Warde's long, strong ties to Parker Exec. Search

[Marty Jackson]

Guess we're going to have to disagree about what 'legit' means, and Warde is looking out for himself, which I have no problem with.

But where's Parker's accountability? Warde makes a good hire, he boosts his own stock, the value of his relationship with Parker goes up and Parker cashes in when Warde goes for his next job. Warde makes a bad hire, gets canned here, and Parker still ahead money-wise even after Warde's value goes down, because they got paid for 'helping' with this search.

now you are suggesting the issue is firms aren't accountable?
I stand corrected. you are a pompous .

 

[ZooCougar]

It is absurd, if firms do a bad job then nobody hires them.

 

[ruskin]

you don't see anything bad, yet for 2 days and a zillion posts you have basically suggested search firms are useless and now are insinuating that WM is on the take, only looking to find his next position.

On the take is a little strong. Quid pro quo much closer to the truth, like the rest in the Parker 'tree'.

 

[ruskin]

It is absurd, if firms do a bad job then nobody hires them.

Not true. Despite Parker's ever-growing list of spectacular fails, they are still "The Leader In The Industry".

 

[huskymedic]

Not true. Despite Parker's ever-growing list of spectacular fails, they are still "The Leader In The Industry".

Here we go again... please list the"spectacular fails" that Parker hired.

And just because you keep linking the same articles over and over and over again - they don't become anymore persuasive to your argument.

 

[FrostyNuggets]

presented without (much) editorial comment. There's already a wonderful thread underway about that. Medic, others, if this story has already been posted, apologies.

Found this in a s c o u t dot-com story about Warde's chances for NC State's athletic director job before their Debbie Yow hire in 2010. It explains a lot.

Being associated with Parker has worked out very well for WM personally. Parker was involved with Buffalo when Warde hired Jeff Quinn, who did us a favor and ended our P misery in September. (BTW that game should have been called the the Parker-Alden Bowl)

It's pretty obvious reading this story and others that Manuel's retaining of Parker (if true) for this search will be used to boost Warde's career if/when he moves on from UConn.

If WM leaves behind a football coach who is having the same success Quinn is having at Buffalo. . . .great for UConn. I'll take it. And Warde seems to have the old-boy-network game down, so kudos to him.

Here's what I find unsavory: throwing 50-100K of other people's money at a company that on paper is being paid to help your school find a coach (something some people actually manage to do their own), but in reality is also a payoff to keep a relationship going that you hope will lead you to a better job down the road. As outlined here by Sports Illustrated

Like I said, if WM finds UConn a guy who wins like Quinn before Warde heads off for greener AD pastures, fine. But it would be pollyanna-ish to contend Warde's hiring Parker is strictly and only about finding UConn a football coach.

Scout's story

QUICK NOTES: Manuel is regarded as one of the top rising athletics directors in the business.

In his five years at Buffalo Manuel has had a high-level of success. The football program won a MAC title and played in the school's first bowl game. The men's hoops team won a share of the MAC reg. season title in 2008-2009, the first-ever MAC title, and advanced to postseason play for only the second time in school history. . . . . .

CONNECTING THE DOTS: Sources we've spoken with have indicated that Dan Parker is extremely high on Manuel and would likely recommend him for the NC State position, assuming Manuel is interested.

Parker Executive Search assisted Manuel with the recent hiring of head football coach Jeff Quinn, and Manuel was reportedly one of the candidates in the mix for the Rutgers AD search that Parker Executive Search was hired to assist with.

SPECULATING MUTUAL INTEREST: LOW -- There are no obvious connections between Manuel and the job outside of his previous dealings with Parker Executive Search. However, as one source has indicated, search firms tend to recommend "their guys" more often than not. That same source stated he would be shocked if Manuel didn't at least receive an early interview for the NC State job given just how highly the search firm thinks of him.

 

[ruskin]

Here we go again... please list the"spectacular fails" that Parker hired.

And just because you keep linking the same articles over and over and over again - they don't become anymore persuasive to your argument.

Wasn't the NC State profile of Manuel a new one?

 

[huskymedic]

Wasn't the NC State profile of Manuel a new one?

Yup... (blind squirrel found a nut). It was a six year old "Scout" article and they didn't even mention the person who got the job - so much for their "connecting the dots".

Answer the question...

 

[ruskin]

Yup... (blind squirrel found a nut). It was a six year old "Scout" article and they didn't even mention the person who got the job - so much for their "connecting the dots".

Answer the question...

