Ridiculed for taking time?

[jakez4ut]

Hart announced his pending retirement 6-7 MONTHS ago. This isn't a case of "taking time" to get it right. It certainly appears that it's a case of having no plan and having unhealthy dissension among the decision makers, especially with what appears to having 2 ideal candidates within an hour and a half radius of the campus.

Compare that to Alabama, who evidently got word from Bill Battle that he would retire in very recent days/weeks.....they hired his replacement before even announcing publicly that the position was even open. Who looks/is more competent with their respective AD searches?

yeah, it may be knee jerk on my part, but i agree here. i can't get past the fact that Bama just went and got their guy.

doers do. not sure what we're doing. and i fear, the folks on The Hill that can do, don't either.

 

[jp1]

Harts still ad. Don't know why we feel they should act fast. We need to let the chancellor get settled. I honestly don't care.

What is your definition of acting fast? You do realise Hart announced his "retirement" over 6 months ago right?

Name me how many successful companies that have over a $100 million dollar budget that has their head guy retire and they just drag their feet to find a replacement? Besides that name me another AD in the entire country that drags the process along as much as we do. Battle stepped down at Alabama and they had a guy in place in a timely manner. It's called being proactive.

If Butch quits today, who makes that hire to replace him. Think you would care then? How many top coaches line up to take over when they don't know who their boss is?

 

[tvolsfan]

It most certainly was, the way it was handled. Fulmer could have been and possibly should have been fired 3 seasons before.....

Hamilton fired Fulmer in poor fashion and largely in part of freaking out because the fan base. He should have retained Fulmer one more season or at the very least, wait until end of that season and made a much better decision.

Hamilton was running around like a chicken with his head cut off and made very knee jerk, irrational decisions. The few times I was personally around him, you could tell he was very scatterbrained (especially during that time).......

Agreed with the bold.

And someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the decision to fire Fulmer was made after the Alabama game, but they intended to wait until the end of the season. They changed it up and fired him after the South Carolina game because it was obvious things couldn't continue.

 

[BigBadVol]

All the forum warriors here act as they know how to run a multi million organization. It's such a joke.

 

[tvolsfan]

yeah, it may be knee jerk on my part, but i agree here. i can't get past the fact that Bama just went and got their guy.

doers do. not sure what we're doing. and i fear, the folks on The Hill that can do, don't either.

I can deal with taking time to make the right decision. What I can't stand is delaying doing the obvious for some BS reasons. What should be done inevitably should be done immediately. Blackburn should have been named AD months ago. Instead, we waited, possibly because of some silly belief that it would make us look better to pretend the new Chancellor made the hire. Now we're going to miss on Blackburn to hire someone who is unquestionably unqualified and likely incapable of doing the job as well as someone we'll probably never be able to fire. And maybe the worst part of all this is Hart should have been terminated immediately after it was clear Tyndall was going to be fired.

 

[jakez4ut]

I can deal with taking time to make the right decision. What I can't stand is delaying doing the obvious for some BS reasons. What should be done inevitably should be done immediately. Blackburn should have been named AD months ago. Instead, we waited, possibly because of some silly belief that it would make us look better to pretend the new Chancellor made the hire. Now we're going to miss on Blackburn to hire someone who is unquestionably unqualified and likely incapable of doing the job as well as someone we'll probably never be able to fire. And maybe the worst part of all this is Hart should have been terminated immediately after it was clear Tyndall was going to be fired.

agree, and that's the crux of it. the problems Tennessee face are the direct result of things Tennessee has allowed to happen. this is totally an internal issue, it seems no one has enough vision or foresight to see the bigger picture, and do what's best for the long term success.

i'm less concerned, at this point, about who the AD is, than i am about how we arrived at the decision.

if we get it right, i'll be blind dumb luck.

 

[DaddyChad]

Rushing? Lol. How long have they known Hart was on the way out? They don't have a successor in place; they don't even have a plan to look for a successor in place. This is completely incompetent and quite frankly inexcusable for a department that generates so much revenue for the university. You allow that revenue stream to go without leadership and not even have a plan for replacing the AD?

 

[armchair]

This was botched because Cheek and the president stupidly decided not to extend Hart. Why? Because he wanted to retire the antiquated Lady Vol ,and and logo? And then cheek retired,leaving this mess. He and the president were incompetent.

 

[jakez4ut]

This was botched because Cheek and the president stupidly decided not to extend Hart. Why? Because he wanted to retire the antiquated Lady Vol ,and and logo? And then cheek retired,leaving this mess. He and the president were incompetent.

exactly, and when did Cheek announce he'd be retiring again?

 

[Poppa T]

Sorry for length. Prolly TLDR.

