P.J. Fleck and today's Sports Huddle listing

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

Our more vocal former players and boosters and such might be distantly right about some things.

The problem is, they seem like if they got their way they'd be just as much of a different type of problem themselves....

 

[Atl Gopher]

Yeah, almost none of this is true or accurate.

Paragraph one is what I interpreted that Jim Carter was saying, from listening via the internet with choppy reception at best. Paragraph number 2 is just a recap of how I personally see the job that Kaler has done as it relates to our football program over the the past year, prior to the hiring of Fleck.

So, dpodoll68, when you state that almost none of this is true or accurate, please be more specific. Are you just not a fan of Jim Carter? Do you believe that my personal observations are not true or accurate? Both?

 

[dpodoll68]

Paragraph one is what I interpreted that Jim Carter was saying, from listening via the internet with choppy reception at best. Paragraph number 2 is just a recap of how I personally see the job that Kaler has done as it relates to our football program over the the past year, prior to the hiring of Fleck.

So, dpodoll68, when you state that almost none of this is true or accurate, please be more specific. Are you just not a fan of Jim Carter? Do you believe that my personal observations are not true or accurate? Both?

Both.

He had some deep personal problems 40 years ago so his political opponents have thrown that information into the ring to block him.

"Deep personal problems" is putting it quite mildly. Even putting that aside, he is thoroughly unqualified for the Board of Regents - it's amazing that he's made it this far. If "U of M football alum and former Packer" are qualifications for the Board of Regents (they aren't), Darrell Thompson would be a vastly superior choice.

From what I heard him say the regents pretty much let Kaler do what he wants

The Board of Regents here is among the most meddlesome in the country. It's pretty much the exact opposite of "let Kaler do what he wants." A great deal of the dysfunction comes from the very fact that they don't allow people to "do what they want."

while our university dramatically falls academically. He mentioned something about being a top ten school in some areas in the past and now we are over 100 in our ratings in those areas.

I would love to know which "areas" he's referring to. The university has risen dramatically in ratings in basically every aspect.

He feels that Kaler handled the entire issue with the suspended players poorly. Had he handled it correctly it would have been put to bed by now.

A. How would he know? B. Kaler's hands are tied by Title IX legislation. About the only other option he had was to just kick the players off the team and out of school outright, which would've caused an even bigger sh1tstorm than what's happening now.

Kaler - hires an allegedly sexual harassing AD obviously without proper vetting

Teague had no history of sexual harassment. He was properly vetted during the hiring process.

the AD's behavior continues here at the U

Starts, not continues. There was no way (short of employing a crystal ball) to know that Teague would end up doing what he did.

he fires the AD, takes 6 months to hire a search firm to begin to find an new AD

Hiring ADs after the "end" of the major college athletic calendar (the Final Four) is SOP in the business. That's exactly what happened with Coyle, and he started right around Memorial Day. He could've started his search earlier, but it wouldn't have made any difference, as no AD worth having would've come here before April/May anyway. Again, his hands were tied by Teague turning out to be a lecherous buffoon.

promotes Claeys to head coach with an interim AD in place; hires a new AD who of course will want to have his own head football coach in place ASAP

What would you have had him do in either circumstance? Conduct a national search and spend more money to hire a coach who would be fired regardless after one year? Or keep the interim AD who was not qualified for the job and turn down the superior candidates available on the open market?

when Claeys starts spring practice he temporarily looses his 2 main assistants as their fathers pass away and another important coach fights for his life in the hospital; does nothing to throw extra support at his head coach who was clearly over his making statements like 'over 50% of time is spent on non-football coaching stuff.'

I'm not sure what any of this has to do with anything, but ok.

 

[Atl Gopher]

Both.



"Deep personal problems" is putting it quite mildly. Even putting that aside, he is thoroughly unqualified for the Board of Regents - it's amazing that he's made it this far. If "U of M football alum and former Packer" are qualifications for the Board of Regents (they aren't), Darrell Thompson would be a vastly superior choice.



