What do you think about the one year audition for KO?

[freescooter]

I'm not arguing here but I would have to believe with Cronin there were negotiations and agreements that took place, along with sufficient time. Secondly Cronin was perhaps sought after or at the very least won the job through an application process. All I am saying is that Manuel did not have a lot of time and flexibility, and there was a sense of urgency/emergency. We were without a coach a month or so before our first practice, and in the middle of procuring recruits. Ollie may have been a band-aid decision but I am sure when all is said and done he will be rewarded for a multitude of reasons, most notably his qualifications, which may be worth more than starting pay. It was not the best of situations for Manuel, Ollie or our school.

Two people benefitted form this...Ollie obviously in the short term and Calhoun, who got his way. Manuel certainly didn't. UConn didn't.

 

[Waquoit]

If that's your out, so be it.

My out? We're done here.

 

[8893]

My out? We're done here.

Awww. But we had so much promise!

 

[upstater]

Two people benefitted form this...Ollie obviously in the short term and Calhoun, who got his way. Manuel certainly didn't. UConn didn't.

UConn didn't benefit, eh?
Did you ever once stop to consider that if Ollie were a candidate for the job, when Calhoun was on the hiring committee, no coach of any stature would have thrown his hat in the ring?
In order to conduct a truly national search, Ollie would have had to have been eliminated from the start.

So, how, please tell me, was UConn damaged here?

 

[upstater]

I'm not arguing here but I would have to believe with Cronin there were negotiations and agreements that took place, along with sufficient time. Secondly Cronin was perhaps sought after or at the very least won the job through an application process. All I am saying is that Manuel did not have a lot of time and flexibility, and there was a sense of urgency/emergency. We were without a coach a month or so before our first practice, and in the middle of procuring recruits. Ollie may have been a band-aid decision but I am sure when all is said and done he will be rewarded for a multitude of reasons, most notably his qualifications, which may be worth more than starting pay. It was not the best of situations for Manuel, Ollie or our school.

I tend to think Manuel had a lot of forewarning on this, but that's all speculation.

 

[freescooter]

UConn didn't benefit, eh?
Did you ever once stop to consider that if Ollie were a candidate for the job, when Calhoun was on the hiring committee, no coach of any stature would have thrown his hat in the ring?
In order to conduct a truly national search, Ollie would have had to have been eliminated from the start.

So, how, please tell me, was UConn damaged here?

Not true at all. the only scenario where an open search would have had to exclude Ollie was one in which Calhoun had the final say. Then of course, you are right. But frankly it would have been pretty odd for the incumbent to have been on the hiring committee for his successor anyway. I would have had no problem with a nationwide search with or without Kevin Ollie in the mix.

You are right in one respect though. It isn't possible to know whether Ollie will be a reasonable replacement for Calhoun at this point, so it isn't really possible to say UConn was hurt in that sense. In the sense that the Athletic Director was forced into a choice he didn't want by the outgoing coach, that I think does hurt because it undermines his authority going forward and that will not be good long term.

 

[upstater]

Not true at all. the only scenario where an open search would have had to exclude Ollie was one in which Calhoun had the final say. Then of course, you are right. But frankly it would have been pretty odd for the incumbent to have been on the hiring committee for his successor anyway. I would have had no problem with a nationwide search with or without Kevin Ollie in the mix.

You are right in one respect though. It isn't possible to know whether Ollie will be a reasonable replacement for Calhoun at this point, so it isn't really possible to say UConn was hurt in that sense. In the sense that the Athletic Director was forced into a choice he didn't want by the outgoing coach, that I think does hurt because it undermines his authority going forward and that will not be good long term.

You honestly think Calhoun would not have been on that committee?

A nationwide search with Ollie as a candidate results in rumors of an inside candidate which results in no one of any stature applying because of the public embarrassment of being denied. I've only seen it happen 100 times in other fields.