As someone who has worked in management/executive positions for major corporation, we always had an Executive/Management Development and Transition plans. We identified those inside/outside the company that had potential for leadership positions. These plans were developed from the department level all the way up to the CEO level. Those candidates inside, we groomed and mentored them (see Blackburn). The list was dynamic.

When we had advance knowledge of someone planning to leave (see Hart), we were ready to timely evaluate and select the replacement. We typically announced before departure, so orderly transition of duties would occur.

My outside perception of UT leadership is they either do not have such a plan; or their plan is lacking and poorly developed; or they lack the leadership skills to effectively execute the plan.

I am extremely disappointed in my Alma Mater.

 

[robow]

Hart announced his pending retirement 6-7 MONTHS ago. This isn't a case of "taking time" to get it right. It certainly appears that it's a case of having no plan and having unhealthy dissension among the decision makers, especially with what appears to having 2 ideal candidates within an hour and a half radius of the campus.

Compare that to Alabama, who evidently got word from Bill Battle that he would retire in very recent days/weeks.....they hired his replacement before even announcing publicly that the position was even open. Who looks/is more competent with their respective AD searches?

Your statement is not factual..They started the search as
soon as they were notified that he had Mutiple Myeloma
Cancer. This cancer is terminal. Average life expectancy
is generally 4-6 years after diagnosis. If patient is able to get a stem cell transplant, then life expectancy rises to 10-12 years, but at the present time, there is no cure.
No, I am not a doctor, but I lost my wife 3 years ago to this cancer, and those are the facts presented to us.

 

[jp1]

Your statement is not factual..They started the search as
soon as they were notified that he had Mutiple Myeloma
Cancer. This cancer is terminal. Average life expectancy
is generally 4-6 years after diagnosis. If patient is able to get a stem cell transplant, then life expectancy rises to 10-12 years, but at the present time, there is no cure.
No, I am not a doctor, but I lost my wife 3 years ago to this cancer, and those are the facts presented to us.

Sorry for the loss of your wife, but I'm not seeing anything incorrect that he said.

 

[Tin Man]

The culprits. In addition to Billy and Raj, pay special attention to Charles C. Anderson, Jr., Sharon J. Pryse & Shannon A. Brown (exec comp), as well as Spruell Driver, Jr., D. Crawford Gallimore, Vicky B. Gregg & Brad A. Lampley (athletics).

 

[livefaith]

Hart announced his pending retirement 6-7 MONTHS ago. This isn't a case of "taking time" to get it right. It certainly appears that it's a case of having no plan and having unhealthy dissension among the decision makers, especially with what appears to having 2 ideal candidates within an hour and a half radius of the campus.

Compare that to Alabama, who evidently got word from Bill Battle that he would retire in very recent days/weeks.....they hired his replacement before even announcing publicly that the position was even open. Who looks/is more competent with their respective AD searches?

Didn't Hart's timeline have him retiring this Spring? If so, why would you hire someone in the fall a and have 2 ADs? Why would you offer a job that can't be accepted for 6 months? Would right now be about the right time to start the search (soon offers) in order to hit the time Hart retires in order to be seamless?

Serious questions. We have an active AD.

 

[Poppa T]

Didn't Hart's timeline have him retiring this Spring?
Yes. It was announced ~6 months ago. But it was known prior to this that he would be leaving.

If so, why would you hire someone in the fall and have 2 ADs?
Announcing a Hire and their Start date do not have to be the same date. See similar situation with the current and incoming UTK Chancellor. We announced Davenport before Cheek leaves. Cheek is still Chancellor and Davenport starts in February. I could be wrong on the timing.

Why would you offer a job that can't be accepted for 6 months?
To make the hire that you want. Given the highly competitive nature relative to major college AD
positions and the need to ensure a smooth and professional transition, the sooner you can identify and name the incoming AD, the better.

Would right now be about the right time to start the search (soon offers) in order to hit the time Hart retires in order to be seamless?
I think the point being made, is any reputable, well-run large corporation would be more proactive in the identification/search/hiring process, especially critical, competitive executive level positions. A well-run organization identifies potential candidates BEFORE you need to replace them (in the event Billy Bob dies or bolts for a bigger job, retires, is fired, etc.).

Serious questions. We have an active AD.

See Bolded. The argument is Bama did this ... they knew that Bill Battle had cancer, the term of his contract expired in 2017. They had a identified potential AD candidates and acted. The candidate they named had already turned down openings in Florida and Texas (I think) because he had been contacted/secured ahead of time for the pending opening at Bama.

 

[DancingOutlaw]

In the real world if the CEO of a $100M+ division gave 10 months notice of his retirement the succession plan would have already kicked in and a replacement would be all but identified by now. A public company would be reamed if it had done zero in replacing an officer. People like consistency and good planning. But here half that time has already passed and they are just now thinking about search firms? What have they been doing? It could take weeks and most likely months to find and interview potential candidates. It's not as if there are thousands to choose from. They are getting dangerously close to this being yet another 11th hour panic decision. They've had ample time and have simply squandered it.

