Ollie Officially Fired

[HuskyHawk]

Oh, c'mon now. If you legitimately thought you were owed 10.6 million, and he's already heard that from one or more attorneys, you're not going to just walk away, family or not. Once he was informed the school no longer wants him, it ceased being a family relationship from Ollie's standpoint. It's now a business negotiation, nothing more.

I'm fine with that. But then I don't want to hear any whining about how we are treating a former player and "member of the family". Kevin is doing what is in his personal interest, even though it is not in the interest of the University or the basketball program. And that is understandable. UConn is acting in the interest of the University and the basketball program. Where does my loyalty lie? To UConn, always.

Side note, my personal view is that nobody in any job, should ever have anything but at will employment. You cease doing the job, you can be fired. Period. I know it isn't like that, but fairness, in my perspective is always based on not collecting money for a job you just got fired from. So I don't feel bad at all for Kevin here. He made a lot of money already.

 

[Sonova]

It's only fair, considering that his maneuvering got us into this mess.

Yeah. He really maneuvered us into that 2014 Chanpionship. Damn him.

 

[Robertelamin]

Back to Auburn.

8 potential candidates for Auburn athletic director

Seven potential candidates for Auburn's next athletic director

Dave Benedict rumors

Thats old news. Auburn hired an AD months ago.

 

[ZenConn]

Well they’d have to fire the guy that was hired in Jan. 18th. Work a little harder....

Sorry, not my line of work. You can't just close your eyes and act like there's no bit of truth in the rumors of him leaving especially when it's coming from different sources. Auburn was one of them. I'm sure there's other destinations.

 

[ZenConn]

Thats old news. Auburn hired an AD months ago.

Yeah. The Auburn job closed. We'll see if he stays or not for greener pastures out of this damn conference.

 

[whaler11]

He just got a big raise after he withdrew himself from the Auburn search..

LOL withdrew himself.

Wish we had someone competent to make the hire.

 

[whaler11]

To all those celebrating the firing with cause:

If it sticks there are some serious sanctions coming our way.

If Ollie wins a legal battle, Benedict and possibly Herbst will be gone.

Either way is messy. Pick your poison.

I pick whatever leads to Benedict and Herbst being gone.

 

[kemba]

Sorry, not my line of work. You can't just close your eyes and act like there's no bit of truth in the rumors of him leaving especially when it's coming from different sources. Auburn was one of them. I'm sure there's other destinations.

Except it didn't. Auburn's job came open, and because of his connections to auburn different places speculated that he could go there. There were never any rumors of actual conversations, and he's never been linked anywhere else. It'd be like saying Jim Calhoun is coming back to UConn because multple people have mentioned that as a possibility, and you are blind if you don't see it.

Only other thing even close to rumors of him leaving were people on here saying since he was tweeting less he might leave.

 

[Scrutineer]

Swanky spot in WeHa Center that Ollie...”frequented.”

Is it a good spot to visit for men in their 70's?

 

[Ts5034]

Love JC. But no.

Here's why. If we bring back JC it's clear it will be for a short period. Maybe not even 3 years. Think of the negative recruiting. "Oh you are visiting UConn? You know by the time you're a sophomore or junior they're going to hire another coach right? He's been out of the game since you were in 6th grade." That kind of thing.

Edsall still has a decade or more left of coaching in him. Calhoun might, but not at the the most competitive level. I think there's a reason he took a job at a DII I school instead of a high major or even a low major school. And I don't think he would back out of his commitment to St. Joe's, either.

The other side to this argument is Larry Brown at SMU. He was 71-72 when he took over for them in their final year in Conference USA, and It was known that Jankovich who was an assistant on his staff was going to take over. Everybody knew there was probably a zero percent chance he would make 5 years but it didnt seem like he had any issues recruiting and being successful. When they moved to the AAC, he won 25+ games in the three years he was there and finished in the top 3 of the league all of those years as well.

If UConn strikes out on Hurley or any of the top 2 or 3 candidates, I would rather Benedict reach out to Calhoun than settle for a coach that really wasnt a top priority just because they need to hire somebody.

 

[The Viking]

It's only fair, considering that his maneuvering got us into this mess.

His maneuvering got us a national championship in 2014. I agree with firing Ollie but people who refuse to give him any credit for what he did his first two years here are stubborn and foolish.

 

[Danzz]

Is it a good spot to visit for men in their 70's?

