Monday, January 12, 2009

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark



Lot's of information, disinformation and misinformation floating around. I don't know what to make of it. When in doubt though, I have to go back to my experience from the last coaching search. Then media kept focusing on Whipple while people close to the situation kept saying Jags was a real and viable candidate. This time around Eagle Action and The Globe seem positive Spaziani will be the new coach in less than a day. Who knows, they could be right, but I am hearing conflicting reports. I know others have interviewed and the intention was to identify at least one external candidate worthy of a final interview. If Spaziani is named the new coach Tuesday morning I'll be very dissapointed in the candidate and the process. But that is for another post.

First let's clarify what we know:
-- As of 1 PM ET, BC had still not scheduled a press conference for Monday night or Tuesday morning. The current staff had not been informed of a decision. Those things could change in an instant but if BC were naming an internal candidate tomorrow, you'd think they would start locking the staff in and begin the media work.
-- Steve Addazio has not been interviewed even though Urban Meyer publicly said he expects the interview to happen. If you are BC and one of your alleged top candidates is willing to interview, has the support of his boss and just won a national title, do you not take your time and talk to him?

Misinformation from Eagle Action
-- Despite their reporting, coaches under contract have interviewed. I assume it was with the permission of their current employers. This search was not restricted to assistant and unemployed coaches.
-- Spaziani is not the only viable internal candidate. There is strong support for Jack Bicknell Jr. As I have said, if we go internal, I would prefer Bick.

What I think
At the end of the day even while EA and the Globe grasp at straws, I think we are headed towards Spaziani. That said, in my opinion tomorrow would be about the worst time to name an internal candidate. It would mean BC wasted time last week and rushed the externals process all to end up with a guy you could have named the minute the Jags stuff leaked.

15 comments:

kp said...

ATL, do you think London is a viable candidate?

Ry said...

Simply stated, a full good-faith search of all viable candidates does not end with spaz being named head coach. If BC names him and them claims that he was the best guy under consideration then our program is in worse shape than i thought.

Unknown said...

The longer this goes on the less likely it is that Spaz gets the nod. Could be wishful thinking on my part, but if Gene was really sure Spaz was the man wouldn't he have just named him a day later as the ultimate 'F U Jags?'

I hope they take their time. Yes, losing one year of good recruits will hurt, but losing 5 years by hiring the wrong guy will hurt more.

I don't doubt the ability of Spaz, but if he was such a good candidate why would he still be an assistant at age 62? It doesn't make sense.

ATL_eagle said...

kp, I would love London and think he would do a great job. But all the signs seem to point that it won't be him.

Unknown said...

Also, any news on Jags getting a new job?

Squid said...

What about Steve Logan? He's been a head coach before and built a competitive program at East Carolina.

Big Jack Krack said...

I have been out of the country on vacation, but have been reading all of the comments.

We should heed the words of colf44 who said last Friday " I am a huge BC fan living in Chapel Hill NC. I cant tell you how this reminds me of the UNC program when Mack Brown left. UNC ended up giving the job to Carl Torbush and he ran the program into the ground. The same things were said about him that they are saying about Spaz. This would be a huge mistake. They need to take their time on this one and get it right." UNC is just now getting their program together, over 10 years later.

Like so many others, I have nothing against Spaz - but is he the right head coach for BC AT THIS TIME? This is a very critical time, for sure.

GDF needs to make the right choice for Boston College, not himself, or he should be gone.

Jags - you really surprised me, but what can I say. Life is full of people like you. "Make the job work for you, don't work for the job". I really thought he's put down some roots in Boston (5 years), for his family, if no one else.

Hopefully our players are above all this baloney. We care about BC football (and all other sports) not coach so and so or athletic director so and so. BC Football Gene - get this right. We can't help it if you put yourself on the hot seat.

Eagle1 said...

Is that a pic of Jags?

"I have not spoken with the Jets. They have not contacted me."

America said...

I don't understand all the anti Spaz talk. I think he would be the perfect fit for us!! He is motivated, loves the program, the players like him, he knows his limitations and will allow the other coaches to do their jobs, he is a great motivator, and he is loyal!

mod34b said...

Vincent -- The overriding question for Spaz is not "can he coach?," it is "can he recruit? "

My guess is that he is not tops in that field for most potential recruits.

Err, how can i say it.. i don't think the towel in the mouth bit adds a lot of 'style points' for hot shots coming out of high school....

Big Jack Krack said...

Vincent - if Spags gets the nod, I'll root for him every bit as much as I would anyone else. I just want Gene to be sure this is the best fit for BC at this time.

If he's the best fit in Gene's estimation - let's move forward and surround the guy with the best staff he (and BC) can assemble.

We can still get better and one day get into the Top Ten - I absolutely believe that.

I'm 62 years old, and I have a lot of enthusiasm and stamina. The reason that Spaz is "still an assistant at 62" is because he has been "working for the job - not making the job work for him!" See above - That's an old (negative)saying that many in my former agency used to trumpet when I worked for the government ("Make the job work for you, don't work for the job") - but it applies in business and in this case, college football. Coach Spaziani has devoted himself to coaching, and not using the job as a stepping stone. If he still has the pizzazz to go for the top job - all the more power to the man. It will mean that he did it the right way for him.

This is a very big decision for GDF - much bigger than his decision to hire Jags two years ago.

Just because it's taking a little while for Gene to conduct an appropriate search and due diligence, it does not necessarily mean that he won't come back to an internal candidate.

Gene - this is big - we're not telling you anything you don't already know. This choice will absolutely define your tenure as Athletic Director.

Darius said...

Regarding recruiting, I just don't know how much stock can validly be put into the perception of whether a particular head coach candidate will recruit well. It's been said before, but the head coach isn't doing the heavy lifting. He may be evaluating talent and "closing the deal" a lot of the time, but what really matters is how well he assembles a staff gung ho to recruit.

Recall when Jags was coming in, his perceived recruiting ability and motivation were among the biggest pluses. Well, we've seen how that turned out.

CMondo1 said...

Anyone know a sports bar in NYC carrying the BC Wake game Wed. night?

eagleboston said...

Mathias Kiwinuka, Mark Herzlich, Brian Toal, Mike McLaughlin, Jamie Silva, Ron Brace, B.J. Raji....were not all of these BC defenders recruited by Spaz? If so, I would say he can recruit.

I am not sure if Spaz is the right guy to be head coach, but let's look for a legitimate reason to reject him and not use the excuse of recruiting.

CT said...

Wouldn't many of those guys be recruited by position coaches?

Speaking of which, here's a 280lb DT from the Atlanta area who already knows the right thing to say about BC:

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/shared-blogs/ajc/cfbrecruit/entries/2009/01/12/lithia_springs_3.html