What, we're expected to line up eleven players on EVERY snap? People, you need to have some sense of perspective.
The Illinois AD Search
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What, we're expected to line up eleven players on EVERY snap? People, you need to have some sense of perspective.
Bahahahaha!!
Without a Chancellor or AD, hiring Cubit for only 2 years was the best option.
Now, we can take our time to make proper hires. I realize there is little evidence that proper hires will be made, but let's have faith that those making decisions have learned their lessons.
If enough fans pen intelligent letters to University leadership explaining why we will not be donating money, then perhaps the leadership will realize the importance of a successful athletic program.
We'll have decent basketball and football for the time being, just don't expect any Final Fours or Rose Bowls for the next few years.
DaChief4ever
- Urbana
Put me in that group....I remember the first play when Mike White was the coach...the very first play was a long, long pass that was caught. Memorial Stadium was packed, We crushed a lot of the Teams back then...NW was a joke, a sure win. TO see this team at this level now....well it's beyond sad.
danielb927
Orange Krush Class of 2013
- Rochester, MN
Then why spend so much effort posting here? Might as well cut ties and let the rest of us go down with the sinking ship. Clearly we're just not smart enough to see the future of the whole school.
I'm honestly shocked there are still people defending the hiring process. I implore you guys to simply read the quotes of the people in charge. They do not believe in themselves that this process was done right. So why would you believe in them?
This is all hypothetical, but here's my take....
Wilson is an interim chancellor. She has extensive experience on the academic side and is well qualified for that role. She is not, contrary to what some posters on this board state, an idiot. However, she is not versed in the athletic side of a University. Why would she be? She has been in academic administration running the LAS school. And, apparently, doing a good job of it.
Since she is not familiar with that part of the business, she needs to turn to people who are. She wasn't involved in the decision to fire Beckman. Wise was Chancellor then and apparently intended to keep Thomas. The people she believed she could trust on the issue (probably influential boosters) probably convinced her that Thomas should be fired and that there was a superstar replacement who was ready to jump into the job. So she trusted those people and acted on it.
Those people were wrong. (Those are the people to blame for this situation, by the way. They may be boosters or others at the University, but they are the ones who screwed this all up.)
Had those people been right, we would be in great shape. But they weren't. If Wise's plan had been stuck to, we would be OK. Thomas would still be AD and he would be hiring a new coach.
Anyway, the decision was made to shift from the keep Thomas plan to the new AD plan. It would have been a great idea if the quick AD hire that was expected was actually available and interested. (Again, the blame for this rests squarely on whoever determined that this was the case.)
On this board, there have been several names mentioned. Only one was universally agreed to be a great hire and he is not interested. All the other names brought up have been shot down by people on this board. My point is that there is no clear cut second choice. Or maybe there was, but he might want to stay in Australia.
Wilson has now been burned by whoever advised her before. Because she is NOT stupid, she knows that she doesn't have the background to make an AD hire on her own. She also knows that the people she trusted before may not be as knowledgeable as they say they are. So she needs advisors. More to the point, she needs different advisors. All of this means that she sees the best thing to do an the AD hire is to slow down and do it correctly. It's not going to wait for a chancellor hire, but it's not going to happen in a couple weeks either.
So, given that there is no AD in place, what to do about a football coach?
She can:
Fire Cubit and hire a coach herself, which she knows she is not qualified to do.
Fire Cubit and let the interim AD make the hire. (The same interim AD who just said on the radio that it's not "ideal." Seriously? True or not, saying that publicly?)
Or keep Cubit.
At that point, keeping Cubit was probably the best option.
So then, how do you commit to Cubit without committing to Cubit? Here the problem is the contract details. They probably should have gone three years. But everyone coming in is going to know he is on the hot seat next year anyway. You could give him a ten year contract, but everyone knows he was hired because there wasn't an AD in place.
It all comes back to the timing of Thomas' firing. I think she was led to believe that there was a new AD ready to come on board immediately. If you want to blame someone, figure out who that was.
Wilson is an interim chancellor. She has extensive experience on the academic side and is well qualified for that role. She is not, contrary to what some posters on this board state, an idiot. However, she is not versed in the athletic side of a University. Why would she be? She has been in academic administration running the LAS school. And, apparently, doing a good job of it.
Since she is not familiar with that part of the business, she needs to turn to people who are. She wasn't involved in the decision to fire Beckman. Wise was Chancellor then and apparently intended to keep Thomas. The people she believed she could trust on the issue (probably influential boosters) probably convinced her that Thomas should be fired and that there was a superstar replacement who was ready to jump into the job. So she trusted those people and acted on it.