There are no good spots for men in their 70's. Best bet is get an older Cadillac and do nursing home drive byes especially in the spring. The ones with walkers can't move fast enough to get away from you. Geritol spiked with vodka works well.

 

[Kemba'sYogurt]

Just speculation here, but taking what @Chief00 said earlier about AD Dave already having somebody lined up, I wonder if a deal with Hurley is already in place. Maybe word got out in the program and could account for why URI has been shaky the past week or two.

But on another note, best of luck Kevin. I never got to see Calhoun coach, so KO is the first UConn coach in my memory. Thanks for the title.

At least for next year I'll have a reason to watch the games. I'd watch this year but it seemed like whenever we took a step forward, we took two back. If we even got that far. Hopefully whoever it is coaching next year makes it fun again. I haven't had hope with this program since Purvis' dunk against Kansas two years ago to cut the lead to 7.

Thanks again Kevin.

 

[The Viking]

And I don't think he would back out of his commitment to St. Joe's, either.

Wrong

 

[UConnDan97]

Best of luck to Kevin. He bleeds blue and brought us a national title. I'm really hoping that he'll be looked upon fondly as the years pass for his victories as a player and coach rather than his shortcomings.

Now, we move on to the critical business of getting his replacement right. While I'd love to hit a grand slam with someone like Donovan, I expect that will not be the case. Hoping for the best...

 

[The Viking]

Love JC. But no.

Here's why. If we bring back JC it's clear it will be for a short period. Maybe not even 3 years. Think of the negative recruiting. "Oh you are visiting UConn? You know by the time you're a sophomore or junior they're going to hire another coach right? He's been out of the game since you were in 6th grade." That kind of thing.

Edsall still has a decade or more left of coaching in him. Calhoun might, but not at the the most competitive level. I think there's a reason he took a job at a DII I school instead of a high major or even a low major school. And I don't think he would back out of his commitment to St. Joe's, either.

Were UConn to miss on target a and b, he is the likely fallback and he'd bring someone along who they would tell recruits would be his successor. The successor would have to be a face out on the recruiting trail kids are comfortable with. UConn knows other schools will be pushing the Calhoun will be gone in 1-2 years thing, they aren't stupid.

What about Tom Moore? Moore was integral with UConn recruiting in the 2000's. Spent over a decade with Calhoun, had some good years with Quinnipiac, now with Hurley as an assistant.

 

[hardcorehusky]

I don't like how this has gone down- but here is what AD DB has done:

Firing Ollie for just cause gives UConn the opportunity to pay out less of a payout.

Ollie and UConn go to litigation- kicks the can on when having to MAKE the payout.

KO might be UConn through and through- but money talks. Short term pain with decommits and maybe players leaving- but a new coach could recruit who they want and bring in new bodies- within 2 years this could be an NCAA team- even next year.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

I wouldn't call it "swanky"

... nor WeHa

 

[The Viking]

Is it a good spot to visit for men in their 70's?

If you like a good gin and tonic, absolutely

 

[Chin Diesel]

Never understood those who have the mindset that buyout clauses and the way a firing is handled limits ability to track future high level talent.

Highly successful coaches aren't worried about how their failure will play out. It's because they don't expect to fail. Sure, a good agent watches the coach's back but great coaches are focused on success and being compensated for success.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Yeah. He really maneuvered us into that 2014 Chanpionship. Damn him.

JC thought KO was qualified to run a major college basketball program. He was wrong.

 

[Matrim55]

You could be right about a lot of that, but I don’t see Schmidt as mediocre AT ALL.

Based upon what? In 13 years as a head coach before Jaylen Adams, he had one 20-win season, 2 postseason appearances, and 5 winning seasons. Until these last four years his career record was below .500.

If he's even on the list of candidates it's time to give the program a viking funeral.

 

[Tenspro2002]

His maneuvering got us a national championship in 2014. I agree with firing Ollie but people who refuse to give him any credit for what he did his first two years here are stubborn and foolish.

See my post above.

 

[The Viking]

I was listening to the pregame show on TIC before the SMU game and one thing that stuck out to me was how depressed KO sounded. Like he was a dead man walking and had been told it's basically over....of course now that we hear about this Ollie Larrier thing before the SMU game, wonder if that was on his mind instead or in addition to...

Of course then the SMU coach comes on, tells Joe D that they only returned 3 players, two of which didn't play.....and we still lost.

 

[Husk1881]

How long do people think it is going to take to name a new coach?