 

[AM64]

Many threads have discussed the current state of affairs of the athletic department and the athletic teams at UT. Over the last 8 years or more everyone has ridiculed Tennessee for making knee jerk reaction decisions about everything.

Is it possible that the powers that be just want to get all of this right for once? Not rushing into a fix something quickly decision?

The firing of Fulmer may have been past due but it was handled poorly and in a knee jerk way. Hiring Kiffin was purely knee jerk and the structuring of his contract led to his immediate in the heat of the night departure.

Dooley was a knee jerk reaction to that....

For once Tennessee is slow walking (appears to be) this AD process as well as OC process.

Could it be....they've learned from the past 8/9 years?

Your thoughts......

Too many "fans" being led by the nose by hacks writing for advertising clicks. No different from the rumor mill that always stirs people up when there's change or job cuts coming to an organization. There's always some opportunistic sleaze wanting to be significant by creating the newest insider information. Not sure who's more needy - the creator or the believer.

 

[AM64]

They have had 153 days...

So

 

[VolFan4Life87]

There's taking responsibility and executing your office and then there's setting behind a nice desk, surfing the internet for recipes, while getting a fat check for nothing.

The irony of this post, during business hours on this forum. lol:

 

[AM64]

I agree the timing in all of this is bad. Knowing this, with the new chancellor to be named, why didn't Hart just stay on for another year or announce his retirement after Jan. 1? As Bama proved, they had their successor in a matter of minutes.

Probably because Hart's announcement was meant to portray change to go along with the Title IX settlement - an opportunistic reaction that may have gone wrong considering that there's always somebody willing to twist anything if they see benefit from doing so.

That matter of minutes was probably a variant on the "overnight success" story for someone who worked years to become an "overnight success". Bill Battle's contract is expiring and he and AL probably knew he had no desire to extend due to his health. Something that's been working in the background and announced doesn't necessarily indicate sudden change.

 

[JonGrudensAgent]

The delays stems from what appears to be a lot of infighting among trustees and administration and an absentee president who is basically letting the media make up whatever stories they can concoct from day to day.

Seriously, where the hell is Dipietro in all of this?

What the delay is not coming from is any semblance of a plan to do their due diligence and make an informed and educated hire.

The messages are all over the map on this issue and it just exudes a level of complete incompetence on the outside looking in. We have gone from Fulmer being hired is imminent to a search firm is being hired within a span of 24 hours.

 

[KBVol]

Your statement is not factual..They started the search as
soon as they were notified that he had Mutiple Myeloma
Cancer. This cancer is terminal. Average life expectancy
is generally 4-6 years after diagnosis. If patient is able to get a stem cell transplant, then life expectancy rises to 10-12 years, but at the present time, there is no cure.
No, I am not a doctor, but I lost my wife 3 years ago to this cancer, and those are the facts presented to us.

Sorry for the loss of your wife, but I'm not seeing anything incorrect that he said.

I don't know when exactly they started searching, but what I do know is that they have named a new AD before announcing their AD position was even open.....and that stands in stark contrast to Tennessee, who announced 5-6 months ago that their AD was resigning and have yet to even begin a search. Byrne begins as Alabama AD March 1....will Tennessee's "search committee" have even convened a meeting by then? Odds say no.

Also, Battle is on record saying his cancer is in full remission and his health is not the reason for retirement. He's assuming a role as a special assisant to the university president.

Condolenses and sorry to hear of the loss of your wife.

 

[AstonRoyal]

This could've been better had they not announced Dave Hart's departure until they had a replacement. They could've gone about their business knowing internally that he was going to leave and have a much smoother process without the press and fan's judging their every move. Horrible PR move in my opinion.

 

[peerless98]

Wow, some of you seem to not only know exactly what is and isn't being done by the BOT, but you also know that they have or will screw up the hire. The most ridiculous part, however, of all of this to me is the fact that folks are whining that we haven't hired someone to replace the person that still has the title for several months.

 

[smokey0625]

What is your definition of acting fast? You do realise Hart announced his "retirement" over 6 months ago right?

Name me how many successful companies that have over a $100 million dollar budget that has their head guy retire and they just drag their feet to find a replacement? Besides that name me another AD in the entire country that drags the process along as much as we do. Battle stepped down at Alabama and they had a guy in place in a timely manner. It's called being proactive.

If Butch quits today, who makes that hire to replace him. Think you would care then? How many top coaches line up to take over when they don't know who their boss is?

Yeah but you have to get the head of the company settled in before the company can hire a Vp. First, no one should have thought we would hire an ad before the chancellor. Second, it's an ad position with a working ad already in place. Third, it's an ad. Not a hc.