 

[freescooter]

upstater, you don't hire your basketball coach like you hire the department administrative aid. If you don't get that I don't know what to tell you. This is a combination of people contacting you directly or indirectly, and guys you recruit. It isn't like you put an ad on craigslist "coach wanted. must like dogs." and if you've watched ANY coaching search, guys who think they are not getting the job announce they have decided to stay at the University of Northern South Dakota because they like the weather and are committed to their players.

 

[ctchamps]

I don't think Herbst put pressure on Manuel re the length of the contract. I think she let it be known that she liked JC a lot, and that she liked and in believed in KO, based at least in part on JC's having given her reason to believe that she should. One thing I do agree with Waquit about is that this was absolutely a master stroke by JC. Manuel's nuts are in a vise right now, and will be until and unless KO gives him no other choice but to extend him or fire him. My guess is that it will be somewhere in the middle, and Manuel will face some donors and others whispering in his ear that he should bring in an established name; versus fans, media, alumni and others who believe he should give Kevin more of a chance.

My take as well.

I prefer to debate ideas with you as opposed to the two other guys who shall be not named: the one who was/is strongly anti JC for as long as I can remember and whose agenda is to submarine JC's legacy any way he can, and the other who was a Hathaway lackey and holds a grudge against JC for the purge. Any cohesive argument or idea is very unlikely to change a person's mind who has so much anger or hatred towards something. They are like Ahab.

If I were to take the position of either of these two guys, which I don't, and contend Manuel is a victim in these circumstances, the first thing that would come to my mind is why in heck did he take the job in the first place knowing this scenario had a good chance of happening under his watch. I'm not sure I could support an AD who either lacked the insight to know there would be "troubled waters" ahead, as these two contend currently exists now with the KO hire, or whose primary interest is the dough and/or the name he could make for himself to spring board to another job. Either way this is not an AD we should admire.

The only individual who Manuel can argue took him by surprise is Herbst and not JC. And I'm not even sure this is the case because Herbst made it clear from the get go she was in JC's corner and felt he was poorly treated in the past. This was expressed well before WM's hire and was public information.

I have nothing against Manuel. I feel it was a mistake to not give KO a three or four year contract with an easy buy out after the first and second years. But the claim the hiring of KO should be solely on the head of JC and not look at WM's decision making process in taking the AD job, is one sided imo.

 

[Waquoit]

I prefer to debate ideas with you as opposed to the two other guys who shall be not named: the one who was/is strongly anti JC for as long as I can remember and whose agenda is to submarine JC's legacy any way he can, and the other who was a Hathaway lackey and holds a grudge against JC for the purge. Any cohesive argument or idea is very unlikely to change a person's mind who has so much anger or hatred towards something. They are like Ahab.

I'm calling total BS on this. How can one say he "prefers to debate ideas" than dismiss ideas you disagree with by slandering the poster?

 

[8893]

I'm calling total BS on this. How can one say he "prefers to debate ideas" than dismiss ideas you disagree with by slandering the poster?

I don't know. Why don't you tell us? You seem to do exactly that whenever you are exposed here.

 

[upstater]

upstater, you don't hire your basketball coach like you hire the department administrative aid. If you don't get that I don't know what to tell you. This is a combination of people contacting you directly or indirectly, and guys you recruit. It isn't like you put an ad on craigslist "coach wanted. must like dogs." and if you've watched ANY coaching search, guys who think they are not getting the job announce they have decided to stay at the University of Northern South Dakota because they like the weather and are committed to their players.

I guess basketball coaches are harder to hire than Presidents.

Good thinking there.

Only the administrative assistants and secretaries are apparently worried about their reputations.

 

[8893]

But the claim the hiring of KO should be solely on the head of JC and not look at WM's decision making process in taking the AD job, is one sided imo.

The more I think about it, the more I'm beginning to see the beauty in the way that JC did this--especially because of the fact that the hiring of KO can be placed solely on JC. In other words, the notion that JC tied Manuel's hands and left him with little choice but to give KO a shot actually helps Manuel, in that it gives him cover; i.e., he has a built-in excuse if the KO experiment is a failure.

