassed and looked down upon/laughed at because of lack of leadership. This has gone on too long.

This even destroyed my minimal optimism over the 2013 FB team doing something with our weakest schedule in many years. Screw it, I am going to now "get a life".

Kopp, Herrion, and both head coaches need to be "guillotined". they have already done that to our beloved Herd programs.

I hate reading stuff like that from long term fans.  I'm just disappointed, and frustrated with where we are at.  I am also confused as to how we can keep making the same mistakes over and over again.

My main question right now is why are we unable to get coaches and leaders that are competent?  Ohio doesn't have the problems we do.  Bowling Green doesn't have the problems we do.  Maybe the rest of the little schools in the new C-USA will have incompent leadership and we will fit right in.

[iherdya]

I hate reading stuff like that from long term fans.  I'm just disappointed, and frustrated with where we are at.  I am also confused as to how we can keep making the same mistakes over and over again.

My main question right now is why are we unable to get coaches and leaders that are competent?  Ohio doesn't have the problems we do.  Bowling Green doesn't have the problems we do.  Maybe the rest of the little schools in the new C-USA will have incompent leadership and we will fit right in.

Bowling Green is 28-34 in football over the last 5 years and 74-81 over the last 5 years. They've averaged 14,766 football attendance over the last 5 years and 1,704 in men's basketball. They don't have the problems we have?

[Thundering In MD]

Bowling Green is 28-34 in football over the last 5 years and 74-81 over the last 5 years. They've averaged 14,766 football attendance over the last 5 years and 1,704 in men's basketball. They don't have the problems we have?

I don't read about their AD giving out contracts behind closed doors.  Just sayin...

I am just sick of looking like a bunch of amateurs.  I know we are a small school, in a small town, but come on.  This is embarassing.

[iherdya]

I don't read about their AD giving out contracts behind closed doors.  Just sayin...

Read a lot about BGSU do ya? So, you'd rather draw 15k for football, 1.5k for basketball, be a loser in both, as long as we didn't have an AD that gave out contracts behind closed doors?

Anyway, Dave Clawson is 22-28 at BGSU and just got a 4-year contract extension. Our fans would flip crap if our AD did something like that.

[Marshall Matters]

I wouldn't care about this at all if it would not have been hidden.  These are public figures.  Is it Big Green dollars that fund the extensions?

Athletic contracts are guaranteed by the MU Foundation, although if a coach leaves before the contract is complete, the payments must be made to the University rather than the Foundation.  wvu was written up by the WV Legislative Auditor in 2009 for depositing John Beilein's contract resolution into the Foundation's account.

[extragreen]

Read a lot about BGSU do ya? So, you'd rather draw 15k for football, 1.5k for basketball, be a loser in both, as long as we didn't have an AD that gave out contracts behind closed doors?

Anyway, Dave Clawson is 22-28 at BGSU and just got a 4-year contract extension. Our fans would flip crap if our AD did something like that.

About the only difference between doc and dave is the 4 year vs 1 year extension, results on the field are about the same.

[iherdya]

About the only difference between doc and dave is the 4 year vs 1 year extension, results on the field are about the same.

Hence my point that our fans would be up in arms if we'd given Doc a 4 year extension, instead we gave him a 1 year, a minor commitment to a coach for a bit of minor success.

[wvmafia]

The extensions are mind boggling, but I was told that after the Snyder buyout was done that MU would NEVER do that again.  The Tan Man buyout left a bad taste from fans, to students, to Board of Governors. 

MU coaches will be here until the end of their contracts from here on out unless the financial status of the university changes 10 fold. 

[HerdHead]

I don't understand what else to do. I love Marshall and plan to support them until I am on the wrong side of the grass.

What else would I do with my valuable time and support? My support for Marshall is unconditional. I may be upset with the outcome of games or the direction of the administration, but that shouldn't deter my support. There is no use to complain about something that cannot be changed. It doesn't help the situation. Accept it, move forward, and lets concentrate on things we have control over as fans.

I've heard the same things from battered wives. 

 

[Thundering In MD]

Athletic contracts are guaranteed by the MU Foundation, although if a coach leaves before the contract is complete, the payments must be made to the University rather than the Foundation.  wvu was written up by the WV Legislative Auditor in 2009 for depositing John Beilein's contract resolution into the Foundation's account.

Thanks.  That makes sense.

