Mike Smith has yet to prove he can build a program back up. Remember that he walked into a powerhouse that was fully stocked and he has kept that going. It’s a lot harder to build it up which is what he would have to do at Oregon and for what? He will get two more Young’s and some Sahlmans which will fill his cupboards for the next 5-6 years.
Oregon didn't go after Jerry right away, he wasn't the first choice. From what I hear he wasn't even in the top three. Enough people turned it down that it trickled back to him and this is why he is coaching there. I don't think anything corrupt happened in the hiring process with Nike I just think Jerry was who was left after several great coaches turned it down.
For what it's worth I think Jerry will be a great coach and has proven success at the NCAA level so I'm sure he will do so again..
Who turned them down?
Hard to know how wide a net was cast. Scott Raczko, Tim Rowberry, Sean Cleary, Ashton Eaton, Deena Kastor?
There's a lot of money being thrown around for top coaches right now. I heard Tennessee offered Mike Smith $450K and he turned them down. Carlson is likely at $350K-$400K.
Oregon didn't go after Jerry right away, he wasn't the first choice. From what I hear he wasn't even in the top three. Enough people turned it down that it trickled back to him and this is why he is coaching there. I don't think anything corrupt happened in the hiring process with Nike I just think Jerry was who was left after several great coaches turned it down.
For what it's worth I think Jerry will be a great coach and has proven success at the NCAA level so I'm sure he will do so again..
Universities don't offer their 4th choice a 7-year contract, let alone one worth $3.4 million.
That isn't a contract you give out unless you are 100% sure you have your man. Is it possible there were other highly sought after candidates? Yes, but I'm sure those few being considered for this amount would be considered splitting hairs as far as which they would feel comfortable in this role.
Jerry was absolutely on the shortlist for this job. If he wasn't it would be a shorter duration contract. Locking in a new hire for this long is only something you can do with a lot of confidence.
The coaches who turned the job down weren't all distance coaches and I can say confidently they would have offered them similar money. Do you not remember who backs this program?
There's a lot of money being thrown around for top coaches right now. I heard Tennessee offered Mike Smith $450K and he turned them down. Carlson is likely at $350K-$400K.
Universities don't offer their 4th choice a 7-year contract, let alone one worth $3.4 million.
That isn't a contract you give out unless you are 100% sure you have your man. Is it possible there were other highly sought after candidates? Yes, but I'm sure those few being considered for this amount would be considered splitting hairs as far as which they would feel comfortable in this role.
Jerry was absolutely on the shortlist for this job. If he wasn't it would be a shorter duration contract. Locking in a new hire for this long is only something you can do with a lot of confidence.
The coaches who turned the job down weren't all distance coaches and I can say confidently they would have offered them similar money. Do you not remember who backs this program?
The money was the least notable part that I mentioned. And I didn't mention event groups at all so I'm not sure why you bring that up at all.
A 7-year contract is never given to someone they don't have extreme confidence in. The only point I made was that Jerry was on a very short list of potential coaches for this job. The moment Oregon would have to move to a lesser tier hire they would no longer be offering a contract that long and would bring in the best that they could knowing it was a chance for them to prove themselves or they will be searching for a new director in 2-4 years.
The coaches who turned the job down weren't all distance coaches and I can say confidently they would have offered them similar money. Do you not remember who backs this program?
The money was the least notable part that I mentioned. And I didn't mention event groups at all so I'm not sure why you bring that up at all.
A 7-year contract is never given to someone they don't have extreme confidence in. The only point I made was that Jerry was on a very short list of potential coaches for this job. The moment Oregon would have to move to a lesser tier hire they would no longer be offering a contract that long and would bring in the best that they could knowing it was a chance for them to prove themselves or they will be searching for a new director in 2-4 years.
YOU brought up the contract and money, I'm just bringing up the facts.
I'm saying he was not offered the job 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd. It is also possible they had great confidence in multiple guys and I'm sure when they got down to their 5th choice they were a bit desperate to sweeten the pot. I don't care about what you think a contract offer should be I'm just telling you what happened.
I wonder if Knight is part of the problem at Oregon if she rejected that position even with Robert Johnson gone. She turned down the distance position at Oregon in 2018, in addition to the director's position at Stanford. Gags recommended she not take those jobs, for whatever reason. "Stanford was always a dream job for me," she says in the letsrun interview. "As I went through that process I realized the dream was no longer the same." She said she is very happy there and content with her kids being happy. Maybe she would move when they are off to college.
Former Eugene resident03/14/2021 6:42pm EDT5 years ago
In 2018 Taylor turned down Oregon to replace Maurica Powell. Instead the Ducks hired Helen Lehman-Winters. Look at the trajectory of the two programs since then. Bummer.
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