Mark Wetmore's Letter to the Editor

"To argue that Jay Johnson wasn't a successful recruiter is f'in ridiculous. He was the best recruiter in the nation."

From the way it's written, I'd guess that "poor results" was about the performance of the middle distance kids, not recruiting. When best-recruiter talk comes up occasionally, I've never seen him mentioned. Kelly Strong is always mentioned, though not everybody agrees.

"His line about uprooting his family is a lie."

Not even Coach Johnson could know if that was a lie or not.

"If anyone has sucked, it has been Wetmore and Burroughs since Johnson (and Barringer) left."

CU has generally improved since he left, but I don't know if one has anything to do with the other. I'm just talking generally, don't know about how middle distance has done.

My only complaint in the article was the editorializing. I'm ok with RT claiming that, just separate it or make it a bracketed editor's comment.

No personal experience to cite here but from my distance a few things seem apparent.

CU's women did better this year than they've done for several years. With the exception of a Barringer collapse at nationals last year, maybe they were doing better last year, too. They were certainly running well mid-season in 2009 before things ground to a halt.

Over the years preceding the last two years, it seemed that a long list of women were almost perpetually injured. And even as recently as last year, Laura Tremblay spent a lot of time on the shelf with an injury.

Call it a hunch, but maybe Burroughs has learned a little over the last few years about how difficult it is to win when the list of those injured is longer than the list of those running. I'm guessing there's been some moderation of her training modalities.

I don't mean to take sides here, but that seems a reasonable explanation of what we've seen over the last four or five years.

What I don't understand is how Wetmore gets to hire his own "significant other" for a position such as this at a state university. Does this sort of preferential hiring get a wink and a nod in Boulder so long as it doesn't happen within the football program? Does it get a pass because the relationship is not formalized by marriage?

When Jay was recruiting, he was routinely in the "best recruiter" conversation.

And when has CU ever been a middle distance powerhouse? Jay was the best middle distance coach they ever had.

Except that Jay didn't have a "family" when he worked at Colorado. He had a wife who I think was a lawyer. So, Wetmore kept him around so that he didn't uproot Jay's wife from a job she could do anywhere?

We are talking about opinions here but I think it is pretty obvious that Colorado (a) does not recruit as well as when Jay was around and (b) does not have as good a middle distance program. Those were Jay's jobs.

Is this letter to the editor legit? Can't find evidence on the RT website and don't subscribe.

sobo wrote:

Is this letter to the editor legit? Can't find evidence on the RT website and don't subscribe.

Yes, it is in this month's issue that just arrived.

Just wondering why, based on other comments, especially referring to another coach in the article, Jay just can't take the high road and not say shit. He is a blowhard at best, and an average coach from the outside looking in. What exactly has he done?

[quote]Wetmore is done wrote:

Except that Jay didn't have a "family" when he worked at Colorado. He had a wife who I think was a lawyer. So, Wetmore kept him around so that he didn't uproot Jay's wife from a job she could do anywhere?

[quote]

You can't practice law anywhere. If you practice in a state where you aren't licensed you can be disbarred. Depending on the state rules and whether you have permission to do so you can practice on a limited basis but short of taking the bar exam no one is permitted to practice law if not licensed in that state.

redicul wrote:

You can't practice law anywhere. If you practice in a state where you aren't licensed you can be disbarred. Depending on the state rules and whether you have permission to do so you can practice on a limited basis but short of taking the bar exam no one is permitted to practice law if not licensed in that state.

Seriously? That's your contribution? The point is that she could take the bar in another state and practice law there. Plus, most states have lateral entry rules.

Also, you can't be disbarred from a state you aren't licensed in, idiot.

I don't see how the "uprooting" arguement is valid. Whetmore says "I only kept him around because I'm a nice guy." Obviously, losing your job is tough no matter what field you are in, and moving is also tough. Whetmore is correct in saying that it would have been rough for Jay to have to move. What isn't clear is whether he is being sincere about these reasons--I don't think so. I somehow doubt Whetmore planned on giving Jay the boot months earlier but decided to let him hang around for a while because he's a nice guy.

fsdafsd wrote:

I don't see how the "uprooting" arguement is valid. Whetmore says "I only kept him around because I'm a nice guy." Obviously, losing your job is tough no matter what field you are in, and moving is also tough. Whetmore is correct in saying that it would have been rough for Jay to have to move. What isn't clear is whether he is being sincere about these reasons--I don't think so. I somehow doubt Whetmore planned on giving Jay the boot months earlier but decided to let him hang around for a while because he's a nice guy.

This isn't a mystery, any employer should relate to this, an employee that is increasingly problematic weighed against the trouble of replacing said employee and sympathy for said person.