Those people were wrong. (Those are the people to blame for this situation, by the way. They may be boosters or others at the University, but they are the ones who screwed this all up.)
Had those people been right, we would be in great shape. But they weren't. If Wise's plan had been stuck to, we would be OK. Thomas would still be AD and he would be hiring a new coach.
Anyway, the decision was made to shift from the keep Thomas plan to the new AD plan. It would have been a great idea if the quick AD hire that was expected was actually available and interested. (Again, the blame for this rests squarely on whoever determined that this was the case.)
On this board, there have been several names mentioned. Only one was universally agreed to be a great hire and he is not interested. All the other names brought up have been shot down by people on this board. My point is that there is no clear cut second choice. Or maybe there was, but he might want to stay in Australia.
Wilson has now been burned by whoever advised her before. Because she is NOT stupid, she knows that she doesn't have the background to make an AD hire on her own. She also knows that the people she trusted before may not be as knowledgeable as they say they are. So she needs advisors. More to the point, she needs different advisors. All of this means that she sees the best thing to do an the AD hire is to slow down and do it correctly. It's not going to wait for a chancellor hire, but it's not going to happen in a couple weeks either.
So, given that there is no AD in place, what to do about a football coach?
She can:
Fire Cubit and hire a coach herself, which she knows she is not qualified to do.
Fire Cubit and let the interim AD make the hire. (The same interim AD who just said on the radio that it's not "ideal." Seriously? True or not, saying that publicly?)
Or keep Cubit.
At that point, keeping Cubit was probably the best option.
So then, how do you commit to Cubit without committing to Cubit? Here the problem is the contract details. They probably should have gone three years. But everyone coming in is going to know he is on the hot seat next year anyway. You could give him a ten year contract, but everyone knows he was hired because there wasn't an AD in place.
It all comes back to the timing of Thomas' firing. I think she was led to believe that there was a new AD ready to come on board immediately. If you want to blame someone, figure out who that was.
mattcoldagelli
- The Transfer Portal with Do Not Contact Tag
I mean, I'm not going to burn my degree in effigy or anything, but at the same time, would I send my kids there? Absolutely not. Would do everything in my power to steer them in another direction. And I cannot imagine this is a fringe opinion.
That it's gotten to that point represents a catastrophic failure by the university.
The "not ideal" line was in after Cubit was hired, not before. Honestly it seems pretty clear at this point Kowalczyk had no say in the matter, and that was the best he could do to tell us that (there's a few other indications that he had no say, too). Wilson did not mention him when saying who had a say in the matter, even though she specifically mentioned others.
Which means Wilson more or less took it upon herself (along with Killeen I guess) to hire a football coach which she has admitted she is not qualified to do. And here we are.
Yes, firing Thomas at the time we did sucked, but it by no means should have led to the absolute dumpster fire chain of events that have happened since then.
Which means Wilson more or less took it upon herself (along with Killeen I guess) to hire a football coach which she has admitted she is not qualified to do. And here we are.
Yes, firing Thomas at the time we did sucked, but it by no means should have led to the absolute dumpster fire chain of events that have happened since then.
This was all absolutely rock-solid, dead-on what happened and an excellent analysis thereof, until you got to the bolded.
Paul Kowalczyk is an experienced pro who was and is extremely capable of advising Chancellor Wilson and if necessary making a hire. His public statements before and after this decision have made clear that he understands what a disaster this is, he would have done things very differently, and his voice was not heard in the process of making this decision.
You are dead right that Wilson and Killeen fell for a line of BS by radical, selfish donors who are ultimately the cause of all this. That's inexperience and naivete, not stupidity.
You are dead right that once the George gambit blew up, Wilson was trapped on an island with no good options.
But once put in that position, our leadership reacted like so many posters here who lack an understanding of the college coaching profession did. "Gee, can't we just bluff our way through another year and handle this when the house is in order?" It's an idea that sounds better and better the less you know about how the business works. Paul Kowalcyzk has spent a decade as a Division 1 athletic director at two different stops, he was entrusted with the role of interim AD, he knew what a terrible idea this was and he wasn't listened to.
THAT is what is so worthy of condemnation.
That interim chancellor was only on camera a week or so ago saying interim was simply an adjective, and that she would do the job.
If that is the case, why not let the Interim AD she picked do his job?
He apparently made that quote because he was cut out of the process.