Yes, that's right: I now believe that JC did Manuel a favor here as well.

 

[Waquoit]

I tend to think Manuel had a lot of forewarning on this, but that's all speculation.

All spring and summer when we read that JC and WM were having "good discussions", what do you think they were talking about? Manuel either knew what was coming or knew what eventually happened was a distinct possibility. I don't know why some are calling WM a "victim". He played the cards that were dealt and prevailed.

 

[ctchamps]

The more I think about it, the more I'm beginning to see the beauty in the way that JC did this--especially because of the fact that the hiring of KO can be placed solely on JC. In other words, the notion that JC tied Manuel's hands and left him with little choice but to give KO a shot actually helps Manuel, in that it gives him cover; i.e., he has a built-in excuse if the KO experiment is a failure.

Yes, that's right: I now believe that JC did Manuel a favor here as well.

Without inflections or really knowing who you are I could be going out on limb, albeit a very big one, with my assumption that your statement was tongue and cheek. I can also guess that you were not raised in the midwest.

If JC was Fishy, your post would have been accurate.

I guess I'm unique in examining Manuel's position in all of this the way I presented him. He had to know before taking the job what was coming his way. If he didn't, he doesn't deserve the job. My guess is he knew ahead of time and felt he could handle things. But that means the way events played out they were the result of several people and not just one individual.

 

[freescooter]

All spring and summer when we read that JC and WM were having "good discussions", what do you think they were talking about? Manuel either knew what was coming or knew what eventually happened was a distinct possibility. I don't know why some are calling WM a "victim". He played the cards that were dealt and prevailed.

I don't think he was exactly a victim here, and I actually agree to some extent with fleudiscon that he could well have expected this. But I don't think he, or really anyone else expected it this year. It is obviously just a gut feeling but I suspect that the bike accident changed the equation for Calhoun. If you listened to all Calhoun's comments earlier, things like not leaving the program under a cloud and so forth, it really did seem he planned to come back. But honestly that is a serious injury for a 70 year old man to sustain so instead of something Manuel was expecting to have to deal with next year, it got dropped on him this year. I also think it is pretty clear that he and Calhoun differed on Ollie as a successor. But when Calhoun left so late, there weren't too many options, something I also suspect (another gut feeling) entered into Calhoun's thinking. If he waited until next year, Manuel could well have some other deal teed up somehow and he doesn't get Ollie. Bottom line is neither Calhoun nor Manuel got exactly what they wanted out of this, though. Manuel wanted to pick Calhoun's successor, not appoint Calhoun's annoited crown prince. Calhoun wanted the crown prince given the job long term not on an interim basis. I've said many times that I doubt Ollie is ready to coach at this level so I don't think he's a longterm solution. Hope I'm wrong. I'm not even convinced he's going to be that good ever. I think his upside is Herb Sendek. We'll see.

 

[8893]

Without inflections or really knowing who you are I could be going out on limb, albeit a very big one, with my assumption that your statement was tongue and cheek. I can also guess that you were not raised in the midwest.

If JC was Fishy, your post would have been accurate.

I guess I'm unique in examining Manuel's position in all of this the way I presented him. He had to know before taking the job what was coming his way. If he didn't, he doesn't deserve the job. My guess is he knew ahead of time and felt he could handle things. But that means the way events played out they were the result of several people and not just one individual.

I was not raised in the midwest, which I am guessing is a safe assumption about some 99% of the posters on this board. Not sure how that's relevant or why you are guessing that, but you have piqued my curiosity.

While the notion that JC intentionally did Manuel a favor was tongue-in-cheek, my conclusion that Manuel potentially stands to benefit from the timing of JC's retirement is not. If JC had retired in, say, April, I do not believe Manuel would have given much, if any, consideration to naming Kevin head coach, even on an interim basis. No matter how much he may have wanted to believe in Kevin, I don't think Manuel would risk the most important decision he is likely to make in his new job by naming someone who had no head coaching experience, and very limited coaching experience generally. That's a high risk move that would be either (or both) very ballsy or very foolish (there's a thin line often), and Manuel strikes me as neither ballsy nor foolish. But since JC's timing left Manuel with little practical choice but to give Kevin a shot, he now has cover for that decision in the event that it does not work out, and he can then say that he gave him a chance but decided to go in a different direction based on what he observed during that trial period.

