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Great take on the situation from an Arkansas site regarding this whole event...I think Mr. Broyles should just retire now instead of at year's end.
Bacon Bits - We Are No Longer Mediocre...We Are Broken
Volume LVIII
April 2, 2007
The sports gods have been playing jokes on us. A dramatic plot has
unfolded over the last few months that even Tom Clancy would be proud
of.
And it climaxed today, at least one hopes, in the sudden resignation of
new coach Dana Altman. This happened just hours after he called the
Hogs, albeit poorly, at the press conference announcing his hire.
I really don't know what to say. There is no way to ease the
embarrassment that this year has been, much less the spotlight on our
rejection from a coach who likely was in double digits on the list of
targets.
Make no mistake Razorback Nation, this is a very deep problem. Despite
what Dana Altman may say over the coming days, the real reason he had a
"change of heart" has less to do with his fondness for Creighton than
the upset stomach our program gave him as he began digging into his
future team here at Arkansas.
Lavish praise on Frank Broyles if you would like for our fantastic
facilities, but whatever you do don't fail for one minute to recognize
that he was absent at one of the most critical junctions of a coaching
transition. It was apparent to all involved that Altman would have a
difficult time making the transition from Omaha, Nebraska to
Fayetteville, Arkansas. And despite the fact that he held a press
conference yesterday - this hire, like all coaching hires, isn't
completed until the ink dries on a new contract.
So where was our illustrious leader today when Altman sat down to
review
the contract? Why in Augusta, of course. His little pastime of golf was
more important to him than a seamless transition for Coach Altman into
the program.
In the class "Closings 101" everyone learns that you hold hands and
cuddle all the way to the end. But alas, bent grass fairways were a
priority for Frank, not the University of Arkansas.
Can you imagine Chancellor White's disdain at taking Altman through
these precarious final steps without the salesman by his side? If you
don't think he's chapped at Frank look no further than his abrupt
announcement that a search firm would be hired in lieu of Frank's
expertise in the wake of this debacle. In the immortal words of Donald
Trump...Frank - YOU'RE FIRED!
Friends, something is wrong in Fayetteville. Frank and his posse can
keep telling us to look the other way but when a coach commits career
suicide by backing out of a move after accepting the job there's only
one thing that should be obvious to us all. Our basketball program has
some serious problems. Problems that should have been evident enough to
our AD that he disclosed them during the sales pitch.
My guess is Altman found some things out that had he known on the front
end would have kept him from ever accepting the position. We'll likely
never know what these issues were. Maybe he's protecting players by not
divulging what he found. Maybe he has enough integrity to leave and not
publicly blame. I wasn't crazy about his coaching record, but I was
enamored by his obvious honesty and character.
So where does that leave us? We're now about to re-embark on a coaching
search that will no way include "grand-slam" candidates. We will be
very
lucky to get a decent mid-major coach to come here. In addition to the
basketball issues our football program is on the precipice of being
exposed for the sham we know it to be. And all the while, Nero fiddles
on lush courses a thousand miles away.
Sometimes in order to fix things, they have to completely break first.
And sometimes this breaking has to be painful on a grand scale.
Unfortunately, that is where we are at. National media is touting
Creighton's superiority to the U of A. And if you aren't embarrassed
and
shocked by this, well you're not breathing.
The time has come for a reckoning. We will be given penance for years
of
gross mismanagement and cover-ups on the hill. This penance will
include
hiring lesser coaches and bringing in lesser talent...in both the
football and basketball programs. Our Board of Trustees has a simple
choice. We can either embrace the continuance of good-ole-boy
governance, of ignoring elephants in the corners of our rooms, or we
can
make a clean sweep of our athletic department by outright firing the
people who have gotten us in this mess and moving on.
To the Trustees I submit the following. I am at the end of my rope as a
Razorback fan. The noose around this fan's neck has been tightened by
constant lies, vendettas and unprofessionalism. I have been cheated on
and abused. The program I have long supported has been mocking me for
years now. I am wise to it and nothing short of wholesale change will
ever bring me back. I think I speak for thousands who feel the same.
The dawn of a new age is coming. In this new age my passions will be
directed somewhere. You choose where they go.