Hold on medic --It's 3 years. I know you're talking about the post date (2006) cause I saw that too. Yet the story references a ton of stuff that happened after that . A mistake by computer archiving system. Between this and Bruno your batting average is dropping.

 

[huskymedic]

Hold on medic --It's 3 years. I know you're talking about the post date (2006) cause I saw that too. Yet the story references a ton of stuff that happened after that . A mistake by computer archiving system. Between this and Bruno your batting average is dropping.

Okay the date is wrong - still no mention of the person who got the job.

Answer the question...

 

[Jerry27]

Hold on medic --It's 3 years. I know you're talking about the post date (2006) cause I saw that too. Yet the story references a ton of stuff that happened after that . A mistake by computer archiving system. Between this and Bruno your batting average is dropping.

Answer the question Claire!

 

[J187Money]

Me either. But we should be honest in that if Warde is working with Parker, he is also collecting a chit for himself for somewhere down the line -- a chit that won't be negatively affected even if this hire happens to flame out.

Yes. Of course this is how it works. But that relationship also works in his favor if a coach is picking between two schools. Parker may push someone towards Warde and UCONN because of that relationship. At Warde's age, he has a lot of years left of hiring people and being hired, which means a lot of fees in Parker's pockets. So it is symbiotic. Works for all parties (including the prospective candidates). Also is better to be "inside" than "outside"...

So I'm not one of the guys that is going to tell you that back scratching isn't going on here. It clearly is. But it should work in our favor. So I'm cool with it.

I get treated very well by vendors even though I'm in a small company right now. Because in my last job I was in charge of an 8 figure checkbook, and while I'm not now, I have 20 more years of spending on vendors to go...they get it.

 

[whaler11]

Just about every school or business hires search firms for big hires, yet it's a scam. OK whatever you say.

It's an absolute scam. It's about the definition of a scam. Read the 'service' they provide. The Boneyard has already produced a list every bit as good as they will.

It's all about what Ruskin posted at the beginning. Hell at work yesterday I sat through the exact same conversation - let's give a company we don't need a ton of consulting money to keep the relationship 'positive'.

 

[J187Money]

Not true. Despite Parker's ever-growing list of spectacular fails, they are still "The Leader In The Industry".

People don't work out all the time, in all kinds of industries. That doesn't mean they aren't talented. PP might have been great if he had come with a different OC. There are a ton of issues that go into actual performance. What you get from a firm mostly is access / confidentiality / screening / research / help with negotiation. The amount of hours spent on that is time that the administration doesn't have to. It is worth some $ amount, you'd have to agree to that. It is also opportunity cost. If the school is doing all of that work, they aren't doing other work. And they aren't trained in that kind of work. And they don't have the rolodex.

Even if Warde has 10 names, and Parker sources none of them, but just does all of the arranging / interviewing / hassling with agents / determining fit / expectations, it is still worth some money. That work has to be done by somebody. Some of those 10 names won't be interested, and it isn't a good use of Warde's time to call agents and be told to buzz off.

 

[ruskin]

Some of those 10 names won't be interested, and it isn't a good use of Warde's time to call agents and be told to buzz off.

With this job being one of the few open that will be in the $2 million range and with a $50 million facility with a very nice office I hope the "buzz off" list is very very short. Can't imagine there's too many after Frost and Smart (although with all the yelling Saban does at Smart maybe he'd give UConn a second look).

 

[J187Money]

With this job being one of the few open that will be in the $2 million range and with a $50 million facility with a very nice office I hope the "buzz off" list is very very short. Can't imagine there's too many after Frost and Smart (although with all the yelling Saban does at Smart maybe he'd give UConn a second look).

Right, but this is where a firm could be useful. We would all love guys like Frost / Smart. We also think we can't get them. But Parker is probably tight with their agents, and knows the truth. Warde, if he is making calls directly, may not make those calls, instead focusing on MAC guys that can't ignore the money. Other than the obvious guys that we all want and are probably both available and should be interested, I would hope that Parker unearths a handful of candidates that we might have been high on but wouldn't have spent time chasing because they were too much of a "stretch". I would imagine there are probably a couple of guys that would be interested in UCONN that we would have never thought would be, and I bet there are a couple of guys that we would expect to drool over the job that will pass immediately. I don't know if there is intelligence within Parker, but with regards to that stuff, they should know more than Warde.

 

[metsfan2323]

It's an absolute scam. It's about the definition of a scam. Read the 'service' they provide. The Boneyard has already produced a list every bit as good as they will.

