(10-05-2014 08:35 PM)TripleA Wrote: (10-05-2014 04:56 PM)bluebacker Wrote: (10-05-2014 12:14 PM)TripleA Wrote: (10-05-2014 12:08 PM)bluebacker Wrote: (10-05-2014 10:38 AM)1proudpapa Wrote: I firmly believe after last night; he will be our next Cal (salary wise and without the cockiness). The boosters will pay him and his assistants.
After getting 'left behind' because of football I'm hopeful the big money guys get it. I'm betting that they do.
They do. Paying him is not the issue. Whenever it comes to that, the issue will be whether Fuente has the desire to move on to a bigger name program, like Cal eventually did.
No way to read his mind. And it's really way early to speculate. But if we keep him, great. If not, we're in a much better spot than before.
But that's all the energy I'm putting into this subject, for now. At least on here.
If / when we have to replace Fuente I hope that use the exact same search committee to recommend the hire. They clearly got this one right.
Actually, if I recall correctly, the committee recommended, and we were set to hire, the assistant from Alabama. But at the last minute, Raines went off the reservation, and called in Fuente for an interview, and overruled the committee, or won them over, or perhaps Fuente did. I may have the details a little muddled, but that's the gist of it.
You're close to what happened but it was a little more to it than that.
I was personally very honored that President Raines asked me to be on the search committee. McElwain was the front runner. When negotiations regarding salary was discussed, there was no problem, but what did surface was the buyout agreement
if he were to be released from his contract. His agent was very adamant about a no buy out clause and this didn't sit well with President Raines nor the committee and especially committee Chair, Brad Martin. (Remember at the time we still had 3 full years to pay on Wests' contract at nearly a million a year). Discussions about this subject were discussed and McElwain and his agent were asked to think about this and get back to the committee that evening with an alternative plan. In the meantime, we decided we were going to interview other candidates in case this situation didn't work out (remember, Plan B better be just as good as Plan A).
Next interview was Fuente (at 5pm on a rainy and cold Friday evening in New York) and he blew the socks off the committee with his attitude, exuberance and organizational skills as well as his knowledge about the position and what it entailed. That was it!
If McElwain and his agent didn't come back with an alternative plan for a buyout, we had our next choice.
Expecting a call that evening from McElwains' agent.....well it never came and come morning, the committee decided that Fuente would be offered the position. A call did come the next morning from McElwains' agent, but President Raines and the committee felt that they would move forward with Coach Fuente who agreed to a buyout proposition the University could live with and withdrew the offer to McElwain (who, by the way was a great interview and would have also done very well here, in my opinion). The committee under Brad Martin was solely responsible for the hire doing all the due diligence provided by the search firm that was required to hire the right person for the position.
So, if not for a simple buy out provision, Jim McElwain may have been the Head Coach instead of Fuente, but I, for one, am glad things have worked out as they have. I believe that Fuente will be with us for several more years, but if it doesn't work out that way, the program will be light years ahead of what it would have been under previous coaching staffs and we will all be indebted to Justin for helping this program, this University, and most of all the kids that want to play this game of Football for the Tigers.
/
Bowen better get his list ready.
