Wednesday, November 07, 2018

Perception matters and Jarmond understands

This week is a big deal, but it beyond football, it is an opportunity for BC to shine. The one person who seems to really understand that is Martin Jarmond.

While an AD hires and fires coaches, the reality of the job is that the AD's impact on the field of play is very limited. However, the experience of the fans, media and players outside of the game is all under the Athletic Department's control. Jarmond never provided specifics about what he was going to change at BC, but slowly through big and little things, he is showing he is committed to improvements (alcohol sales, raising money for facilities, better food service, social media interactions, numerous road trips, etc). GameDay will be a culmination of all he's done in his short tenure.

GameDay coming to BC is mostly about football and timing, but it is also due to the work of the Athletic Department to court ESPN and sell a story. But this is also a TV show and Jarmond knows that. He got Herbie to send a message to BC fans about showing up for the show Saturday morning.
He also leveraged the moment to extend tailgating hours in the hopes of driving people to their sits at kickoff. Alumni needs to be full when the lights come on at 8 pm. ESPN/ABC want the game to feel big and a packed house does that.

Even if the game doesn't live up to the hype, Jarmond needs the BC fans and the BC experience to shine through. It will keep two importantconstituenciess (media and donors) happy.  Being loud, active and on time will increase the chances of BC hosting again and ESPN coming away happy.

11 comments:

mod34b said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tim said...

Good stuff:

http://www.espn.com/espn/now?nowId=21-41042839-4

Tim said...

In case link doesn’t work:

“Titans coach Mike Vrabel, on a conference call with New England reporters, on having his son Tyler as a freshman on the Boston College football team: "The best place he could be. He turned 18 the day I dropped him off. Steve Addazio and his staff have done an amazing job with him, his confidence level. They pushed him hard, he earned a backup spot out of training camp. He played in the first two games; it looks like he's probably going to redshirt. Their season is going great. We follow them every week. I've been up there twice. I went up for the opening game. Went up against Miami, the huge win they had on Friday night. This week will be a great experience for those students, those fans. Sold out. [ESPN's] GameDay is going to be there. Big game against Clemson. He is definitely in the right place for him, and he loves it there. I'm certainly glad he's there with Steve and their staff that can help and mentor him and coach him."

JBQ said...

I am still not convinced that Jarmond is qualified. He had very little experience at Ohio State and was in charge of scheduling and little else. His wife had connections as a dentist in Columbus with Urban Meyer. Daz was the offensive coordinator for Meyer on his national championship at Florida. There are politics running through this entire scenario.---I happen to agree with "mod". So far, he is "a mouse who hasn't roared". That means that he can develop. So far, returns are mixed.---I have two personal emails from Jarmond dated Nov. 5 to a comment that I sent to the AD. He is "thin skinned" to be sure from what he wrote. Nevertheless, it shows insight of his mentality. I will pass on the information to Atlanta.

Knucklehead said...

Mod wants BC to lose.

Benjamin said...

Just curious JBQ, what do you define as a qualified or successful AD?

GP11 said...

These comments are so far off the mark.

Jarmond has put more effort and enthusiasm into his tenure in his short time than his predecessor did during his entire tenure.

He is visible, he is accountable, he is pragmatic, and he is driven. He is everything fans have been clamoring for since the deterioration of the Gene era.

He does not have the ability to turn each of the majors into title contenders overnight. Nobody can. What should be obvious is that he is building a foundation for our athletic programs that will be felt for decades, rather than making rash decisions that may or may not yield dividends. The practice facility, the new strategic initiative, etc will be gamechangers for not just the athletes, but how recruits and the national media view our commitment to success. He is making the small changes that are available to him in the short-term to build good will for bigger changes in the long term (improving tailgating atmosphere, focusing on kickoff attendance, improving concessions in the stadium, etc).

I don't understand how anyone can look at what he's done in 12-18 months and not be impressed & excited about the future.

I am no Daz apologist. His gameday decisions range from bizarre to idiotic; however, it is clear that he is building a strong foundation through recruiting. Here's where Mod brings up the recruiting rankings... If we all agree that the coaching strategies are mediocre then how are we winning games against teams that supposedly have far superior talent? Either the coaching is better than we think OR the talent is much better than the recruiting services would have you believe. Harold Landry is proving he should have been a first round talent. Multiple defensive backs taken in the early rounds over the last couple years. 2-3 players could be first rounders next year. Similar idea with basketball and Jim Christian. Clearly they both are rebuilding the talent pool and our recruiting pipelines.

Am I sold on the two of them as tacticians? Definitely not. But it's clear that they are digging our programs out of a deep dearth of talent. If & when it is clear that the talent is underperforming their capabilities, hopefully Jarmond will pull the trigger. If/when that happens, I think what he is doing in the meantime is improving the stature of our programs so that we will not be stuck with retreads or being exciting options' 2nd or 3rd choice. Rather, BC will be intriguing to the next generation of top coaching talent.

We are top 20 in the country. We are 8-2. We are hosting College Gameday and the #2 team in the country in primetime on major network television. Our basketball team came within a few wins last year of the tournament. We have multiple high level recruits on the team this year and heading to campus next year. We've come a long way. Many of us are jaded from the past 6 years of crap. Enough. It's time to be optimistic about the future. Much of that is thanks to our AD.

Knucklehead said...

All that is fine. The school needs to improve its academic ranking and reputation. So every dollar the place spends on athletics it need to spend an additional $.25 on recruiting high end students, professors and benefactors.

There is a shitload of $$ being spent on sports while the academic rankings deteriorated across the board.

If Leahy cannot manage two things well at the same time then he needs to be moved into another role or out completely.

Heights said...

Knucklehead, I completely agree. Well said.

BC 86 said...

GP 11, 100% agree. The 10 hour drive to V.Tech to visit my nephew was well worth it, beautiful campus and country. Going to Boston for this game will be a blast, whatever the outcome, far cry from O fer in the ACC. Let's tailgate! GO BC!!

BCNavy89 said...

Nice article in the Globe about the AD. https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/colleges/2018/11/09/was-quick-thinking-martin-jarmond-that-brought-gameday-campus/F0g2AhRn0lsoUpfQKHmVPL/story.html#comments

Give the guy a chance