Huffins out at Cal

Hawker wrote:

Word was that Stanley Redwine (Kansas) was also high on their list.

True.

I was just saying that she may have interviewed last time, not that I think she should get the job (or not).

Rumor has it that Jerry Martin the legendary high school coach from Maryland has the inside postion on this job.

The Phoenix has risen! Time for a new head coach at Cal...

Front runner:

Bryan Fetzer - This guy seems like the only one on the current Cal staff with his head screwed on straight. He is a very nice guy, and I would be pleased to see him get the job. He is not a "retread", since he has only been a Cal assistant for three years.

Next-in-line:

Tony Sandoval - Has had SOME success with distance runners, but given that he is probably close to retirement, I don't think he will be selected for the head coaching position. Plus, he seems a little too "absent-minded"/disorganized to handle the head coaching reigns.

Ed Miller - I think it would be a mistake to go with "old blood". Seems like a decent guy, but this program needs a fresh start.

Long shots:

Vin Lananna - He might be eying a Jeff Tedford-esque salary at Cal. Don't see him leaving Oregon, but it's obvious this guy runs for the money. If Cal has enough dough, he might be a possibility.

Track Dude - Known for his unbridled optimism and knowledge of Cal sports, he must at least be considered. He has stood by Cal track's side when no other rational man would. Claims to know more about Cal track than the athletes themselves. But what are his qualifications? And he does seem a little creepy?

Jeff Tedford - This guy is a winner, and would make a great track coach. No BS if he was in charge. The donations would flow in, DeSean Jackson would win the Pac-10 400 meter title, and Cal track would be back. Does he have enough time to coach track given his commitments to football? Maybe, just maybe, it could work?

wejo - Co-founder of letsrun.com, which alone qualifies him for the job. Since many in the Cal community are letsrun readers and posters, he'd be a great fit. Make it happen, wejo, make it happen.

Any other insights would be appreciated. Just thought I would get the list started for the AD.

Pretty funny suggestions.

I think someone more qualified than Fetzer could be found. Look at his bio on the Cal website. Not much there. Plus, I've seen him verbally degrading some of his athletes while they were working out at Edwards. Maybe he was just having a bad day, but it wasn't constructive criticism.

Ed is the glue that's held it together for years. The talent he recruits and coaches almost always produces at the Pac-10 and NCAA level. If you checked the All America certificates, you'd find that Ed coached the vast majority of them and you'd find that the majority of his former athletes have tremendous amount of respect and appreciation for him. (No, I'm not one of Ed's former athletes, but I am a Cal Track Alum).

Vin is not a viable long shot. Cal can raise money, but not as much as you think and I do not think we will every see them spend 1/4 of what Vin makes at Oregon.

Tedford would be sweet... :-] Or how about the head track coach just reports to him.

I wish I had some good suggestions of my own to offer... I'll have to think about it.

Martin Smith.

It will be interesting if the search committee find those NJCAA and NCAA ghosts in Fetzers closet.

Yes, Martin Smith might jump at this opportunity to return to the Pac10 and get some revenge against Oregon.

If you want some fresh blood in there, how about you look at the coaches of the top mid-major teams at Outdoor NCAA's the past 5 years or so. Those guys are hungry and seem to be in the top 25 with less resources than the big boys. Anyone care to look at the list to see who those would be, I'm just too lazy.

Krunksta wrote:

This again goes back to some of the roots of the problem we see so often in Track here. Just because someone competed at these high levels that justifies them as a great coach. I have coached some excellent athletes that have competed on USA teams and they are some of the last ones that would be good coaches. Not saying this is the case here but in many scenarios like this.

A lot of the roots are exposed right here on LetsRun. How many times are people giving advise blown off because they can't run X:XX for event Y? The default assumption is to coach a fast runner you have to be a fast runner (or were one not long ago). Evidence continues to show coaching and running talent are two different things.

In any case it saddens me to see the viatrol against Chris. I knew Chris when he was in Winston training for the Olympics and still see his old coach from time to time. I didn't know Chris well as he was a teetotaler and didn't hang around the same places I did socially very often. He joined us for some runs and seemed a nice enough guy. I guess he got in over his head, but the angry denunciations certainly don't sound like the Chris I knew. A shame no doubt.

midwaste wrote:

Martin Smith.

Horrible choice.

Knows how to build a balanced track and field program.

But is a very nasty person at times and lacks important social skills and people management ability. Not a good choice, especially after Huffins.

Fetzer will wind up being the interim coach over the next 12 months. That's my guess. He has the respect of the athletes in the program, is a great recruiting coordinator, and his position as head coach will solidify the recruiting class that is coming in with the likes of Jahvid Best, Cherrelle Garrett, Chelsey Reilly, Allison Stokke, Martin Maric, etc.

Fetzer has a great relationship with many of the high school and juco coaches in the State, and understands the academic challenges that come with recruiting at Cal.

As for money, there is no way that Cal is gonna offer the $400,000 salary that Lananna walks around with up in Eugene, let alone the additional $200,000 deferred comp ( should Vin stay over 5 years ) + performance bonuses. That just isn't realistic at Cal. And for those that aren't aware of the priorities in the athletic department at Cal, there is this "little" thing called The Stadium Project that is currently taking up about $160 million.

