Cal-job

Stanley coached Davis to his NCAA title(s) and Silvey to his bronze medal in 96'.

gotcha, thanks for the clarification.

Yep!! Stan was the man!!Calvin, actually moved back to Kansas to be with him in 2002aw well...

Cal Alum wrote:

You may want to re-think the statement about Redwine coaching Calvin Davis. Something tells me that during his best years someone else worked with him. I'll ask someone who knows and get an answer.

In any case Huffins is still the man for the job.

I'm still just curious as to why they bothered reopening the job if everyone is still talking about the same old candidates! Have any new names been mentioned?

left SC in 2001 following break up with Melissa Morrison

The biggest Cal alumnus/financial difference-maker is Powerbar's Brian Maxwell, who singlehandedly sweetened the head track coach's salary pot to $100K plus incentives for the Cal job in hopes of attracting a wider pool of candidates and keeping one in the Cal fold. Rumor has it Maxwell and others will also finance some of the scholarships, given that Cal operates with a paltry budget that allows it to pay for roughly half of its scholarships than it is allotted by the NCAA. TunaBoat may not be aware of Cal's top-5 to top-10 ranked track squads in the 1980s, but the budgetary shortfall (and freeze since 1991) is one main reason Cal is not a powerhouse at this moment (independent of coaching competence or lack thereof).

As soon as Erv Hunt stepped aside, Maxwell re-opened his purse strings as promised. And I've heard through a creditable source that Erv (on the hiring committee) is stacking the game against Chris Huffins because they don't get along so well. If true that stinks. Erv Hunt should be allowed very little say in who gets hired at Cal. But Gladstone, though he is Erv's friend, is not afraid to think for himself. He'll hire who thinks is best, Erv Hunt be damned.

Fair enough, he's coached an NCAA champ who chose to change to another coach to reach a higher level.

Still, the key questions about Redwine remain unanswered by you or anyone else.

Why does he want to leave Kansas after only two years?

As a head coach have his teams ever won a conference track and field championship? Afterall Tulsa is the powerhouse WAC.

Has he coached an NCAA champ since leaving Arkansas?

Will he bolt for Arkansas when that job opens in a few years?

Could he be effective in the Cal environment?

There are clearly as many if not more questions unanswered regarding Mr. Redwine than there are about Huffins.

Perhaps, Brian should not accept salary for his services? He is rich. This would be a great contribution to the program with those conditions.

my thoughts

Does somebody want to explain to me how being a talented athlete qualifies you to be a good head coach? That's pure bs -- look at the top coaches today ... Webb, Thornton, Lanana, McDonnell, Wetmore. None of these guys were world class, and they all have great teams.

I'm tired of hearing about how somebody was such a stud as an athlete and so OBVIOUSLY they'll end up being a great coach.

Huffins may be the man for the job, because he's a Cal alum and understands the culture. He may get a recruiting boost because of his athletic status. And he may know his stuff. But stop this great athlete = great coach crap.

Stop it because you said so?? Noonass

Noonan wrote:

And he may know his stuff. But stop this great athlete = great coach crap.

Thanks calbear...keep us informed...I think this whole thing is quite interesting...

Whoa, slow down, Noonan. I just read every post in this thread, and not a one says that Huffins will be a great coach because he is a former world-class athlete. In fact, not one says he will be a great coach.

Fact of the matter is, he has been coaching for 5 years now and has PROVEN to be a tireless recruiter and good coach. Granted, that's not a lot of time put in, which would naturally make one question whether or not he's ready to be a head coach, but do you pass up someone who clearly shows the potential to take Cal to the next level just because he hasn't coached for 20-some years?

And yes, there are great coaches who were not world-class athletes. And there are world-class athletes who are crappy coaches, no doubt. But I believe that Huffins status as an accomplished decathlete certainly enhances his coaching ability as he has familiarity with, if not expertise in, such a wide range of events. That experience will not likely hinder his ability to lead a D1 program.

Stop trying to start shit when you don't have your facts straight.

