off the mat

#28
#28
My friend is an agent. That means he is highly opinionated, jacked up, annoying and intense most of the time. He is also very good at evaluating talent, and conveying the pulse of the industry read on talent. I had no belief in Brian Kelly a few years back. He could not quit talking about Brian Kelly being the best up and coming coach in the business. He and his agency got Weis the best contract in the NCAA while he was losing. He referred to this as the "best magic trick in history" as he thought Weis was a terrible college coach. (Weis gets more from ND this year not working than Kelly does for going undefeated). He thinks Strong is a dog, and Golden is severely underrated. He watches thousands of hours of film, and read reams of stats to find the right talent. I am not saying I agree. I am saying he does this every day, and he thinks Golden will be a big winner. If Golden's agent is really trying to get him out on this escape clause, I think Golden may be our guy. That said, he was more optimistic that there could be something stirring with Gruden than he was last week. The only thing that was very solid is that it won't be Stoops or Fisher if it is announced this week...
 
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#29
#29
Finally- One other funny note- My friend refers to one coach in every search that they call "The circle dog". The circle dog is the coach that you get a conditional yes from in case everything falls through with the guys you want. I guess the term is some sort of reference to a 50's notion of the standby girl you ask to prom if the hot girl won't go. You hope to never get there, but a program can only take so many no's that leak to the press before it becomes bad for the university and its image. At that point they have to take the guy that has said he'll go to the dance if no one else will. According to my friend, Dooley was The circle dog. He loves to point out that Kelly and Sumlin desperately wanted the job when we took Kiffin. Needless to say, he has a much higher opinion of Hart than Hamilton...
 
#30
#30
sterlingpearling said:
Finally- One other funny note- My friend refers to one coach in every search that they call "The circle dog". The circle dog is the coach that you get a conditional yes from in case everything falls through with the guys you want. I guess the term is some sort of reference to a 50's notion of the standby girl you ask to prom if the hot girl won't go. You hope to never get there, but a program can only take so many no's that leak to the press before it becomes bad for the university and its image. At that point they have to take the guy that has said he'll go to the dance if no one else will. According to my friend, Dooley was The circle dog. He loves to point out that Kelly and Sumlin desperately wanted the job when we took Kiffin. Needless to say, he has a much higher opinion of Hart than Hamilton...
Click to expand...

If Hamilton really picked Dooley over an interested Brian Kelly and Kevin Sumlin he is officially the most incompetent AD.

My opinions of Hamilton as an AD are already extraordinarily low... that would just take the cake.
 
#31
#31
sterlingpearling said:
I was pummeled last week for pasting in a section of an email sent to me by a friend who formerly worked for Bob Lamonte. The gist of the message was this: Bob's rough on everyone, Bob makes everyone cross a hurdle of a Minimum Requirements Doc before a deal coming to Gruden.Finally my friend made the observation that Bob has elevated Gruden to the point that it may be bad for Gruden.

Then my friend said that as of the end Wednesday, no one had gone beyond the Minimum Requirements doc. (including UT). That pissed everyone off, and I was called a troll. So be it.

This morning I talked to my friend again. He is an Michigan alum and flew back from the OSU game through Memphis with a friend (who works at a sports agency as well) before returning to Dallas. They talked UT and the coaching search on the flight. Then this morning he also tried to talk to friends in his old office (LaMonte's) to cover things brought up in the conversation. Here is his take (I crossed out a specific name as I don't know if it would be ok to use it here):

"Conversation to Doc flow goes like this: AD or proxy gauges interest from candidates through surrogates or agents. If interest is established, a date is given by AD for potential offer letter. Coaches either use offer letter as a chit to get more from their current job, or move to negotiation. If negotiation is successful an MOU is signed. Contracts come much later. After a hire.

The key point is gauging interest can involve as many candidates as the AD wants, but only one offer can be sent at a time. That is sacred. There are never two offers out at a time.

