Spend the Dang Money

#26
#26
I dont understand whst is taking so long. By most accounts, it seems like Blackburn wants to be at UT. Yet he is not hired yet. The longer this goes on , the more I believe he will not be hired and Gilbert or some other scrub will be hired.
It would be very Tennessee.
 
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#27
#27
if they screw up this athletic director hire it is very likely some of the big booster funding will go on the shelf for a while. They are getting pretty tired of the constant lack of leadership.

they better escalate the AD hire. people want it done and think it is ridiculous that we are almost 6 months out without an AD

yep. couldn't agree more.
 
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#28
#28
Who, exactly, do you expect us to "spend the dang money" on?

There is not an established football coach available that's a good fit at Tennessee. If Butch is fired after 2017, the best coaches are going to be mid-major coaches looking for a step up unless something changes. You don't "spend the dang money" on someone that hasn't earned it.

If a change is made and the new coach proves to be the correct fit, then the money should be spent in retention.

The folks that want to spend the money either want a coach who is NEVER coming to UT or they just don't care and want to spend it on someone - if that someone doesn't work - then 2 years later spend more money on someone else.

They obviously think UT has money to waste.
 
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#29
#29
We were $200 million in debt. UT WAS in a serious financial situation. People (boosters) who have the kind of $ to make these kinds of donations want to see a proven stable track record.
You can say we're UT blah blah blah all you want but that doesn't make smart people part with their $.
And it's not acting like a mid tier team or accepting mediocrity (so over played) it's living in reality.

Keep on believing what you want. Its BS but you are free to believe it. I gave the reasons why a big time hire ends up paying off for everybody in the long run. But yeah UT was really in all kinds of debt and coudnt afford anything. Mediocrity is so entrenched in Tennessee its beyond pathetic.
 
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#31
#31
Who, exactly, do you expect us to "spend the dang money" on?

There is not an established football coach available that's a good fit at Tennessee. If Butch is fired after 2017, the best coaches are going to be mid-major coaches looking for a step up unless something changes. You don't "spend the dang money" on someone that hasn't earned it.

If a change is made and the new coach proves to be the correct fit, then the money should be spent in retention.

Not an established coach available thats a good "fit" at Tennessee? Oh my God...
 
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#32
#32
if they screw up this athletic director hire it is very likely some of the big booster funding will go on the shelf for a while. They are getting pretty tired of the constant lack of leadership.

they better escalate the AD hire. people want it done and think it is ridiculous that we are almost 6 months out without an AD

Without question in my mind the person most responsible for the depths UT fell? Mike Hamilton, for a myriad of reasons.
 
#33
#33
Unfortunately Tennessee continues to hire people for admin positions with no prior connections to the university or our state, very bad mistake That's been the problem all along.:sad:

that they're not previously affiliated with UTK isn't the issue. that they've not had good leadership for athletics is.

that said, while i think we could find perfectly good leadership outside the UTK family, and that shouldn't be a pre-requisite for such a hire, David Blackburn checks most of, if not all, the boxes.

what we need is a really good leader, that has clear, concise goals and purpose for an athletic program, that knows how to navigate in a big time, power 5 environment, and all the things that come with that.

this notion that it has to be part of the UTK family is backwards thinking.

it's just fortunate that there's a guy 2 hours away that checks that box too.
 
#34
#34
Without question in my mind the person most responsible for the depths UT fell? Mike Hamilton, for a myriad of reasons.

no fan of his, but the problems we have fundamentally in our leadership lie a rung or two higher than just the AD.

remember, someone is hiring the AD.:thumbsup:
 
#35
#35
The folks that want to spend the money either want a coach who is NEVER coming to UT or they just don't care and want to spend it on someone - if that someone doesn't work - then 2 years later spend more money on someone else.

They obviously think UT has money to waste.

Keep on believing what you want. Its BS but you are free to believe it. I gave the reasons why a big time hire ends up paying off for everybody in the long run. But yeah UT was really in all kinds of debt and coudnt afford anything. Mediocrity is so entrenched in Tennessee its beyond pathetic.

this is all putting the cart before the horse. i don't think CBJ is our long term answer to being an elite program.

but we're in no position administratively to make such a change, and even if we were, until proven otherwise, making such a move doesn't seem to be a priority for UT.

and given the sound of crickets you hear coming from The Hill on anything to do with the UTAD, i don't expect that change any time soon.

there's zero sense of urgency in getting this done. it's truly as if it doesn't matter.
 
#36
#36
Keep on believing what you want. Its BS but you are free to believe it. I gave the reasons why a big time hire ends up paying off for everybody in the long run. But yeah UT was really in all kinds of debt and coudnt afford anything. Mediocrity is so entrenched in Tennessee its beyond pathetic.

