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247 Update on Admin Changes
- Thread starter ZeroBeachCane3
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Re what the OP wrote about Alonzo Highsmith>
No self-respecting, strong AD candidate would be willing to give up the "football portfolio" (or even a piece of it) within the Ath Dept to another person. That would severely undercut his authority and would likely be a non-starter from the jump in any discussions.
No self-respecting, strong AD candidate would be willing to give up the "football portfolio" (or even a piece of it) within the Ath Dept to another person. That would severely undercut his authority and would likely be a non-starter from the jump in any discussions.
Theres such strong opinions about a guy that hasn’t been hired , or knowing his role or the future of the football dept. Mario ( if hired ) would be making in the 7-8 million range , Zo (if hired) would be nowhere in that stratosphere. So I think we know who has the power there. Nobody has ever said the Ad wouldn’t be above Zo and has no control over football.
How about we wait and see if he’s actually hired , see the plan of the program going forward before having such opinions.
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Cane6
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Fuuuuqq Blake… do you guys realize where UM would be right now if they hired Lane instead of
Cribby, have any of your connections indicated a desired time frame for having the new AD in place?
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hoops156
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she never hated sports. she loved it. she may have been too involved but she did love sports. anyone that took her class or spent time listening to her would know that. the issue with her tenure and now frenks is we can get the **** hires right. w the AD hire post Eichorst, its kinda tough at the time finding a qualified AD to take over during an NCAA scandal. once it was over, Blake should have been booted tho
Burricane
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It was already mentioned in another thread that it’s likely going to be 2-4 weeks
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addition: sooner rather than later
Empirical Cane
We are what we repeatedly do.
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I listened to this recent podcast (yes I held my nose with Le Batard) and they interviewed someone who claimed to be a Golden Cane (Hoch I think??... correct me if wrong please). It is interesting messaging so let's overlap above with what was said there and you start to get a sense of where this all might be headed.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz: Local Hour: Chris Cote's Moats on Apple Podcasts
Show The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, Ep Local Hour: Chris Cote's Moats - Nov 17, 2021
podcasts.apple.com
- On the front end, let me get this out of the way. The decision to separate from Blake James was a strong one by the UM administration and it should be commended. If you read the tea leaves, it is pretty clear that a change at head football coach is likely at the end of the season as well. With that being said, however, Manny Diaz still has key Board of Trustees members in his corner and they are willing to fight and continue to back him. It is not necessarily a forgone conclusion that Miami will move on from Diaz.
-- Podcast take... James had rubbed some folls wrong earlier this year, rubbed the Lemonis/Mas/Ruiz faction (more on that later) really raw for an ask re: FSU game. When 4 and 14 went down with the L, from a Golden Canes perspective, they prompted action from BoT to make the move on Flake within days of the Choke at Doak.
- With that being said, however, it is hard to ignore the strong message that the UM administration sent across the country to Eugene, Oregon. It is well known in UM circles that Mario Cristobal and Blake James do not like each other and that James would never be able to hire the coach of the No. 3 overall program in the country. Separating from James was a MAJOR first step to making a run at Cristobal.
-- From Podcast... Golden Cane claimed to know someone within Oregon circles. They school they fear losing Mario too is Miami amd not USC. They reiterated Mario was never coming to Miami with Blake in-place. Also, Le Betard pit the position to take it easy annointing Mario as the choice and fo a deliverate search to. get to the right answer. The Golden Cane agreed, but kinda half-heartedly.
- Why would Cristobal leave Oregon for Miami? Two reasons: Miami is home and being the head coach at UM has always been his dream job. Outsiders don’t fully grasp how much pull the University of Miami has with Cristobal in this regard, but people around the program know how much Cristobal loves UM and the city of Miami. IF the university were to come at him with the acceptable amount of resources and a vision from leadership for the future of the athletic department and football program, there is a belief that it would be very difficult for Cristobal to turn down the opportunity. A commitment, both in resources and vision, will be needed to make a run at Cristobal.
-- From Podcast general agreement by Golden Canes that Mario os a possible get if he feels the conditions are right to win at Miami.
- Does Miami have the money to go get a Mario Cristobal? The constant message from people around this decision making process continues to be: “money is not an issue.” The U-Health healthcare system in South Florida makes a ton of money for the university and the UM leadership is finally willing to dip into those coffers to provide resources for the football program. We will see if UM puts the money up at the end of the day.
