Ollie Officially Fired

[beakumhawks]

This sucker got really ugly really fast. I can't blame Coach Ollie. Being fired for cause will leave a stain that will make it tougher for him to find another NCAA job.

 

[UConnNick]

Ollie will contest UConn's firing for 'just cause'

And the battle lines are drawn. Sadly, I fear it's going to end badly for all concerned.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

Short of NBE commish Val Ackerman personally witnessing a wrecking ball demolishing our FB stadium, the NBE isn't inviting us.

So true...but if we want to be the best team for all AAC sports, we need to stop dreaming to get into a P5 for now and be the best AAC members - in all sports. Then, if a P5 expand, we can say we got great teams.

I'm afraid to see what'll happen when Gino retires... I bet if the WBB gets 3 loses...we will demand the coach be fired...

 

[JcHusky95]

This sucker got really ugly really fast. I can't blame Coach Ollie. Being fired for cause will leave a stain that will make it tougher for him to find another NCAA job.

Yeah, that shot was fired back pretty quickly. Although I think losing the legal battle for "just cause" will ultimately be a worse stain than walking away. If it really is just about the money then I suppose you can't blame the man. $10m is a lot of money at stake. I have to assume UConn and AD did their due diligence before making the necessary call. Ollie did win a NC with Calhoun's players (arguably). But overall he was far from successful. What ultimately will happen imo is a small settlement to make this go away. And KO gets an assistant coaching job in the NBA. Hopefully UCONN will find our next champion coach and people eventually forget about this.

 

[Excalibur]

Right. That's why they have agents. My point is successful people don't look for jobs based on end of the line firing scenarios. They look for opportunities to succeed.

Yes, and they negotiate the hell out of severance provisions. Now that may be because they believe that if it doesn’t go well it’s not their fault, but it is very much on the radar screens of some of the most successful people in our society.

 

[Coach J]

Maybe that explains why Jalen played like he was hungover Thursday.

 

[Huskybass]

And the battle lines are drawn. Sadly, I fear it's going to end badly for all concerned.

I don't think KO is in a position to let this get ugly. I expect a relatively quick settlement at a digestible number. Sad that it has come to this. It all seemed so good those first couple years. I knew this day was needed, but that doesn't make it any less disappointing or sad. I hope KO finds the right gig for him. I'm sure this ending isn't what he envisioned. I truly hope this doesn't get ugly.

 

[Jimdish255]

This

I don't think KO is in a position to let this get ugly. I expect a relatively quick settlement at a digestible number. Sad that it has come to this. It all seemed so good those first couple years. I knew this day was needed, but that doesn't make it any less disappointing or sad. I hope KO finds the right gig for him. I'm sure this ending isn't what he envisioned. I truly hope this doesn't get ugly.

 

[whaler11]

I have to assume UConn and AD did their due diligence before making the necessary call.

LOL. Maybe at UConn they do.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

Wow. The Boneyard is running super-slow tonight. Did something happen?

 

[Purple Stein]

Anyone gloating over this can go straight to that hot place

Blaze Pizza?

 

[MuchoDogYears]

And the falling out might have something to do with Ollie firing all the other head coaches on the bench. Calhoun figured they would impart their experience wisdom eventually and Ollie would benefit in the long run.

How was KO such a huge success in 2013/2014, looking like an unbelievably genius hire at the time?

Followed by a uneven descent downwards over the next 4 years bottoming our with the two worst years in the past 30 UConn seasons?

Was it because in 2013/2014 he had inherited an experienced and talented self-motivated team on and off the court that KO was given way too much credit for?

Or was it because in 2013/2014 he had inherited an experienced and talented self-motivated coaching staff (Blaney, Hobbs, Miller) that did all the work on and off the court that KO was given way too much credit for?

In retrospect, it’s beginning to look clear that in 2013/2014 the players and coaching staff combined to make KO look like one helluva coach. And when they were gone, so were the underpinnings that had propped KO up.

 

[freescooter]

First of all he isn’t trying to keep the job. Even he knows that would be impossible. He is fighting to keep his money. All the weeping Willas who got all teary eyed because Ollie was family and bleeds blue take note.

But further he is following the appropriate path to eventually contest this in court. Most of the time before you can go into court you need to exhaust all the administrative remedies. So he has to go through the university appeals process first. Then he can appeal to the courts.

 

[CardiffGiant]

Ollie is not without leverage here. He can push this to arbitration and delay the resolution of whether the firing was for cause. In the meantime, UConn wants to move on and bring in a new hire. Tough to do that without knowing how much $ they will have to pay Ollie. Because of this, JC may be a real option if he is up to it.

