The Illinois AD Search

[sigint]

Groce gets a mulligan. No pressing decisions.

For reasons discussed ad nauseam in the basketball forum, I agree that Groce should get another year. Many, many others disagree with this. The new AD should be given the time to make his or her own decision.

 

[IrishIllini]

In my opinion this is what needed to happen. I don't know if Groce is the guy, but I'd hate to cut bait if the dawn is almost here. I think next year will tell us all we need to know about Groce. I would almost go as far to say if we're a bubble team and still get in, a change needs to be made. That is obviously objective and has a lot of parts to it. It does however give the new AD almost a year to gather info, make a list and gauge the real interest in this job.

Groce unfortunately does not have the luxury of being a bubble team next year. Either we're a sure-in and we make it to the round of 32 or deeper or we part ways in my opinion. We can't allow Illini basketball to slip further than it has. We also will have a totally renovated stadium by that point.

 

[Clete1]

I love the impatience some demonstrate on this forum. If the best candidate shakes loose in a month, you wait. This isn't hiring an unskilled laborer at McDonalds.

No it's not. That's at least a 2 hour interview.

 

[BZuppke]

It's clear to me that we're waiting on Tiley and clear to me that Josh Whitman will be there if Tiley says no. It may take another week or two. The fact that George was still in the mix until the last few days was also worth waiting on. I don't criticize the process at all. Once we decided to keep Cubit, there is absolutely no rush. The most important thing is to get the right person and either of these 3 may work out better than ever (yes Whitman does not have the track record of the others).

The Illini ties thing? Well Wilson said it would be a plus but not a prerequisite. I think the reason it is pretty important in this case is because look what happened to Thomas. A good chunk of the donors/fans were against him from day one. He helped them make their case by presiding over bad hires and scandals, but some were against him from the start. Do you want to unite the base and limit the infighting? Get someone that everyone can unite behind: Tiley, George or Whitman. If you brought in another outsider he would have faced the same issues that Thomas faced. An outsider would have had to clean house in the football program at least and maybe the same in basketball in a year and hire great coaches. Had he repeated Thomas' hiring track record, he'd be out on his ear. So Wilson and company wisely realized we need someone to unite the donor/fan base behind him so he would have a chance to succeed. Therefore, a good/great Ad WITH Illini ties. There really aren't other options. And it really isn't unprecedented. Many schools with problems turn to their own (Miami and Richt and many other examples).

 

[thebizz81]

It's clear to me that we're waiting on Tiley and clear to me that Josh Whitman will be there if Tiley says no. It may take another week or two. The fact that George was still in the mix until the last few days was also worth waiting on. I don't criticize the process at all. Once we decided to keep Cubit, there is absolutely no rush. The most important thing is to get the right person and either of these 3 may work out better than ever (yes Whitman does not have the track record of the others).

The Illini ties thing? Well Wilson said it would be a plus but not a prerequisite. I think the reason it is pretty important in this case is because look what happened to Thomas. A good chunk of the donors/fans were against him from day one. He helped them make their case by presiding over bad hires and scandals, but some were against him from the start. Do you want to unite the base and limit the infighting? Get someone that everyone can unite behind: Tiley, George or Whitman. If you brought in another outsider he would have faced the same issues that Thomas faced. An outsider would have had to clean house in the football program at least and maybe the same in basketball in a year and hire great coaches. Had he repeated Thomas' hiring track record, he'd be out on his ear. So Wilson and company wisely realized we need someone to unite the donor/fan base behind him so he would have a chance to succeed. Therefore, a good/great Ad WITH Illini ties. There really aren't other options. And it really isn't unprecedented. Many schools with problems turn to their own (Miami and Richt and many other examples).

Most common sense post I have seen yet. An extra week or two to make sure you get it right, and get the best possible candidate makes sense.

 

[mhuml32]

Barb Wilson's message:

 

[Joel Goodson]

It's clear to me that we're waiting on Tiley and clear to me that Josh Whitman will be there if Tiley says no. It may take another week or two. The fact that George was still in the mix until the last few days was also worth waiting on. I don't criticize the process at all. Once we decided to keep Cubit, there is absolutely no rush. The most important thing is to get the right person and either of these 3 may work out better than ever (yes Whitman does not have the track record of the others).

The Illini ties thing? Well Wilson said it would be a plus but not a prerequisite. I think the reason it is pretty important in this case is because look what happened to Thomas. A good chunk of the donors/fans were against him from day one. He helped them make their case by presiding over bad hires and scandals, but some were against him from the start. Do you want to unite the base and limit the infighting? Get someone that everyone can unite behind: Tiley, George or Whitman. If you brought in another outsider he would have faced the same issues that Thomas faced. An outsider would have had to clean house in the football program at least and maybe the same in basketball in a year and hire great coaches. Had he repeated Thomas' hiring track record, he'd be out on his ear. So Wilson and company wisely realized we need someone to unite the donor/fan base behind him so he would have a chance to succeed. Therefore, a good/great Ad WITH Illini ties. There really aren't other options. And it really isn't unprecedented. Many schools with problems turn to their own (Miami and Richt and many other examples).