-- From the Podcast Golden Cane reiterated $$$ isn't a concern to do what is necessary. Where he departed from what has been reported elsewhere is the SOURCE of said funds. Yes, U Health has somewhat righted the ship, but he very strongly stated "Miami will call the Golden Canes and say pay for this..." He mentioned Soffer specifically in this regard.
- There is a sense around Cristobal, however, that if Oregon keeps winning and makes the College Football Playoff, the chances of UM luring him away would be quite slim.
- What would be the biggest reason that Cristobal stays at Oregon beyond a College Football Playoff run? Cristobal is fiercely loyal and grateful to Nike CEO Phil Knight, who of course is Oregon’s top booster. It was Knight who gave Cristobal another chance at being a head coach and that is something Cristobal doesn’t take lightly.
-- From podcast this Golden Cane didn't seem. concerned. about it (maybe I missed it)
- There are three deep pocket boosters/board of trustees members that are believed to be pushing for a run at Cristobal: Jose Mas, Marcus Lemons, and attorney John Ruiz.
-- From the podcast this is where it gets interesting in what we've seen and who has taken leads on messaging...
Stugotz (I think it was him) asked who are the "Grand Poobahs" of all this...
This Golden Cane said "the Profit, Lemonis, is very active in all of this... the Soffers, the Profit...uh....Ruiz is about to become a very rich man [through his SPAC, reported in multi-billion range]"
- In terms of what Miami is now looking for in an athletic director, I have been told ‘somebody who understands how to lead athletics.’ Blake James was respected for his ability to fundraise, but he did not understand how to hold coaches accountable for middling performances. Loyalty to a coach is important, but at some point hard decisions have to be made.
Now onto some athletic director names that are worth knowing at this early stage…
- Tony Hernandez: Hernandez worked his way up the athletic department when Paul Dee was the athletic director. People around the UM program respect Hernandez for being highly intelligent and he knows what a successful football program is supposed to look like. He is currently the Deputy Director of Athletics at Texas Tech under former UM athletic director Kirby Hocutt. He served as Miami’s interim athletic director when Hocutt left for Texas Tech.
- Tom Jurich: You won’t find a potential candidate with a better resume of success than Jurich, who pushed Louisville’s athletic department to new heights. Jurich was Louisville’s athletic director from 1997-2017 and during his time he hired Rick Pitino as the basketball coach and played a big part in the football program getting to the ACC and making hires like Bobby Petrino and Charlie Strong. Louisville’s baseball program also took a step forward with his leadership. Jurich also vastly improved Louisville’s facilities during his time there. Jurich was placed on unpaid leave in 2017 after the Louisville basketball program was implicated in a FBI investigation. On May 18, 2018 the board of trustees agreed to a $4.5 million settlement with Jurich that cleared him of any wrong doing and phrased his termination as "retirement".
- Pat Chun: Chun hired Lane Kiffin as the athletic director at FAU, which is an interesting connection point. He is now the athletic director at Washington State. Chun worked his way up the ranks in the Ohio State athletic department, working 15 yards in Columbus, Ohio. He understands what a successful athletic department is supposed to look like.
- Jeff Purinton: Currently the Executive Deputy Athletics Director at Alabama. He is essentially No. 2 man to athletic director Greg Byrne. Purinton currently serves as the sports administrator for Alabama’s football team as well as men’s and women’s golf. He previously oversaw Alabama basketball. At one point, Purinton was believed to be in the mix for the FSU athletic director job.
- Alonzo Highsmith: The former UM running back has worked in NFL front offices and understands the business side of sports in addition to how to run athletics. Highsmith would understand what a winning football program looks like. Whether or not Highsmith is hired as the athletic director, there is a belief that he should be working within the UM athletic department as someone that oversees the football program.
- Gino Torretta: The former Heisman Trophy winner would check two boxes for the athletic director position: 1.) He understands the athletics side of leading an athletic department and specifically what a winning football program is supposed to look like. 2.) He understands the financial side of running an operation. Torretta’s post football career has centered around finances and asset management.