BOT you can ignore the facts if you want. But I can guarantee you UT was in a very bad financial situation. I know for a fact that some unofficial preliminary "get togethers" happened with some Law Makers about the financial problems. A gentleman's agreement was made to give them time before they called for official meetings/hearings on the matter.
People can curse Hart and Jones all they want but them along with a couple very solid members of the board pulled us out of financial hell.
 
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#37
#37
that they're not previously affiliated with UTK isn't the issue. that they've not had good leadership for athletics is.

that said, while i think we could find perfectly good leadership outside the UTK family, and that shouldn't be a pre-requisite for such a hire, David Blackburn checks most of, if not all, the boxes.

what we need is a really good leader, that has clear, concise goals and purpose for an athletic program, that knows how to navigate in a big time, power 5 environment, and all the things that come with that.

this notion that it has to be part of the UTK family is backwards thinking.

it's just fortunate that there's a guy 2 hours away that checks that box too.

I agree with this.
 
#39
#39
no fan of his, but the problems we have fundamentally in our leadership lie a rung or two higher than just the AD.

remember, someone is hiring the AD.:thumbsup:

Oh absolutely. But the decisions he made had a major impact. The list of bad mistakes he made is long.
 
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#41
#41
Seriously this time 4 years ago the UTAD was in serious trouble. Things are better now financially but this article clearly shows how bad it was.

Tennessee athletic department mired in $200 million debt | NCAA Football | Sporting News

Some of you seem to think there is money just lying around to pay buyouts of coaches and spend twice as much as that (... which it would take ...) to secure your so called flavor of the day "elite coach".

Unless all who support the department plan to donate their entire salary for several years - UTAD can't continue to support the cycle (fire, pay buyout, hire new coach, fire, pay buyout, hire new coach ..... ).

And our administration still hasnt learned a damn thing. See Butch Jones contract, he was given a raise and extension because Dave Hart was scared he was leaving for Michigan. What a f#$king joke, he clowned UT.
 
#43
#43
Who, exactly, do you expect us to "spend the dang money" on?

There is not an established football coach available that's a good fit at Tennessee. If Butch is fired after 2017, the best coaches are going to be mid-major coaches looking for a step up unless something changes. You don't "spend the dang money" on someone that hasn't earned it.

If a change is made and the new coach proves to be the correct fit, then the money should be spent in retention.

I'm advocating giving butch the budget to hire NFL position coaches.
 
#44
#44
And our administration still hasnt learned a damn thing. See Butch Jones contract, he was given a raise and extension because Dave Hart was scared he was leaving for Michigan. What a f#$king joke, he clowned UT.

Or maybe because he'd shown improvement every year and had helped bring the finances BACK by winning?
 
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#46
#46
Jesus just stop it aready. Tennessee is not some mid tier school that struggles financially. Tennessee has one of the biggest recruiting budgets in the country and has had for quite some time. UT has plenty of money to get whatever coach they want. The administration is just too dumb to spend the necessary cash. Getting big time, proven winning coaches, equates to big wins on the field. Which in turn increases revenue through ticket sales and product merchandise. Which in turn helps the university finances out, big time.

I wish some of you would stop thinking so damn small time and mediocre. UT had the money to get Harbaugh. I am not saying he was interested in us but UT had that kind of money. It has that kind of money now. What we dont have is an administration with a set of functioning balls that would step up to make a big tome hire.

Just a thought, but is Harbough and assistants worth twice as much salary as CBJ and assistants. Harbough won 1 more game than Butch, didn't make the conf championship, lost to his biggest rival, and lost his bowl game. Spending money does not guarantee success. I will mention again, in 2015 Tenn made the 2nd most money in D1 football. Making money is the administration's job. Athletic championships are just the icing on the cake. This is my business side of looking at things. My fan side wants 15-0 results
 
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#49
#49
There is not an established football coach available that's a good fit at Tennessee.
Based on the all important criteria of having lost to Derek Dooley, our potential candidates include:

Neil Calloway current OL coach at USC
Jason Simpson current head coach at UT Martin
Larry Porter current RB coach at UNC
Houston Nutt CBS analyst
Robbie Caldwell current OL coach at Clemson
Joker Phillips current quality control coach at tOSU
Robin Pflugrad assistant at Phoenix College (JUCO)
Jeff Quinn current assistant S&C Notre Dame
Rick Stockstill head coach MTSU
James Franklin head coach PSU (not happening)
Tom O'Brien retired
Bill Curry retired
Terry Bowden head coach Akron
Larry Blakeney retired
 
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#50
#50
Michigan got tired of being a lower tier Big Ten team for like 7 years and finally did something about it. That hasn't happened with us yet
 
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