Very well put.

 

[CoalCity]

It's clear to me that we're waiting on Tiley and clear to me that Josh Whitman will be there if Tiley says no. It may take another week or two. The fact that George was still in the mix until the last few days was also worth waiting on. I don't criticize the process at all. Once we decided to keep Cubit, there is absolutely no rush. The most important thing is to get the right person and either of these 3 may work out better than ever (yes Whitman does not have the track record of the others).

The Illini ties thing? Well Wilson said it would be a plus but not a prerequisite. I think the reason it is pretty important in this case is because look what happened to Thomas. A good chunk of the donors/fans were against him from day one. He helped them make their case by presiding over bad hires and scandals, but some were against him from the start. Do you want to unite the base and limit the infighting? Get someone that everyone can unite behind: Tiley, George or Whitman. If you brought in another outsider he would have faced the same issues that Thomas faced. An outsider would have had to clean house in the football program at least and maybe the same in basketball in a year and hire great coaches. Had he repeated Thomas' hiring track record, he'd be out on his ear. So Wilson and company wisely realized we need someone to unite the donor/fan base behind him so he would have a chance to succeed. Therefore, a good/great Ad WITH Illini ties. There really aren't other options. And it really isn't unprecedented. Many schools with problems turn to their own (Miami and Richt and many other examples).

Excellent post. I don't know anything about Josh Whitman other than what I've read here and in his bio. Certainly an impressive resume. His NFL connections could be very useful when the time comes to hire the new football coach.

If Tiley eventually says no, then I would have NO problem supporting the hire of this young and as yet unproven former Illini with a sparkling resume and more likely than not a fire in his belly to make the Illinois name relevant again on the national sports scene. It would appear that he has a pretty high floor and virtually no ceiling.

 

[FatGreg]

Obviously it won't happen, but how rad would it be if we hired Tiley as Athletic Director and Josh Whitman as Associate AD? That would be a statement heard loud and clear across the B1G. Just dreamin

 

[Kramer116]

Obviously it won't happen, but how rad would it be if we hired Tiley as Athletic Director and Josh Whitman as Associate AD? That would be a statement heard loud and clear across the B1G. Just dreamin

That would be about as ideal a situation as one could hope for.

 

[Flight 33]

That would be about as ideal a situation as one could hope for.

Which means it will never happen for us.

Seriously though - we do need to wrap this up by next week I would think to at least provide some public messaging on the fate of Groce. Recruits appear to be holding off from committing here b/c they don't know if Groce will be here next year or not. While I think he needs to be shown the door, a guy like Whitman isn't going to come in and do something bold like that in his first month on the job, so I expect Groce to stay. But getting that out in the public will be a good thing for recruiting. Then next year he can get rid of him if he fails to make the tourney.

 

[sigint]

It's clear to me that we're waiting on Tiley and clear to me that Josh Whitman will be there if Tiley says no. It may take another week or two. The fact that George was still in the mix until the last few days was also worth waiting on. I don't criticize the process at all. Once we decided to keep Cubit, there is absolutely no rush. The most important thing is to get the right person and either of these 3 may work out better than ever (yes Whitman does not have the track record of the others).

I realize you say this after a post-Cubit decision, but I really just can't agree with this. It doesn't take 3+ months to figure out to what degree George is interested. You can look at what he needs to take the job and figure out if you're willing to give it to him fairly quickly. How many times does the guy have to say no before you get the hint?

It also doesn't sound like they've worked on Tiley at all, if rumors are to be believed. Surely they could have been kicking the tires on his interest while courting George, particularly after he's said no a few times?

We need an AD in place to make his decision on the basketball situation and to begin work on the litany of other issues facing the DIA right now. I would have agreed with the general idea of "take your time" after the Cubit fiasco, but it's nearly mid-February. They've gone beyond taking their time at this point.

 

[Joel Goodson]

I realize you say this after a post-Cubit decision, but I really just can't agree with this. It doesn't take 3+ months to figure out to what degree George is interested. You can look at what he needs to take the job and figure out if you're willing to give it to him fairly quickly. How many times does the guy have to say no before you get the hint?

It also doesn't sound like they've worked on Tiley at all, if rumors are to be believed. Surely they could have been kicking the tires on his interest while courting George, particularly after he's said no a few times?

We need an AD in place to make his decision on the basketball situation and to begin work on the litany of other issues facing the DIA right now. I would have agreed with the general idea of "take your time" after the Cubit fiasco, but it's nearly mid-February. They've gone beyond taking their time at this point.

If the Tiley kabuki takes another 2 weeks, who cares? Whitman isn't getting another P5 job. Groce gets a mulligan. I understand the exasperation, not the urgency.

 

[illinisc]

Which means it will never happen for us.