IMHO, Gladstone will make a good choice in the end.

OneKeg, Bopper and others, again, please consider how your comments here in this forum may impact the program. IMHO, in your rush to be "in the know" you are providing little more than unconstructive gossip at best. Obviously, you are free to say what you want, and while we both may care a great deal about the program, from my perspective your comments are not constructive.

Cal Alum, your comments on Redwine/Huffin's hardly seem objective. Do you have a personal stake in this?

At this point, I think it would be more helpful to forward our individual thoughts and well supported coaching nominations directly to Steve Gladstone. Providing thoughtful input to those making the hiring decision is probably a better use of time, than further discussion on this thread. The more data available to Gladstone, in particular, data supported by facts, that we can provide, the more likely he will be able to make the best decision for the future of California Track & Field. Perhaps the best candidates are not even on the radar yet.

Go Bears!

word up!!!

calbear wrote:

"Stop trying to start shit when you don't have your facts straight.

John McDonnell was a world class runner. He qualified for the Olympic team and he beat Jim Ryun at his prime. You are a moron if you think being a top runner has nothing to do with being a good coach. It is not always a direct correlation, but it definitely makes a difference in some cases.

As far as Redwine coaching 800 runners. Hasn't Gruber run 1:46? Stanley coached runners like Derrick Thompson, Vince Henderson, Calvin Davis and others, who were not only All Americans, but STUDS. Stanley is a hard worker and has produced results at Arkansas, Tulsa and Kansas. I guess he would want the Cal job as a new environment and able to compete with Stanford and other West Coast schools. That, along with a ton more money. Cal is not a stepping stone to Arkansas. With Cal's tougher academic guidelines, he'd have his work cut out for him more there than at Lawrence.

Cal Track and Field Alum, thanks for your input. I don't really want to contradict you as I believe you want what's best for the program. However, I seriously doubt that a letter to the AD (even a fed-exed one) is going to have any influence at this point in the process.

Maybe I'm missing something in the previous posts, but I just don't see how the various comments in this thread could possibly have a negative affect on the program. Perhaps bashing either Redwine or Huffins plants some seed of doubt as to their capabilities should one of them be hired, but I just don't think posters on this board wield that kind of power.

I think that One Keg, Big Booper and the rest of us Cal folks want to see someone hired who has the potential to turn Cal into a powerhouse (given a few years). But perhaps you are right that further speculation does nothing to enhance the current or future situation. That said, I will refrain from making any more predictions, but I can't say that I won't respond to posts containing misinformation.

Gruber ran 1:46.x in '00 under Gary Schwartz. He also ran 3:41 prior to being coached by Redwine/Clark. Just a clarification.

calbear wrote:

However, I seriously doubt that a letter to the AD (even a fed-exed one) is going to have any influence at this point in the process.

Steve Gladstone has an e-mail account. Seems like many of you would know the address they way you talk on this board. If you don't have it, just call his office and ask for it.

calbear wrote:

Maybe I'm missing something in the previous posts, but I just don't see how the various comments in this thread could possibly have a negative affect on the program.

If you were Brian Maxwell and you saw your name tossed around with references to your "purse strings" how would that make you feel? What if you were a coaching candidate and were reading some of these posts?

And if you are a part of the Cal Track family, it's one thing to be critical of Erv, Tony, Huffins, Sawyers, or whoever, privately, in house. It's another thing to do it publically.

Last but not least, I don't think it's too late to try to help with the hiring process. And trying, with all due respect, is surely a better use of your time than refuting pointless gossip on this board.

Anyway, that's just my two cents. Some people will get it, some won't. And I know I can't stop what happens on a message board.

Go Bears!

PS: OneKeg if you are Carl Rose, you know it's all good, but I got to call it like I see it.

Here's my take on the situation.....

"And I know I can't stop what happens on a message board."

This isn't "a message board"!!! This is THE message board!! And what makes you think you can call one of our own, OneKeg, by his real name!?!? Sheesh!!

In case anyone is wondering, I am just kidding.