Bacon out...
Bacon Bits - We Are No Longer Mediocre...We Are Broken
Volume LVIII
April 2, 2007
The sports gods have been playing jokes on us. A dramatic plot has
unfolded over the last few months that even Tom Clancy would be proud
of.
And it climaxed today, at least one hopes, in the sudden resignation of
new coach Dana Altman. This happened just hours after he called the
Hogs, albeit poorly, at the press conference announcing his hire.
I really don't know what to say. There is no way to ease the
embarrassment that this year has been, much less the spotlight on our
rejection from a coach who likely was in double digits on the list of
targets.
Make no mistake Razorback Nation, this is a very deep problem. Despite
what Dana Altman may say over the coming days, the real reason he had a
"change of heart" has less to do with his fondness for Creighton than
the upset stomach our program gave him as he began digging into his
future team here at Arkansas.
Lavish praise on Frank Broyles if you would like for our fantastic
facilities, but whatever you do don't fail for one minute to recognize
that he was absent at one of the most critical junctions of a coaching
transition. It was apparent to all involved that Altman would have a
difficult time making the transition from Omaha, Nebraska to
Fayetteville, Arkansas. And despite the fact that he held a press
conference yesterday - this hire, like all coaching hires, isn't
completed until the ink dries on a new contract.
So where was our illustrious leader today when Altman sat down to
review
the contract? Why in Augusta, of course. His little pastime of golf was
more important to him than a seamless transition for Coach Altman into
the program.
In the class "Closings 101" everyone learns that you hold hands and
cuddle all the way to the end. But alas, bent grass fairways were a
priority for Frank, not the University of Arkansas.
Can you imagine Chancellor White's disdain at taking Altman through
these precarious final steps without the salesman by his side? If you
don't think he's chapped at Frank look no further than his abrupt
announcement that a search firm would be hired in lieu of Frank's
expertise in the wake of this debacle. In the immortal words of Donald
Trump...Frank - YOU'RE FIRED!
Friends, something is wrong in Fayetteville. Frank and his posse can
keep telling us to look the other way but when a coach commits career
suicide by backing out of a move after accepting the job there's only
one thing that should be obvious to us all. Our basketball program has
some serious problems. Problems that should have been evident enough to
our AD that he disclosed them during the sales pitch.
My guess is Altman found some things out that had he known on the front
end would have kept him from ever accepting the position. We'll likely
never know what these issues were. Maybe he's protecting players by not
divulging what he found. Maybe he has enough integrity to leave and not
publicly blame. I wasn't crazy about his coaching record, but I was
enamored by his obvious honesty and character.
So where does that leave us? We're now about to re-embark on a coaching
search that will no way include "grand-slam" candidates. We will be
very
lucky to get a decent mid-major coach to come here. In addition to the
basketball issues our football program is on the precipice of being
exposed for the sham we know it to be. And all the while, Nero fiddles
on lush courses a thousand miles away.
Sometimes in order to fix things, they have to completely break first.
And sometimes this breaking has to be painful on a grand scale.
Unfortunately, that is where we are at. National media is touting
Creighton's superiority to the U of A. And if you aren't embarrassed
and
shocked by this, well you're not breathing.
The time has come for a reckoning. We will be given penance for years
of
gross mismanagement and cover-ups on the hill. This penance will
include
hiring lesser coaches and bringing in lesser talent...in both the
football and basketball programs. Our Board of Trustees has a simple
choice. We can either embrace the continuance of good-ole-boy
governance, of ignoring elephants in the corners of our rooms, or we
can
make a clean sweep of our athletic department by outright firing the
people who have gotten us in this mess and moving on.
To the Trustees I submit the following. I am at the end of my rope as a
Razorback fan. The noose around this fan's neck has been tightened by
constant lies, vendettas and unprofessionalism. I have been cheated on
and abused. The program I have long supported has been mocking me for
years now. I am wise to it and nothing short of wholesale change will
ever bring me back. I think I speak for thousands who feel the same.
The dawn of a new age is coming. In this new age my passions will be
directed somewhere. You choose where they go.
Bacon out...
but he is a class guy. Good for him and for the Valley.
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