Seriously though - we do need to wrap this up by next week I would think to at least provide some public messaging on the fate of Groce. Recruits appear to be holding off from committing here b/c they don't know if Groce will be here next year or not. While I think he needs to be shown the door, a guy like Whitman isn't going to come in and do something bold like that in his first month on the job, so I expect Groce to stay. But getting that out in the public will be a good thing for recruiting. Then next year he can get rid of him if he fails to make the tourney.

I doubt hiring a new AD has any impact on Groce or Cubit's ability to recruit. They're both squarely on the hot seat because there is no way in the world that a new AD will come in and give either one of these guys an extension.

 

[illiniknight]

If the Tiley kabuki takes another 2 weeks, who cares? Whitman isn't getting another P5 job. Groce gets a mulligan. I understand the exasperation, not the urgency.

Exactly. If it is Tiley and Whitman, no need to rush. I also think Groce gets a mulligan, this year has been incredibly unlucky. Better to take your time and get it right than rush and end up in a "not ideal" situation again.

 

[illinisc]

The only reason that I think Illinois ties are important, is that the only way we could reasonably expect to get someone decent to come to the mess that is currently the UI, is if they have some emotional attachment.

I do also appreciate the point S&C makes about the boosters wanting one of their guys.

I also think boosters have had a tremendous amount of influence on this process. They want access to the programs which is something MT took away for the most part. Bringing in a gold ole boy from the Guenther era makes things normal again to a lot of boosters.

 

[justsomedude]

Agree. I do not necessarily like that fate - but I do not hate it either.

Would be nice for the new guy to even have a chance to do anything, though.

I fear it will kill another recruiting class, and by extension put a pretty low ceiling on the rest of the decade ... But it is where we are I guess.

 

[HoustonIllini]

So, 107 pages and 2,651 posts later, and "nobody still don't know nuthin'"

 

[AutoPoster 3000]

So, 107 pages and 2,651 posts later, and "nobody still don't know nuthin'"

Actually, we pretty much know it's Whitman.

 

[BZuppke]

I also think boosters have had a tremendous amount of influence on this process. They want access to the programs which is something MT took away for the most part. Bringing in a gold ole boy from the Guenther era makes things normal again to a lot of boosters.

Some truth to this but Whitman is also removed enough from Guenther to chart his own course. Unlike Michael who cut his teeth under Guenther, Whitman has been exposed to the rest of the world.

 

[AutoPoster 3000]

Keep in mind also that Whitman's "employment" at DIA was as a grad assistant while he was enrolled full time at the U of I law school. That was at most a ten-hour-per-week gig during school semesters only and he bolted to a judicial clerkship immediately after graduation, never to return. DIA got more from that relationship than Whitman did. Is he an "Illini Guy"? Yes, technically -- he was the "assistant" to Guenther, whatever that entails. But Whitman's DIA experience is buried on the second page of his resume after AD at two other schools and attorney at prestigious east coast law firm. Michael's DIA experience, in contrast, is his resume. The two are not comparable in this regard.

 

[Ulysses Everett McGill]

I also think boosters have had a tremendous amount of influence on this process. They want access to the programs which is something MT took away for the most part. Bringing in a gold ole boy from the Guenther era makes things normal again to a lot of boosters.

Not very clued in obviously, so could you elaborate on what you mean by "access to the programs" that the boosters had taken away by Thomas? Thx.

 

[Deleted member 16340]

I'd be interested in either Tiley or Whitman. I think football needs an overhaul, first order of business...staff and facilities. Men's BB, needs Groce to make some changes. First, prioritize the staff with an analysis of their relative strengths and weaknesses, to include himself. Next, we'd have a serious discussion about what changes he'd be willing to make. Finally, I'd offer a new four year contract with a sliding buyout of the first two years based on levels of performance, and a set buyout of the last two. This new contract is dependent on the changes he is willing to make. This gives the recruits the stability they may be looking for, but the flexibility to easily move on. I personally love John Groce, but there are patterns that seem to be emerging. Some changes need to take place.

 

[IlliniBubba]

Actually, we pretty much know it's Whitman.

Do we? I don't.

If it's Whitman, and by all accounts we've finished making our 100th pitch to George, then why the delay? As someone mentioned earlier, I think the quiet right now, is likely contract negotiations with someone besides Whitman - likely Tiley. If that falls through, which is certainly possible, then I think it is Whitman.

An announcement has been "very soon" for several days now, so it certainly doesn't seem like it's quite wrapped up if it's as simple as getting Whitman to drive a couple of hours to Champaign.

Whitman would be fine, but I'm still holding out hope for Tiley. Perhaps irrational hope, but that's life as an Illini fan.

 

[sigint]

As far as the Tiley kabuki is concerned, I'm actually ok with giving them some time to see if he's interested. But, I don't understand why he wasn't option 1B to the point where they're just now talking to him, and I certainly don't want this process dragging out for another month because our donors have to be told no 4-5 times. If he's interested, great, make it happen. Otherwise, let the Whitman show get on the road already.