But much of this assumes that the choice will be clear within this trial period. While I am hopeful that Kevin will knock it out of the park, I am concerned about the pressure of the seven-month contract and how much can actually be accomplished during that time under the circumstances. In other words, I'm not sure that the choice is going to be much clearer within the time that Manuel has given himself to decide, which is why I think a two year contract would have made more sense. At a minimum, it would have prevented the April 2013 deadline from being worked into most of the stories that will be written about the team this season and the corresponding perception of instability and uncertainty within the program.

 

[DogMania]

Nice duck. Even though you haven't answered my query, I'll answer yours--again.

If you accept as fact that Manuel would not have given Ollie a shot otherwise--which I now believe to be true--and you believe that Ollie will be successful here, UConn will have been well-served by Calhoun's master plan, which unfortunately appears to have required that our AD be squeezed in the process.

None of us has a crystal ball, but you make an interesting point here. Let's just say KO works out great and continues UConn's success as an elite program. Let's also take into account that if UConn conducted a national search that there is always the risk that the top coaches they would like to land aren't interested to coach here and/or are more interested in coaching elsewhere. Many keep on pointing to Shaka and Stevens. Others have noted that Stevens is unlikely to leave the Midwest and I'm sure UConn wouldn't be the only top programs vying for Smart's services. UConn could easily end up settling for a coach that might not work out in Storrs, plus there's no guarantee either of those two coaches would succeed at the high major level. I think both would and there are a few others that fit this category who would be far from locks to want to come here.

Where I’m going with this, is if…yes it’s a big if… on his own Manuel would not have chosen KO, KO ends up succeeding in a big way and the fact that there really is no guarantee UConn would have landed one of their top choices, then could it be possible that by manipulating this whole situation giving Manuel no other viable option, JC actually acted in the best interest of UConn? I’m not saying I buy this or not, but it is an interesting idea. Quite often others protect us against some of the stupid, foolish and unwise decisions we might make.

Look at this way. Which is more egregious, JC manipulating the situation (not saying he did that, we’ll likely never know) to get his man in there because he believe it was in the best interest of UConn and the path that would continue success for the program he built (note that Manuel didn’t build it, though granted he is the AD and appropriate decision maker) or Manuel putting his ego first (not saying that’s behind this, but there seems to be some indications of that) and what’s best for UConn second by needing to get his man for the coaching job and not JC’s. Now granted, Manuel just might simply believe that a more proven candidate that has a track record of head coaching success is the way to go. As far as how he’s handled the KO situation, I stick to my guns and strongly believe he should have put his ego aside and given KO a 3 to 4 year deal, so that it wouldn’t impact recruiting. As I’ve said over and over again, they could have drawn up a modest buy-out, that I’m sure KO would likely have accepted. Think about it, if he was willing to take the 7 month deal, that has no guarantees he’ll get an extension, why wouldn’t he take a 3 to 4 year deal with a small cash sending off present if Manuel decides he wants to go in another direction. The only argument I see on this, apart from having to spend some extra dollars to say good bye, is Manuel can’t conduct a national search next spring with Ollie included if he has to fire him to do so. I think that’s really a non-issue since if Manuel doesn’t offer him an extension after the season, but tells KO he’ll be included in the process, I strongly doubt that KO would participate, and would jump at some other offer. KO is a class guy, but there comes a breaking point for any person who feels disrespected and unwanted.