The Board of Regents here is among the most meddlesome in the country. It's pretty much the exact opposite of "let Kaler do what he wants." A great deal of the dysfunction comes from the very fact that they don't allow people to "do what they want."



I would love to know which "areas" he's referring to. The university has risen dramatically in ratings in basically every aspect.



A. How would he know? B. Kaler's hands are tied by Title IX legislation. About the only other option he had was to just kick the players off the team and out of school outright, which would've caused an even bigger sh1tstorm than what's happening now.



Teague had no history of sexual harassment. He was properly vetted during the hiring process.



Starts, not continues. There was no way (short of employing a crystal ball) to know that Teague would end up doing what he did.



Hiring ADs after the "end" of the major college athletic calendar (the Final Four) is SOP in the business. That's exactly what happened with Coyle, and he started right around Memorial Day. He could've started his search earlier, but it wouldn't have made any difference, as no AD worth having would've come here before April/May anyway. Again, his hands were tied by Teague turning out to be a lecherous buffoon.



What would you have had him do in either circumstance? Conduct a national search and spend more money to hire a coach who would be fired regardless after one year? Or keep the interim AD who was not qualified for the job and turn down the superior candidates available on the open market?



I'm not sure what any of this has to do with anything, but ok.

1. You had a brand new coach over his head with 3 key coaches in various degrees of not being there to assist him, and you don't see what this has to do with Kaler.

2. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...wood-teague-parker-executive-search/32240083/ USA today article with Kaler blaming the search firm for not uncovering the following prior issue:

"n an interview last week with Minnesota Public Radio News, Kaler suggested that a gender discrimination claim filed against Teague at VCU by a former women's basketball coach should have been caught in the background search. He also left open the possibility of seeking legal recourse against Parker, which was paid $90,000 for the search plus expenses."

3. Are also suggesting that Kaler waiting 6 months to hire a search firm was okay? I know that he was considering the interim AD at that time, but he also had an obligation to see who else was available. That is what he eventually did. Taking 6 months to do it does not seem appropriate.

4. I honestly don't remember what Jim Carter's specific comments were about which schools within the U had significantly dropped. I thought that I remember his saying the Law School as an example but US News has it at #22 this year.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

So, what are the "requirements" to be on the Board of Regents?

I just did a quick scan of the bylaws, and I didn't see anything about qualifications. I would think you would ideally want a cross-section of people with different backgrounds and viewpoints.

So, I fail to see why Jim Carter is unqualified. Yes, he had problems when he was younger. So did a lot of people. From all accounts, he dealt with those problems, and he's been clean and sober for years. He also ran a successful business.

Personally, I would rather see a more diverse group of regents, as opposed to a bunch of old white guys and former legislators.

Now, if you don't want Carter on the board because you think he's got an agenda, and you disagree with that agenda, that is a different matter, but it does not make him "unqualified." It may make him a poor candidate in your eyes, but again, that's a different matter.

 

[Lakeville Goldy]

1. You had a brand new coach over his head with 3 key coaches in various degrees of not being there to assist him, and you don't see what this has to do with Kaler.

2. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...wood-teague-parker-executive-search/32240083/ USA today article with Kaler blaming the search firm for not uncovering the following prior issue:

"n an interview last week with Minnesota Public Radio News, Kaler suggested that a gender discrimination claim filed against Teague at VCU by a former women's basketball coach should have been caught in the background search. He also left open the possibility of seeking legal recourse against Parker, which was paid $90,000 for the search plus expenses."

3. Are also suggesting that Kaler waiting 6 months to hire a search firm was okay? I know that he was considering the interim AD at that time, but he also had an obligation to see who else was available. That is what he eventually did. Taking 6 months to do it does not seem appropriate.

4. I honestly don't remember what Jim Carter's specific comments were about which schools within the U had significantly dropped. I thought that I remember his saying the Law School as an example but US News has it at #22 this year.