-- From the Podcast... they jokingly, but kinda not pushed forward Scovolla name (sp?). They talked Highsmith, and Jurich, FAUs AD, etc. They all agreed the AD needs to recognize the entire program... BB, BB, and FB need to be run like an NFL franchise. Also, they believe new AD will axe Larranga quickly if he doesn't retire on his own. They recognized the delicate nature of releasing DiMare from BB.
Also of note, they mentioned Sam Jankovich left UM to help start Patriot's dynasty while ADs since then, even Dee, have failed to measure up.
- It is hard to ignore the potential Columbus High School connection to the program moving forward…Jose Mas is a Board of Trustees member that deeply cares about UM athletics. He also attended Columbus with Mario Cristobal. Marcus Lemonis is a booster that also attended Columbus. Alonzo Highsmith is a Columbus alum. Cristobal’s right hand man, offensive line coach Alex Mirabal, also attended Columbus. These connection points are interesting.
-- From the podcast...Le Batard and This Golden Cane cat both stressed an uneasiness the Columbus crowd is essentially moving out and taking charge. Highsmith and Mario might be the right choices, but lets make them not because they are connected via Columbus.
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Cliff notes of the podcast?I listened to this recent podcast (yes I held my nose with Le Batard) and they interviewed someone who claimed to be a Golden Cane (Hoch I think??... correct me if wrong please). It is interesting messaging so let's overlap above with what was said there and you start to get a sense of where this all might be headed.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz: Local Hour: Chris Cote's Moats on Apple Podcasts
Show The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, Ep Local Hour: Chris Cote's Moats - Nov 17, 2021podcasts.apple.com
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It's a ****e show. Literally.
The most relevant point of the entire thing is that LeBastard is godfather to Frevola's kids. Other than that, it was a ****e show of inside jokes and inaccurate information masquerading as fact. The one guy who had any sort of a clue was talked over for 15 minutes.
I did appreciate the irony of LeBastard talking about how UM needed to clean up its program, while discreetly omitting the stuff about how he ratted us out and got us into the trouble that needed to be "cleaned up".
canadianhurricane
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It wouldn't surprise me if they left the decision, whether to keep manny or not, to the new AD, so Sr can't say or do much. I can't see any situation where a new AD keep CMD.
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I literally hate that dude. He’ll always be a snitch in my book.
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Had a bunch of classes with him, lived in the same dorm, ate in the same cafeteria, worked on The Miami Hurricane with him.
He made everything about him. Got suspended from the school newspaper for publishing Lou Holtz's home phone number. Got suspended at nearly every print job he's worked at. PLUS he snitched.
For the record...setting aside the ridiculous Tony Russell stuff, which was valid and valuable reporting...nearly everything LeBastard disclosed was personal information with which he was entrusted by players. Minor stuff. Those poor players trusted LeBastard and he screwed them over (though he had the "decency" to do so AFTER they graduated, what a prince he was).
Look, I could tell you plenty of damaging stories about the late 1980s Hurricane football players, and some of it is WAY worse than what LeBastard printed...but I would never do so, even if I could cash in. It's just not in my character to take anyone else's life stories and traffic in them for my gain/their loss.
Fvck that guy...I can respect his talent and accomplishments...while still acknowledging that he built his empire by ******** over everyone that trusted him.
The funny thing is...if you listen to that podcast...you recognize that LeBastard now has NO INFORMATION. No connections. No sources. He makes some "poor, poor, pitiful me" comments about how he didn't WANT to compete with other journalists who broke news stories...while ignoring that he made his bones BREAKING A SCANDALOUS STORY...and then you realize that nobody gives him information anymore...so his entire career, for the past 20+ years, is all about being a "shock jock" dealing in sports opinion and sports gossip, but NEVER in actual sports journalism. All of the so-called information that came out of that podcast came from Mike Ryan, not Dan LeBastard.
I just steer clear of him whenever I see him at UM events (not very frequently). I'm not afraid to be honest and shoot off my own mouth at him, so I try not to cause trouble.
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Burricane
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I know others don’t want him but in my opinion I want anyone attached to Alabama football. Especially if we are trying to run our football program seriously now. Anyone who has been a part of how that machine operates has to have a good idea of how to implement it at another school
Empirical Cane
We are what we repeatedly do.
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Something to be said for what "right" looks like.
FlipT
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Someone who has actually been apart of "The Process"
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