 

[Paesano]

The big questions are these:

1. What is UConn offering him to close this deal quickly and quietly?
2. Was this whole process required due to the Union factor? In other words, was it even legally possible for UConn and KO to negotiate this directly resulting in a simple and clean resignation?

I have no idea what the answer to #2 is. I hope the answer to #1 is something between 1 year's salarly to half. That would be reasonable.

 

[jorge34]

This sucker got really ugly really fast. I can't blame Coach Ollie. Being fired for cause will leave a stain that will make it tougher for him to find another NCAA job.

Not really. He has rather broadly stated language in his contract about ncaa violation; It says just cause includes "a violation by the coach of any law, rule, regulation, policy, bylaw, or official interpretation of the university, the conference or the NCAA."
For a future job, the stain really depends on the level of infraction.
As for receiving the remainder of his money, the contract is clear and was written by a university coming off ncaa sanctions. It was no tolerance.
Unless he is somehow vindicated, and it doesn't matter the severity of the infraction, he's going to have a tough time winning in court. Hopefully this was just a leverage play, and they can come to an amicable agreement before this spirals out of control.

 

[CardiffGiant]

The big questions are these:

1. What is UConn offering him to close this deal quickly and quietly?
2. Was this whole process required due to the Union factor? In other words, was it even legally possible for UConn and KO to negotiate this directly resulting in a simple and clean resignation?

I have no idea what the answer to #2 is. I hope the answer to #1 is something between 1 year's salarly to half. That would be reasonable.

It does not sound like an offer was made before the firing. One of the articles indicated that KO expected to be back based upon the last meeting with ADB. Maybe UConn could not do that before the firing because it could put them in a worse legal position?

As to Number 2, the interesting thing is that the Union is now saying that UConn has to prove just cause by a higher standard than the contract says. I assume that because KO is a member of the Professors Union, the university is subject to the terms of that Collective Bargaining agreement as well. If there is a resident BY labor lawyer, it would be helpful to know how that affects all of this.

 

[huskymedic]

As to Number 2, the interesting thing is that the Union is now saying that UConn has to prove just cause by a higher standard than the contract says. I assume that because KO is a member of the Professors Union, the university is subject to the terms of that Collective Bargaining agreement as well. If there is a resident BY labor lawyer, it would be helpful to know how that affects all of this.

The language in the AAUP CBA for "Discipline, dismissal and non-renewal of multi-year appointment shall be for just cause such as:

"ii. Insubordination or serious non-compliance with the University of Connecticut By-Laws (Revised August 5, 2015), the Code of Ethics for Public Officials (Chapter 10 of the CT Statutes) or with University, State, or Federal Regulations governing research or NCAA rules and regulations"

The level of proof shall be a preponderance of the evidence...

 

[UConniki]

I don't really blame KO from separating himself somewhat from JC. Hard act to follow and in the end it was KO's team to coach.

Aaaaaand he did such a great job after pushing JC away and doing it his way. SMFH

 

[UConniki]

It is very different profile. But is playing in a southern football conference a match? Really the ACC was the perfect match, some attorney general blew that

And the dumb citizens of Connecticut then rewarded that attorney general by electing him to the senate. And I thought the people in Florida were stupid.

 

[CardiffGiant]

The language in the AAUP CBA for "Discipline, dismissal and non-renewal of multi-year appointment shall be for just cause such as:

"ii. Insubordination or serious non-compliance with the University of Connecticut By-Laws (Revised August 5, 2015), the Code of Ethics for Public Officials (Chapter 10 of the CT Statutes) or with University, State, or Federal Regulations governing research or NCAA rules and regulations"

The level of proof shall be a preponderance of the evidence...

So why is the union saying the standard is clear and convincing evidence ?

 

[weyuo]

Ollie screwed up with his assistant coaching picks. That's where this thing went south on him. Nobody able to coach up big men. Nobody able to coach, emphasize or motivate the importance of rebounding.

 

[#1 PA Husky Fan]

Ollie screwed up with his assistant coaching picks. That's where this thing went south on him. Nobody able to coach up big men. Nobody able to coach, emphasize or motivate the importance of rebounding.

Positionless basketball. Don’t need a big man coach.

 

[Walker11]

Positionless basketball. Don’t need a big man coach.

This trope bothers me. There are a ton of teams effectively using the strategy. It doesn't mean a lack of a big man. It means having numerous multi talented players, especially wings, who are versatile on offense and switchable on defense. The key is that they must be able to pass, shoot and dribble.