1. What exactly was Kaler going to do? They could only bring in replacements if they had them on leaves of absence (where they don't get paid) or short term disability (which Sherels went on). When Sherels went on STD Claeys brought someone in as a temporary coach. I really don't know what else Kaler could do. They can only have 10 coaches by NCAA rules. Coyle should have been the one mentoring him. Kaler should have been hands off (exception of perhaps when the initial complaint came in).

2. That was about a disgruntled coach who felt her team didn't get enough support per Title IX. It had nothing to do with the the type of harassment that happened here, it was simply a question of whether they got adequate resources. They settled for $125k. Several people involved have repeatedly said there was no such harassment as happened here. http://www.richmond.com/news/local/...cle_b12071a2-a05c-53f3-a63c-e13f195ea449.html

If they had known I really don't think it would have affected the decision. They "left open the possibility" but I don't believe they ever pursued it or will ever. That said, the search firm should have found it regardless, and the fact they didn't is disturbing (that's the whole reason you use a search firm!).

3. So when the high majority of sitting AD's will not move until late spring, if that is the pool you want to consider why is waiting 6 months so detrimental? The only reason Carter keeps pushing this is that had they looked earlier nearly none of the sitting AD's would have been considered and Najarian would have had a better chance at getting hired (which I still think was not desirable). Unless they just went out and hired Najarian they never would have had an AD hired in time to make a decision on Claeys regardless.

4. I'd be interested to see the specifics of what he's claiming. I would guess some have dropped, others have risen, but I don't have any data to support that.

 

[Atl Gopher]

1. What exactly was Kaler going to do? They could only bring in replacements if they had them on leaves of absence (where they don't get paid) or short term disability (which Sherels went on). When Sherels went on STD Claeys brought someone in as a temporary coach. I really don't know what else Kaler could do. They can only have 10 coaches by NCAA rules. Coyle should have been the one mentoring him. Kaler should have been hands off (exception of perhaps when the initial complaint came in).

2. That was about a disgruntled coach who felt her team didn't get enough support per Title IX. It had nothing to do with the the type of harassment that happened here, it was simply a question of whether they got adequate resources. They settled for $125k. Several people involved have repeatedly said there was no such harassment as happened here. http://www.richmond.com/news/local/...cle_b12071a2-a05c-53f3-a63c-e13f195ea449.html

If they had known I really don't think it would have affected the decision. They "left open the possibility" but I don't believe they ever pursued it or will ever. That said, the search firm should have found it regardless, and the fact they didn't is disturbing (that's the whole reason you use a search firm!).

3. So when the high majority of sitting AD's will not move until late spring, if that is the pool you want to consider why is waiting 6 months so detrimental? The only reason Carter keeps pushing this is that had they looked earlier nearly none of the sitting AD's would have been considered and Najarian would have had a better chance at getting hired (which I still think was not desirable). Unless they just went out and hired Najarian they never would have had an AD hired in time to make a decision on Claeys regardless.

4. I'd be interested to see the specifics of what he's claiming. I would guess some have dropped, others have risen, but I don't have any data to support that.

The answer on what Kaler should have done is 'something'. Claeys was promoted becasue of his superior football acumen. He had a great deal to learn about being responsible for over 100 young men. I do believe that during the course of the year Claeys got better in that area, especially when he had his coaches back for a while.

I did not state that Kaler should have hired an AD that quickly. I will bow to your knowledge in that area. The process of waiting 6 months to hire the search firm is what concerns me. Do you think Coyle waited 6 months to research coaches that might be interested in the head football coaching position at the U? I bet he began his search soon after he became AD (I believe in May) and long before the issues that arose on September 1st.

 

[50PoundHead]

dpodoll is right on the mark when he points out our BoR is extremely meddlesome. Add a meddlesome Legislature to the mix and this doesn't rise to the national image of "dream job" for prospective college presidents.