That said, here's what I got out of the flight, and talking to Coatcheck this A.M.- There is no action on Sexton clients (Fisher) as he has an ACC championship. Hart would not call Fisher without permission from the FSU AD, and that would go on after the ACC game. Similarly with Cornrich. No action there according to *****, and Stoops has another game too. My buddy thinks there is an announcement this week. That leaves Golden and Gruden unless Hart is going to pick a dog, or call in Smart. So- here is the best part if you are a UT fan- Lamonte is in at 5am today, and no one is taking my call. I can't say that means a deal is happening with Jon, but I can say Bob only comes in this early for action, and Bob locks down any talky on deal days. I couldn't even get **** on IM or cell. I would still call it highly unlikely, but interesting. Here is the contradicting info: My buddy and ***** think Senior presented a breach of terms letter to UM to free Golden from the buyout. UM screwed Golden by not telling him any of the NCAA stuff, and that may free Golden in his escape clause which includes an unethical behavior clause. I've been hearing this for two weeks, but it sounded very real from what I heard on the flight. If they are active, they must have a job for Al. ***** says UT announcement by Wed of this week. That would tell me Jon is the long odds horse, and Golden is the likely candidate. While some of your fans may piss and moan about Golden, he is seen among coaches as one of the best recruiters and developers of talent in the business. You cannot judge him from UM. It is a **** show down there right now. The only curveball I have is, that Strong and Butch Jones have been trying to get any upgrade they can. BJ looks like he'll walk into Hell at KY. So where does Strong go? I would hope not UT. He is overrated. Thats all I've got. I'll let you know if I get a call back. I think you guys look good on this as long as it isn't Strong."
Click to expand...

VolunteerHillbilly said:
I wish Al Golden's name would quit coming up. He's not an SEC guy. Let PSU or some other Big 10 team take him.
Click to expand...

agreed...plenty of other jobs for him to go too...
if we don't get Gruden, I'd like Patterson then Strong
 
#33
#33
If it comes down to Golden then I'll be fine with it, but if he is announced this week then it means Hart never even tried getting a better coach and I'm done with UT until Hart and his Golden boy are gone or Golden actually proves something.
 
#34
#34
General Jack said:
If Hamilton really picked Dooley over an interested Brian Kelly and Kevin Sumlin he is officially the most incompetent AD.

My opinions of Hamilton as an AD are already extraordinarily low... that would just take the cake.
Click to expand...

Kelly had already taken the Notre Dame job when UT hired Dooley. Hamilton chose Kiffin over Kelly. Then, the next year, he chose Dooley over Sumlin.
 
#35
#35
sterlingpearling said:
I was pummeled last week for pasting in a section of an email sent to me by a friend who formerly worked for Bob Lamonte. The gist of the message was this: Bob's rough on everyone, Bob makes everyone cross a hurdle of a Minimum Requirements Doc before a deal coming to Gruden.Finally my friend made the observation that Bob has elevated Gruden to the point that it may be bad for Gruden.

Then my friend said that as of the end Wednesday, no one had gone beyond the Minimum Requirements doc. (including UT). That pissed everyone off, and I was called a troll. So be it.

This morning I talked to my friend again. He is an Michigan alum and flew back from the OSU game through Memphis with a friend (who works at a sports agency as well) before returning to Dallas. They talked UT and the coaching search on the flight. Then this morning he also tried to talk to friends in his old office (LaMonte's) to cover things brought up in the conversation. Here is his take (I crossed out a specific name as I don't know if it would be ok to use it here):

"Conversation to Doc flow goes like this: AD or proxy gauges interest from candidates through surrogates or agents. If interest is established, a date is given by AD for potential offer letter. Coaches either use offer letter as a chit to get more from their current job, or move to negotiation. If negotiation is successful an MOU is signed. Contracts come much later. After a hire.

The key point is gauging interest can involve as many candidates as the AD wants, but only one offer can be sent at a time. That is sacred. There are never two offers out at a time.

That said, here's what I got out of the flight, and talking to Coatcheck this A.M.- There is no action on Sexton clients (Fisher) as he has an ACC championship. Hart would not call Fisher without permission from the FSU AD, and that would go on after the ACC game. Similarly with Cornrich. No action there according to *****, and Stoops has another game too. My buddy thinks there is an announcement this week. That leaves Golden and Gruden unless Hart is going to pick a dog, or call in Smart. So- here is the best part if you are a UT fan- Lamonte is in at 5am today, and no one is taking my call. I can't say that means a deal is happening with Jon, but I can say Bob only comes in this early for action, and Bob locks down any talky on deal days. I couldn't even get **** on IM or cell. I would still call it highly unlikely, but interesting. Here is the contradicting info: My buddy and ***** think Senior presented a breach of terms letter to UM to free Golden from the buyout. UM screwed Golden by not telling him any of the NCAA stuff, and that may free Golden in his escape clause which includes an unethical behavior clause. I've been hearing this for two weeks, but it sounded very real from what I heard on the flight. If they are active, they must have a job for Al. ***** says UT announcement by Wed of this week. That would tell me Jon is the long odds horse, and Golden is the likely candidate. While some of your fans may piss and moan about Golden, he is seen among coaches as one of the best recruiters and developers of talent in the business. You cannot judge him from UM. It is a **** show down there right now. The only curveball I have is, that Strong and Butch Jones have been trying to get any upgrade they can. BJ looks like he'll walk into Hell at KY. So where does Strong go? I would hope not UT. He is overrated. Thats all I've got. I'll let you know if I get a call back. I think you guys look good on this as long as it isn't Strong."
Click to expand...