It's not like she was without merit, she was a multiple time All-American athlete, and was hired as an assistant coach. Cohabitation with the head coach should not prevent her from being hired as much as it should not be the sole reason for the hire.

far away wrote:

What I don't understand is how Wetmore gets to hire his own "significant other" for a position such as this at a state university. Does this sort of preferential hiring get a wink and a nod in Boulder so long as it doesn't happen within the football program? Does it get a pass because the relationship is not formalized by marriage?

You say things like "everyone I talked to hates the assistant coach" - Would you mind telling us more about who "everyone" is? For all we know, "everyone" is your 2 pot smoking buddies who thought they were really fast because they ran 10:35 in the 2 mile in class Q in Idaho...but then got cut at CU because they suck and are pot heads, thus have an axe to grind.

And how can you say Jay is undeniably the best recruiter in the country, or best mid-distance coach they've ever had?

I know very little about Johnson, Colorado, or Wetmore, how they assign coaching, recruiting, or other duties, and thus frankly don't care all that much about this. I have nothing against Jay and for all I know he IS a great recruiter/coach, and Wetmore is a bumb...I just can't stand reading claims that are intended to be taken as fact when they're simply based off weak anecdotal evidence or distant observations.

Wetmore is done wrote:

redicul wrote:

You can't practice law anywhere. If you practice in a state where you aren't licensed you can be disbarred. Depending on the state rules and whether you have permission to do so you can practice on a limited basis but short of taking the bar exam no one is permitted to practice law if not licensed in that state.

Seriously? That's your contribution? The point is that she could take the bar in another state and practice law there. Plus, most states have lateral entry rules.

Also, you can't be disbarred from a state you aren't licensed in, idiot.

1. Taking the bar after having passed one state bar and having practiced in that state is not appealing.

2. You can be disbarred from the state where you are licensed.

Wetmore is thinking with his "Johnson" - pun intended.

How did the CU men do this last year? I rest my case.

Wetmore is a control freak, hence former athlete being his significant other and now his underling ... Wetmore couldn't "control" J.J. and he was forced out by the significant other.

When did Wetmore and Burroughs become a couple?

For the record, I said that everyone I know associated with the program (I know 11 to be exact), has said the Heather has been bad for the program.

You don't read very well. I said that when Jay was the head recruiter, that he was routinely mentioned in any "best" recruiter conversation. I never said it was undeniable. This, however, is undeniable: Jay was better than Wetmore and Heather combined.

As for middle distance coaching, Colorado has never had success at the 800/1500. He threw Jay's the dregs and he made them better. Wetmore wouldn't even let his 1500 "star" train with Johnson.

Fine.

watch it wrote:

It's not like she was without merit, she was a multiple time All-American athlete, and was hired as an assistant coach. Cohabitation with the head coach should not prevent her from being hired as much as it should not be the sole reason for the hire.

Your signature is a little predatory. Let's hope you're up to discussing the pertinent issue here in spite of that. Almost every workplace these days, and especially workplaces in educational institutions, have clear rules disallowing a spouse from being in a supervisory position over his/her partner. There are also very clear rules within state agencies that should preclude this kind of hire in the first place. Burroughs may well have been as qualified as any other person in the pool, but being Wetmore's roomie should be reason enough to preclude the hire.

Again, the catch here may be that Wetmore and Burroughs aren't officially married, but that's pretty specious reasoning. The appearance of preferential treatment hangs all over this one.

Wetmore may be a great coach, but this one should not fly.

Using the term 'undeniable' was an exageration of your claims. You still say that Jay was a better recruiter than Heather and Mark combined. How do you know that, what evidence backs that up...what a couple of guys on the team said? What are these "conversations" that include Jay as one of the best recruiters in the country?

Again, I have NOTHING aginst Jay and for all I know Wetmore is an incompetent ass. My point is that you're making pretty bold claims meant to compliment Jay/disparage Wetmore and act as though they're proven facts when in reality they're just opinions based on some distant observations or contact with a couple of kids affiliated with the team.

As for Jay's recruiting v. Heather/Mark: compare recruiting classes before and after Jay's tenure. I think, on balance, most would agree that Wetmore's best years were partially due to Jay's ability to convince Footlocker Finalist to choose Colorado (often for very little money).

These conversations occur on message boards or over beers with coaches of all levels. Have you seriously never heard anyone say that Jay was an insane recruiter?

My point has always been that Wetmore's letter to the editor was ridiculous and dishonest. It is a willful reconstruction of the truth.

I also do not think that I have said anything "bold." Most of this is pretty common knowledge to folks who know the CU program. This is what makes Wetmore's letter seem to dishonest. Jay took the high road in that article; the reported did not. Wetmore bashes them both (perhaps Jay the hardest).

Wetmore will never admit that hiring his live-in girlfriend was a terrible move professionally. That doesn't mean it isn't true.