And how does that make you feel?
When Texas hired Coach Goestenkors at $1 million a season, everyone thought we'd hit a homerun. But, she didn't produce the expected results; reasons differ as to what went wrong, but doesn't really matter as she resigned after 4 seasons.
Then, our AD took a 180 degree approach and hired a very inexperienced coach on the cheap -- like $450,000 a year. Some feel that there was pressure on the AD to "recoup" some of that money spent on Coach G by hiring a less expensive replacement. As long as I've followed Texas sports, rarely does a head coach get hired at less than their predecessor (unless it was the replacement for our legendary baseball coach, Augie Garrido).
I wasn't a fan of the hire; she was just too inexperienced in my book. But, she loved Texas when she as an assistant coach under Conradt. and she lobbied hard for the job. She had proven she was a great recruiter while at Texas, and had built relationships with some of the Texas administration.
Based on her inexperience as a head coach, I was shocked that she recruited elite players very early on, even though most were high school underclassmen who wouldn't arrive for a couple of years or more. In year two, she narrowly missed beating Maryland on the road in the second round of the tourney. In year three, she upset #16 Cal on the road in the second round to advance to the Sweet 16. That was followed by and Elite 8, and another Sweet 16. So, she definitely made me eat my words with the success she had; she made Texas relevant again. I had no reason to not wish for her to have continued success.
But, something went wrong. Wish I knew what it was. I never agreed with her staff hirings as it seemed she kept hiring coaches with little to no college coaching experience.
It is what it is. No matter our head coach (in any sport), I want them to be successful. As a fan, I can only hope our new AD makes the right decision, and a good replacement hire when the time comes.
bigwest.org