It's all about what Ruskin posted at the beginning. Hell at work yesterday I sat through the exact same conversation - let's give a company we don't need a ton of consulting money to keep the relationship 'positive'.

I always thought it was less about generating a list and more about quietly making contact with people (hidden from the FOI act) to gauge interest, arrange secret interviews and to also do background checks. If they do nothing but give Warde the Boneyard list of candidates then it is wasted money, I would be very surprised if that's all they do.

On another note since when has this board become a place to complain about relatively small amounts of money being spent? Why on earth should I care if Warde throws away 90K, just make the right hire. If he makes the wrong hire and didn't use a search firm people will complain that he tried to do it on the cheap.

This thread is nonsense.

 

[Srqhusky]

It's an absolute scam. It's about the definition of a scam. Read the 'service' they provide. The Boneyard has already produced a list every bit as good as they will.

It's all about what Ruskin posted at the beginning. Hell at work yesterday I sat through the exact same conversation - let's give a company we don't need a ton of consulting money to keep the relationship 'positive'.

Have u seen the boneyard list. Do u really think we have a shot at lembo or nardizzi. Yes consultants are not necessary. They are the equivalent of an as seen on tv ad. Yes you can make pancakes in a regular pan but the confidence u will have using the perfect pancake is immeasurable. Consultants are a necessary evil. A pat on the back a training wheel. to make us feel like we are doin the right thing. This could also be at a request o the boosters.

 

[huskymedic]

Have u seen the boneyard list. Do u really think we have a shot at lembo or nardizzi. Yes consultants are not necessary..

That's exactly why you hire a consultant - you don't want to end up with a Nardizzi when you really want a Narduzzi!!!

 

[Waquoit]

PP might have been great if he had come with a different OC.

We need to put a stake through this. P was never going to be great no matter who he brought. At the end of the day, he was in charge.

 

[ruskin]

I don't know if there is intelligence within Parker, but with regards to that stuff, they should know more than Warde.

This rounds back to the main discussion point. Warde earns $475K. is running a $63 million business, roughly the 40th-largest such entity in the country, and has to fill THE most important job on his staff. With the salary he's making, not to mention his highly-paid assistants, not to mention his naturally-occuring network of contacts within FBS football, how much more help has to be bought in (and paid for) for him to identify the right guy?

Obviously on this board the vast majority thinks he needs to pay somebody to help him fill it, the top reason being it's the 'norm' not just in college athletics but in business. I prefer the old-fashioned (and cheaper) Jurich & Jurich approach. Warde's UConn career hinges on how successful this hire is. For me it's tough to swallow the possibility that someone will profit in the wake of a bad hire as Neinas/Alden did two years ago (even if they didn't make the hire).

Maybe if these search/consultant/vetting deals were structured differently and tied to real performance they'd be easier to take. Let's go back to two years and the Alden $50K in-the-door fee. Structure it like this - $20-25K to put together binder. $15-$20K if you actually pick one of our recommendations - $20-$25K refund if any negative information post-hiring emerges (Hermann, Pitt guy), then $25-$50K bonus if hire hits specific set of goals in next 3 years (wins, bowl, attendance).

 

[sdhusky]

This rounds back to the main discussion point. Warde earns $475K. is running a $63 million business, roughly the 40th-largest such entity in the country, and has to fill THE most important job on his staff. With the salary he's making, not to mention his highly-paid assistants, not to mention his naturally-occuring network of contacts within FBS football, how much more help has to be bought in (and paid for) for him to identify the right guy?

Obviously on this board the vast majority thinks he needs to pay somebody to help him fill it, the top reason being it's the 'norm' not just in college athletics but in business. I prefer the old-fashioned (and cheaper) Jurich & Jurich approach. Warde's UConn career hinges on how successful this hire is. For me it's tough to swallow the possibility that someone will profit in the wake of a bad hire as Neinas/Alden did two years ago (even if they didn't make the hire).

Maybe if these search/consultant/vetting deals were structured differently and tied to real performance they'd be easier to take. Let's go back to two years and the Alden $50K in-the-door fee. Structure it like this - $20-25K to put together binder. $15-$20K if you actually pick one of our recommendations - $20-$25K refund if any negative information post-hiring emerges (Hermann, Pitt guy), then $25-$50K bonus if hire hits specific set of goals in next 3 years (wins, bowl, attendance).

Alabama used the same search firm as UCONN did. They got Saban. We got PP.