If that is the case, why not let the Interim AD she picked do his job?
He apparently made that quote because he was cut out of the process.
I still have yet to hear a compelling explanation from anyone why this was not a perfectly workable option. Paul Kowalczyk was athletic director at two schools, including Colorado State, a school with major D-1 athletics that has arguably outperformed Illinois over the past decade in the two major revenue sports. I don't see the desire that the permanent AD hand pick his own football coach so that they'll have a good working relationship (which is not guaranteed to happen, by the way) as a valid justification to prolong this process for a year and a half. Nor is the fear that we may get stuck with a dud and an unfavorable buyout. That's the risk no matter who does the hiring or when it takes place. All Kowalczyk had to do was just pick Dino Babers or (insert hot candidate's name here), pay him $2.5 million a year with a reasonable buyout clause, and we're done with this.
I'm getting really sick of hearing this tautology that interims can't make decisions. "Interim" means you do the job until the permanent person is hired. Is doesn't mean all significant activity stops until the permanent person is hired. The word for that is "vacant." That's also a good word to describe everything that's going on right now with our university leadership.
DrewD007
- Woodridge, IL
Wise resigned about 3 weeks before Beckman was fired. It's crazy to think how big of an impact her using private email has had. If that never happens, Thomas probably never gets fired, he hires someone not named Bill Cubit and the future of the program looks dramatically different.
Don't hold your breath, there isn't one.
There's also no reason why Tom Michael or Josh Whitman (the two most likely candidates, from what I'm hearing) couldn't have been at a podium in Champaign the next morning after Rick George publicly turned us down.
TheFlyingIllini1317
- Chicago, IL
At least we are not Browns fans right?
danielb927
Orange Krush Class of 2013
- Rochester, MN
Just to share a personal anecdote, Illinois was insanely good preparation for grad school, which is why about 10% of the grad students in my current building came here after UIUC undergrad degrees. I felt 110% prepared for the challenges of grad-level coursework here, in terms of rigor and conceptual diffuculty. I kinda doubt that's changed since I graduated 2 years ago. Didn't see as many football wins as I would have at Stanford, to be complete, but you also have no idea how much I miss having anything like Green Street next to campus.
danielb927
Orange Krush Class of 2013
- Rochester, MN
Or Philadelphia sports fans, right now.
IlliniFanHere
- New York
I'm getting really sick of hearing this tautology that interims can't make decisions. "Interim" means you do the job until the permanent person is hired. Is doesn't mean all significant activity stops until the permanent person is hired. The word for that is "vacant." That's also a good word to describe everything that's going on right now with our university leadership
Good point. The longer this d-r-a-g-s out the worse it gets. Wilson may be the brightest star in LAS, but we have to operate in the real world of college sports. I would have more respect for Wilson, if she had mad a "bad?" choice for Coach or AD. Sometimes, the worst alternative is to sit on the fence .
Good point. The longer this d-r-a-g-s out the worse it gets. Wilson may be the brightest star in LAS, but we have to operate in the real world of college sports. I would have more respect for Wilson, if she had mad a "bad?" choice for Coach or AD. Sometimes, the worst alternative is to sit on the fence .
Deleted member 16340
D
Guest
Tell them that you need to put it in an "interim bank"
I thought I remembered listening to that on the radio. But my memory was incomplete, but still got a loud cheer from the crowd. It has nothing to do with this thread. but does anyone know for sure? I would guess you need to be pretty old.
Not to derail the thread, but now that George is out, who do people want to see hired? It is sounding like Whitman or Michaels is most likely. How do people feel about either one of those?
mattcoldagelli
- The Transfer Portal with Do Not Contact Tag
The absurdity of needing two months to hire one of those guys, either of whom would have walked over broken glass to get to Bielfeldt the very same day Mike Thomas was fired, would overwhelm any optimism.
This is one hell of a tough gig for whoever steps into it. Their best hope is a total cratering of this basketball season, a flashy hire to replace Groce, and a big early commit on the recruiting trail leading into a grand opening of the finished SFC.
I think whoever said that competence is needed before there can be any reconciliation is probably right. Basketball is really your only hope to perk up any ears that way. And that wish list I just gave is a huge long shot.
Illini_1979
- Oregon
So UCF hires a new AD and two weeks later he makes a hire for head FB coach. Does this really need to take so long at UI?
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ap-source-oregon-assistant-frost-become-ucf-head-141700597--ncaaf.html
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ap-source-oregon-assistant-frost-become-ucf-head-141700597--ncaaf.html
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