Let's recap where she went wrong and how it compares to Gene.
1. Firing a coach without a solid list of replacements. NC State wanted an A-list coach. That is their prerogative. But if you are following that path you need to make sure your A listers will take the job if offered. Nothing looks worse than getting ignored by other coaches. Contrasts that with Gene. In his two football searches and one basketball search he always interviewed some candidates that would take the job. When you are snubbed by a candidate it hurts recruiting and usually ends with the school overpaying for a candidate they don't want.
2. Admitting the struggle to fans. Many ADs lower expectations but doing it in your own email looks bad. She devalued her own program and made the open position less desirable. Gene is king of sending messages, but he is pretty careful about what he says as on the record.
3. Airing grudges publicly. Yow's spat with Williams makes her look petty and it also ruined Gottfried's introduction to the Wolfpack fans. Gene certainly can get in pissing matches. But he is smart enough to limit what he says on record. One less headache and one more chance to improve productivity.
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3 comments:
I fully agree that Gary Williams can be a jerk, he left BC high and dry, he yells at people for no reason -- but this who saga makes him look better and makes Debbie Yow and Gregg Doyel look like morons.
I couldn't have any less sympathy for Yow.
Bravo to Gene for not being a complete idiot. Because that is apparently the point of this post --- "look, he's not as bad as Yow."
As for point number 3, do you recall a three-day stretch in which the Gene-Jags pissing match was one of the lead stories on SportsCenter? Tough to forget that.
It seems clear that Gene made the Skinner decision with a plan in mind--- he wanted Donahue, and he got him. As far as the football program over the past 6 years goes, we are left with the following choice: (a) Gene did not have a plan, and his poor decisions reflect that; or (b) Gene is so incopetent that his plan included hiring a philandering fraud to coach the best BC team in two decades (Jags' first year), then using NFL interest as a pretext for firing him, and then hiring the D Coordinator who he passed over without pause in the post-TOB coaching search. I'd prefer (a) because if (b) is the case, I'm shocked the man can plan his way to work in the morning.
Actually, I'm pretty sure GDF wanted Mooney and got turned down.
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