I don't think there are many Alabama fans asking for the money back.

 

[upstater]

I have accused an AD of doing a similar thing, of making decisions that are more career-based than of benefit to the school. Not saying Manuel is doing that. I was talking about a non-UConn AD. A lot of these guys are careerists, which leads to some bad decisions.

 

[Husky25]

This rounds back to the main discussion point. Warde earns $475K. is running a $63 million business, roughly the 40th-largest such entity in the country...

I stopped after this...After realizing that you are quibbling over 0.16% of gross revenue ($100,000/$63Mil = 0.00158730158)? Surely there are better things to expend calories on over the last 2 days. It's a rounding error!!!!

 

[ruskin]

I stopped after this...After realizing that you are quibbling over 0.16% of gross revenue ($100,000/$63Mil = 0.00158730158)? Surely there are better things to expend calories on over the last 2 days. It's a rounding error!!!!

One perspective. On the other hand, bet Warde wouldn't volunteer to take a $50-$100K pay cut.

 

[Fishy]

I always thought it was less about generating a list and more about quietly making contact with people (hidden from the FOI act) to gauge interest, arrange secret interviews and to also do background checks.

It is.

But we have an established black-helicopter set here and this is how their brains work. Or don't work, as the case may be.

 

[ZooCougar]

Clearly this is all about the plot to downgrade to FCS.

 

[ZooCougar]

If anyone thinks that search firms are about searching then they clearly don't get it.

 

[Husky25]

One perspective. On the other hand, bet Warde wouldn't volunteer to take a $50-$100K pay cut.

In the Corporate world, the consulting fee is often considered (if not actually reported) as an offset in salary for the position being filled and amortized over the life of the contract. For simplicity's sake, the new coach comes in at a contracted salary and benefits cost of $1 mil x 4 years. The school will consider S&B to be $1.025 million/year.

 

[J187Money]

This rounds back to the main discussion point. Warde earns $475K. is running a $63 million business, roughly the 40th-largest such entity in the country, and has to fill THE most important job on his staff. With the salary he's making, not to mention his highly-paid assistants, not to mention his naturally-occuring network of contacts within FBS football, how much more help has to be bought in (and paid for) for him to identify the right guy?

Obviously on this board the vast majority thinks he needs to pay somebody to help him fill it, the top reason being it's the 'norm' not just in college athletics but in business. I prefer the old-fashioned (and cheaper) Jurich & Jurich approach. Warde's UConn career hinges on how successful this hire is. For me it's tough to swallow the possibility that someone will profit in the wake of a bad hire as Neinas/Alden did two years ago (even if they didn't make the hire).

Maybe if these search/consultant/vetting deals were structured differently and tied to real performance they'd be easier to take. Let's go back to two years and the Alden $50K in-the-door fee. Structure it like this - $20-25K to put together binder. $15-$20K if you actually pick one of our recommendations - $20-$25K refund if any negative information post-hiring emerges (Hermann, Pitt guy), then $25-$50K bonus if hire hits specific set of goals in next 3 years (wins, bowl, attendance).

I wasn't talking about intelligence about who a good coach might be. It is intelligence about who might leave for what kind of job, what they might want to be paid, if they would even take a job in a non-BCS conference, etc., and getting it in a way where the school doesn't look foolish. I've been clear that I don't think the search firm will help determine who is on Warde's list. It will help him determine who is actually realistic ON that list, and then help with the process. Parker might offer up some ideas, but on that front I would doubt they would come up with a name that Warde (or the BY) hasn't thought of. I think the biggest disagreement is that you think we are paying for the list. I think we are paying for successful execution against a list that Warde already has in his pocket.

For example, maybe Warde would pay Smart $3M/year. Maybe Smart would take it. Warde calls Smart. Leaves a message. Smart ignores it, figuring (because he isn't going to actually do the research) that UCONN won't pay because it isn't a BCS job, and the meeting never takes place. Warde wouldn't just come out and say that to Smart's agent either. But with a search firm, you could say, We would pay between $1.5M/year and $2.8M a year depending on the pedigree of the coach. Name some examples of people that might be on the higher end. Parker does the dirty work, unearths some people that are now surprised that we might be a bigger payday than they thought. We get meetings we wouldn't get otherwise. I'm absolutely confident in that if Warde has 10 names in his pocket and runs solo with it v. running it through a firm, he ends up with less people from that list that actually come in for an interview.

I don't think ANYONE here is saying he needs to pay someone to help him fill the job or locate the coach.