If there is a coach announced this week, it's Gruden. Golden doesn't make sense because not only has Miami come under sanctions during his tenure, but he has a losing record as a coach. Not to mention Miami is currently 53rd in recruiting. Hart said in his presser that he wants a coach with integrity and a coach that is a winner. That doesn't resemble Golden at all, even if the sanctions weren't his fault. Hiring Golden will make this fanbase even more angry than it already is. Another coach with a losing record? Really???
 
#37
#37
Blackmarket803 said:
If there is a coach announced this week, it's Gruden. Golden doesn't make sense because not only has Miami come under sanctions during his tenure, but he has a losing record as a coach. Not to mention Miami is currently 53rd in recruiting. Hart said in his presser that he wants a coach with integrity and a coach that is a winner. That doesn't resemble Golden at all, even if the sanctions weren't his fault. Hiring Golden will make this fanbase even more angry than it already is. Another coach with a losing record? Really???
Click to expand...

The Miami sanctions have NOTHING to do with Golden. Golden knew there were some issues when he took the job but the U with-held a whole lot more.
 
#39
#39
PennVol said:
If Al Golden is hired then I will be completely convinced that Mike Hamilton never resigned.
Click to expand...

Agreed if they hire Golden without getting "No's" from Gruden, Stoops, Patterson, Peterson, and Fisher then something is very very wrong.

If there is an announcement this week, it is NOT Golden.
 
#40
#40
shelbyvillevol said:
Kelly had already taken the Notre Dame job when UT hired Dooley. Hamilton chose Kiffin over Kelly. Then, the next year, he chose Dooley over Sumlin.
Click to expand...

Yep, you're right; I was thinking Kelly was being discussed in 2008, not early 2010.

I doubt we would be looking for a coach right now if either Kelly 2008 or Sumlin 2010 had been hired.

But if we get Gruden... I think we come out ahead in the long run.
 
#41
#41
sterlingpearling said:
My friend is an agent. That means he is highly opinionated, jacked up, annoying and intense most of the time. He is also very good at evaluating talent, and conveying the pulse of the industry read on talent. I had no belief in Brian Kelly a few years back. He could not quit talking about Brian Kelly being the best up and coming coach in the business. He and his agency got Weis the best contract in the NCAA while he was losing. He referred to this as the "best magic trick in history" as he thought Weis was a terrible college coach. (Weis gets more from ND this year not working than Kelly does for going undefeated). He thinks Strong is a dog, and Golden is severely underrated. He watches thousands of hours of film, and read reams of stats to find the right talent. I am not saying I agree. I am saying he does this every day, and he thinks Golden will be a big winner. If Golden's agent is really trying to get him out on this escape clause, I think Golden may be our guy. That said, he was more optimistic that there could be something stirring with Gruden than he was last week. The only thing that was very solid is that it won't be Stoops or Fisher if it is announced this week...
Click to expand...

So...about Weis not working...
 
#43
#43
sterlingpearling said:
Finally- One other funny note- My friend refers to one coach in every search that they call "The circle dog". The circle dog is the coach that you get a conditional yes from in case everything falls through with the guys you want. I guess the term is some sort of reference to a 50's notion of the standby girl you ask to prom if the hot girl won't go. You hope to never get there, but a program can only take so many no's that leak to the press before it becomes bad for the university and its image. At that point they have to take the guy that has said he'll go to the dance if no one else will. According to my friend, Dooley was The circle dog. He loves to point out that Kelly and Sumlin desperately wanted the job when we took Kiffin. Needless to say, he has a much higher opinion of Hart than Hamilton...
Click to expand...
Appreciate your thread/posts. Your friend may be right about Golden but right now we need someone whose ability doesn't require much in the way of guesswork on the part of common fans if there's going to be any chance of moving forward in a united fashion. If we can't get Gruden or some other NFL type, we need to take a winning coach from a BCS Conference (other than Big East) member program.
 
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