That having been said, I would suspect that anyone that AD Sandy Barbour interviews over the next year is gonna be taking a close look at the T&F budget and how it ranks in the Conference. Cal fields 27 intercollegiate sports, and there is a big demand for money, especially towards the new 125,000 square foot training facility and football stadium seismic retro-fit.

it was a joke...sort of.

midwaste wrote:

it was a joke...sort of.

The REAL joke is that people have spent all of this time talking about a head coaching position in Track & Field.

No one cares about track and field.

You'd think that after reading Letsrun there would be a huge amount of fans showing up at conference meets, regional meets, and the NCAA's.

Take a look at the Pac-10 Conference for example.

Pac-10's were held recently at Stanford. The grandstands there hold a little over 1700 people. Trust me when I tell you that the stands weren't even filled to capacity.

People also talk about how Eugene is "Track city".

Get real people! They couldn't even fill up the stands at last week's Regionals. Most of the 4,200 spectators there were FAMILY members of kids who were competing.

Face it.

No one cares about track.

Track is DEAD.

If you don't believe me, feel free to attend the NCAA's next week in Sacramento and let me know how many people show up.

That's the REALITY check.

Ah, but of course you MUST know that the stadium project cannot compete with those dirty hippies that live in the trees...

Interesting take Tedhead.

I think Cal Track & Field will have a new Director before school begins in late August. I'll bet you if you like. :-) There will be no need for an interim person.

When you describe Fetzer, it sounds like you are really describing Ed Miller. "great relationships, understands academic challenges, respect..." etc. You are the first and only person I have heard apply these qualities to Fetzer. But, I suppose it could be true of him. To me, his value is subject to scrutiny as are many of the decisions that were made while Chris was at the helm, as Chris brought him to the table.

I would imagine you are correct with your assumptions about the relative track & field budgets of the various Pac-10 T&F programs. I would guess Cal is near the bottom of that list.

In addition, and to overstate the obvious, when trying to attract a head coach, they may have less to offer in salary, and that salary doesn't go nearly as far with the Bay Area's high cost of living and median home prices. If the Cal coach makes 100k, I'd bet the Alabama coach makes $160k, and can afford an absolute Palace in Tuscaloosa. Meanwhile the Cal coach (if that's their only source of income) will struggle to find a fixer they can afford in a transitional neighborhood.

To the poster who said track is dead, even in tracktown. Well, I have no delusions that 20,000 will pack Edwards Stadium any day soon to watch Track & Field. It would be sweet if it happened, but I am a realist. What this thread is really about is people who have an emotional connection to this program and are weighing in with their thoughts and wishes in that regard.

I'd like ask everyone this question... what should we reasonably expect from this program? Given what we know about the priorities (academic & athletic) of the university?

Where should we ask the bar to be set for this next coach?

Kajak Thrower wrote:

Care to explain what decisions Joyce made that were "less than apppropriate"?

do the math. why would any dude go with a female (who is not of relation) to australia for ten days?

from the sfgate article:

Of greater issue to other athletes was the fact that when Joyce, a Canadian still active in her event, went to compete in the British Commonwealth Games in Australia in 2006, Huffins went with her as her coach for 10 days while his Cal team was beginning its outdoor season.

"That definitely put a lot of questions in all our minds about their commitment to the program,'' one current Cal team member said. "That was a huge issue with him as a coach.''

First off, I totally agree with you regards the cost of living in the Bay Area as opposed to other areas in the country, and where a new head coach might be coming from.

Secondly, I wholeheartedly agree with you in regards to Ed Miller. He has incredible knowledge, insight, experience, and value to the program. And your earlier comment was spot on about the number of athletes that he has personally recruited and coached, and how many of those have wound-up getting to the NCAA's and becoming All-Americans. Watching Ed coach the high jump is pretty remarkable. Cal jumpers, Ed Wright ( who won Regionals last weekend ) and Inika McPherson ( who was runner-up on misses to Sharon Day of Cal-Poly ) will certainly attest to that.

On another note, I think that it is a shame that Klech wound up choosing UCLA, as both he and Kevin Craddock have suffered numerous injuries under the training of Tony Veney. In fact, I hear that Craddock's mother is so upset with Coach Veney that I wouldn't be surprised if Kevin goes back to being coached by Remy. Klech's parents are besides themselves too. I often wonder what would have happened if David had choosen to come to Cal instead, and work with Coach Miller. There is "training" and then there is "need-based" training. I get the feeling that the latter would be most applicable to Craddock and Klech, but unfortunately it appears as though they may have not received that kind of training at UCLA. Again, it would have been very interesting to have seen Klech develop under Coach Miller.

One more thing to note . . .

Cal has 16 kids heading to Nationals.

Stanford ( which has similar academic standards ) has 20.

That might be the "bar" to which one could evaluate the program, given that most of the other schools in the Pac-10 aren't even close when it comes to academic standards, and Oregon's legislature continues to show great apathy for their state school system. Just a thought.

In the meantime, we are about to see if AD Sandy Barbour can pull-off yet another great hire, like she did with Jeff Tedford and women's basketball coach, Joanne Boyle. From what I understand, she cares very deeply about the Cal track program.

Time will tell.

And I hope you are right about the timing, Sir.

sj quik wrote:

[quote]Kajak Thrower wrote:

Care to explain what decisions Joyce made that were "less than apppropriate"?

sj quik wrote:do the math. why would any dude go with a female (who is not of relation) to australia for ten days?

Get your facts straight.

Joyce was training with Coach Huffins for the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia. That was a well known fact. One which you were obviously unaware of. Next time, try doing your homework instead of counting to 10.