I expected Smith would be gone and it might even be a mutual decision. But that's pretty damning if he basically gave up before the civil war. I don't understand what advantage he got to do that instead of just working hard for 1 week then leaving. Maybe after UW loss and the Beavs were eliminated from Pac12 title he just didn't care and had totally given up. Don't see why you couldn't grind through a 6 day week to finish that out though. Lose most of my respect for Smith if this indeed is true. Beavs were already screwed so this just seems even more upsetting, kicking someone who is down. I just assumed Smith would say a lot of nice things and that he's very sad to go but has to head elsewhere. Really no benefit to leaving in this manner unless somehow he felt betrayed or he's just a sleezy guy.
I don't know? Everyone who is coming down on Smith seems to not like the timing? Not sure he had a choice in the timing and i'm pretty sure he simply wanted to be honest in the way he responded to questions. Fact is this was leaked and he was being confronted. He went to his players first and let them know the deal so they all didn't get blindsided. With the state of the Pac 12 who honestly can blame a guy for making a sound career descision?
Oh and By the way I'm a Beaver Alum so If there is anyone who might have a sour taste It could be someone like me who attended and played sports at OSU.
I haven't seen anyone critical of the timing, if that's after the civil war. If it's before the civil war yeah the timing is a big problem, you don't discuss that in the locker room with the team while they are preparing to play games that you are still the coach of.
If asked about leaks you just say I haven't agreed to anything I'm focused on beating the Ducks and will worry about next season after our game. No reason to say your leaving before the civil war nor is there a reason to skip the normal game preparations. Coaches leave football teams all the time, but they don't do it a few days prior to the season ending. Just wait until the season ends and do it after. Yeah there's still a bowl game but it's normal to have coaching changes between the end of the season and then. It's not normal to announce those changes to your team during the season.
I can. I want coaches of college athletic teams to be fully committed to the team they are coaching through the end of the season in which they are coaching. Anyone who's unwilling to do that--unwilling to temporarily put their career aspirations aside for the benefit of the students they are allegedly leading, mentoring, etc--is demonstrating character that I would not want in my school's head coach. As to whether or not he had a choice in the timing...any school that would diminish a potential coach's chances because said coach put the kids first is not a school at which a coach of any character should want to work.
Some things to consider but from where I'm sitting with very little to no perspective on what the conditions were or what was said this just seems a little presumptuous. It was being widely reported before the game had even started. Thinking he should have denied or played this off until after the game would have been obtuse at best.
Again this just seems like timing. I don't have the inside knowledge of what was happening and I certainly was not in on the interviews that were happening for a week prior to the game. Just not sure he had much choice in the timing and I personally don't have a problem with him being honest about the way things went down. Even here on this board there have been conversations pretty much all year (Even More as the wins mounted) about him leaving at years end.
if it was valid rumors beforehand, no he cant lie about it. But he can conceal it if it hadn't gone public. How did it the news go public?
Multiple conversations had been happening. Of that nobody can deny. Next the AD Scott Barnes himself put out a statement that it was one of the priorities of their program to keep Smith. For three days prior to the Civil War game twitter was full of rumors and eventually during the game it was pretty much confirmed. Immediately after the game every question was focused on his future. As I have already said (and this is just my opinion) I don't have a problem with him preparing his players before the news broke. Just my take.
I suppose it depends on the timeline? was he forced into letting them know because of the rumors, or did he pull them aside priork to any public knowledge? I can respect letting them know, but not so much if it was BECAUSE the news was already everywhere. Im not up to speed on all of it, just that if he did talk to the players prior, i hope it was genuine and not forced from the media.
This isn't a perfect world and college football isn't an oasis of what should be... more and more it's a business driven by the bottom line. Michigan State understandably wants their next coach in place ASAP to hold together whats left of their recruiting class and be as ready as possible when the flood gates of the transfer portal open shortly. They risk becoming a doormat of their conference and being part of the next round of cuts in ESPN & FOX's master plan. It's reasonable to believe their offer to Smith was time dependent and that they would pivot to another coach if he drags his feet at all. If he stayed true to the Beavers and missed out on that opportunity, there may not be another that fit him as well available this offseason. Sit out a year and he likely loses his whole staff of coaches who haven't been banking 5M per and need to work. His staff is a good portion of what makes him an attractive coaching candidate and he has responsibilities to them as well. I agree that this all sucks for the Beavers players & fans but Smith was faced with a rough choice where he's either incredibly stupid or the bad guy at his alma mater. STOMP
Oh, I'm not saying that he should have denied or played it off. I'm saying that he shouldn't have even been going through the interview or hiring process at all during the season. Call it obtuse or naive or pollyanna, but that's my opinion.
You're right. And I agree. But in today's college football landscape... I'm just not sure how practical that is. Players can leave pretty much whenever they want. It seems harsh to expect a coach in Smith's position (sinking ship at OSU, beyond his control, and in fact in the face of his incredible efforts and success) to go down with the ship. He was (is) such a credit to the school, and they screwed the pooch with their decision making. I don't blame him at all.
No, I wouldn't want or expect him to "go down with the ship". What I would want is for his entire focus during the season to be on the Beavers, and to tell all suitors that he won't discuss future opportunities until the current season is complete. And I readily acknowledge that is not the practical way to operate, but in my mind it's the right way.
First, I'm truly sorry Beaver fans are having to go through this. Ducks have had recent coaches leave for "better coaching jobs" which is a punch to the gut. But this coaching thing and the Pac 12 thing is a fuck ton for fans to deal with. With that said, it seemed pretty obvious that Smith leaving was a strong possibility. I posted that in this very thread that I could see schools coming for him. If it was obvious to me, it should have been way obvious to your Athletic Director. Once the Pac 12 went off the rails he should have gone public with a fundraising campaign to get Smith more money. It wouldn't have been MSU $10mil a year money but if you would have gotten Smith $8mill he would have looked like a giant douche if he accepted that and then left. WSU AD saw all this coming before the start of the season and claimed poor and needed money. Your AD has blamed the Ducks, had the Beaver mascot team up with the Cougar mascot, and put all of his eggs in this giant basket of magical Pac-12 money that will save everything. When in reality that money is probably going to be tied up in litigation for a long time. I don't see your AD being the right person for this job during this difficult time.