[HerdBlizz]

I think one poster we have on this thread must be one of the coaches wives or Hamrick himself.. They are defending the move to hell freezes over.....Not hard to figure out which one it is....

[Iam4theHerd]

I've heard the same things from battered wives.

I lose my temper once and I'm scarred for life. ;D

[FlyHawk98]

It seems to me the main reason most people are upset is there was never an announcement letting the fans know about the extension. As long as Herrion is here I will NOT be back to any basketball games and could care less about the outcomes of the games being played.

[Greg H]

It's the opacity of the process that bothers me.  I mean Hamrick IMPLIES STRONGLY that this is the wrong thing to do, when he's already done it?  Damn. 

I'll go out on a limb:  We'll be glad he extended Doc. 

I'll state somethign obvious: We'll remain pissed about Herrion.

[HerdKixButt]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around how Herrion could go from a guy people were wondering if he would leave for greener pastures to a guy people want to run out of town in less than a year. At the time, an extension probably seemed like a smart move. I think one huge reason basketball came unglued suddenly was the loss of Damier Pitts. I thought he was all around a much better player than Kane ever thought about being. I just checked to see how Pitts is doing, he is tearing it up in Iceland, leading his league in scoring.

[Iam4theHerd]

I think Hamrick needs to face the Big Green and own up to what he did. He LIED. We all know it and quite frankly I don't feel like supporting him by opening my billfold. This is big and it stinks horribly. What else has he done that none of us will know until after the fact? Hamrick needs to do some explaining.

[Greg H]

If you read his words carefully, he didn't lie.  Technically, he was talking about what is ideal or expected, not what he WOULD do.  Just saying.  It sucks, and I agree, he has a hell of a lot of explaining to do.

[phillyherdfan]

If you read his words carefully, he didn't lie.  Technically, he was talking about what is ideal or expected, not what he WOULD do.  Just saying.  It sucks, and I agree, he has a hell of a lot of explaining to do.

Well... "We're going to have an athletic program that is transparent.  We're not going to hide anything."

Call it what you want, but he said it.  He then did something that is fairly significant and NEVER communicated it to the fan base.

The only way out of this now is own up to it, apologize and say it won't happen again.  That's what true leaders do.  I guess we'll see who we have.

[luvherd]

I call it straight up BS. The thing is had he announced Doc after the bowl win and Herrion after the NIT bid, many would have agreed. But the behind the door crap is VERY concerning. Whether MH wants to hear it or not, we fund athletics with donations, tickets, taxes, etc. At least the Snides deal was public.

I still half some hope for football but zero in Herrion. Now we are on the hook for a larger buyout. Notice I said WE.

[SuperAnjario]

If I've gathered my information correctly, these were both one year rollovers of existing contracts.  Certainly a contract extension by definition, but not really a major renegotiation of multiple years with a higher rate of pay.  It's pretty customary for coaches to get some type of rollover after a good season (in this case, a bowl win and an NIT appearance).

Many were calling for a major extension for Herrion last season because many though he was going to take a bigger job.  Thus, more years on his deal here would mean a bigger buyout windfall for us.  With the benefit of hindsight, it's great we didn't do a major renegotiation of Herrion's deal when many called for it.  Just the same, with the benefit of hindsight, it was probably a mistake to give him a rollover, but, at the same, time that's a customary thing after a good year.

I have zero issue with a one year rollover for Doc.  Can't compare the situation he took over to the one Herrion took over.  Doc had to destroy what Snyder had "built" and completely construct our program.  The wins haven't come yet, but I think his construction job has been close to masterful.  The extra year just takes away any ammo other teams could have used against us regarding Doc's job security for another year.  Again, in my opinion, no issue with Doc's rollover. 

These extensions really don't change much.  Both coaches have a ton to prove.  Both could easily and quickly be on the hot seat.  These rollovers were much more like hedged bets than massive contract extensions. 

[Thundering In MD]

All this man had to do was to not hide anything:

Sure this is hyperbole, but why can't leaders learn from this lesson?  Just be straight up.  If Hamrick would have announced the extensions when he made them, most of us would not be upset right now.  In fact, I think most of us could have accepted the rationales:  bowl victory and NIT appearance.

It is especially egregious in this situation since Hamrick said he was not going to hide anything from us.

Finally, for my fellow R posters:

Whichever leader you chose to look down upon, the lesson is the same.  

[HerdHead]

If you read his words carefully, he didn't lie. 

Wrong!

[marshallmark]