Not that money is the biggest issue here, but you can bet that KO could have been had for a much smaller long term deal than what it will take to extend him. I’m sure KO is going to tell his agent to fight for bigger dollars next spring than he would have this fall. If KO ends up getting an extension it just might be at a higher cost both dollars and with recruiting. I hope I’m wrong about the latter and that KO overcomes the “at this time no UConn coach, including KO, under contract next fall” obstacle that all 2013 recruits have to consider.

 

[DogMania]

UConn didn't benefit, eh?
Did you ever once stop to consider that if Ollie were a candidate for the job, when Calhoun was on the hiring committee, no coach of any stature would have thrown his hat in the ring?
In order to conduct a truly national search, Ollie would have had to have been eliminated from the start.

So, how, please tell me, was UConn damaged here?

Why do you believe that no other coach would throw his hat in the ring?!?! That sounds ridiculous to me. If it got to the point of a national search where KO was also included, why wouldn’t there be a number of solid choices that would participate? The fact that they would have the search would speak volumes as to how little confidence the school had in KO. And when it comes to money and challenge why wouldn’t some coaches at least listen and interview. I'm not aware of any hiring committee that includes, JC, but maybe I'm ignorant of that fact. But even so, JC would be just one of many, and I don't see why the rest of the committee might not select one of the top available candidates, for example Shaka Smart (or fill in whoever you like) if that coach threw their hat in the ring.

 

[DogMania]

The more I think about it, the more I'm beginning to see the beauty in the way that JC did this--especially because of the fact that the hiring of KO can be placed solely on JC. In other words, the notion that JC tied Manuel's hands and left him with little choice but to give KO a shot actually helps Manuel, in that it gives him cover; i.e., he has a built-in excuse if the KO experiment is a failure.

Yes, that's right: I now believe that JC did Manuel a favor here as well.

I doubt that Manuel sees it that way. Anyone who's in a decision making position wants to be the one making the decision. People like Manuel are often driven by success and not avoiding failure. You seem to be failing to see the flip side of this. If KO succeeds, it will appear that JC deserved the credit and that if Manuel had his way would not have made that choice and tha this choice could have had the potential for failure.

The more I think about this, the more I could see this completely blowing up and become on huge mess. Unless KO does something extrodinary this season, say win the BE regular season or at least finish close to the top, I can see Manuel dumping him so that he can put his stamp on the program. I can see the players, incoming recruits and fans in an uproar and UConn having to go through at least another year of turmoil if that happens. Who knows how long the program could be set back if it goes that way. I would hope that Herbst would not allow that to happen, but who knows.

I think KO will do enough gain some confidence and will win everyone over with his character and work ethic. I just hope along the way, he is able to get XRM and a couple other very talented recruits to give him more to work with next fall and beyond.

 

[DogMania]

All spring and summer when we read that JC and WM were having "good discussions", what do you think they were talking about? Manuel either knew what was coming or knew what eventually happened was a distinct possibility. I don't know why some are calling WM a "victim". He played the cards that were dealt and prevailed.

I didn't draw that conclusion and I don't know how you can know that for sure. I'm sure Manuel was concerned that it might play out as it did. I'm sure during their conversations JC expressed his uncertainty if he'd return or not even before he hurt his hip. I can't see Manuel asking, "He coach, are you thinking about pulling a fast one and retiring at the start of the school year, giving me no choice but to appoint someone from the current staff to replace you?" JC, "Manny, do you really think I'd do that to you? Wow! I do like KO as my successor, but I want it to be your decision. I really want to come back, but I haven't completely made up my mind." While in the back of his head he's thinking, "No way am I going to let you screw this up and not pick KO!" Manuel thinking, "He's going screw me, I know it! I'll have no other choice but to promote KO. Boy, I wish I could knock that smug look off his face!"

Sorry, got caught up in the moment and daydream.

As much as I don't like that Manuel didn't give KO a multi-year deal, I'd say he is somewhat of a victim. What AD would want his hand forced when he should have been able to give himself and whoever else is involved with such a decision more choices one ones that he had a big hand in.

With that said, we'll all just have to see how this plays out. I think Ollie has what it takes to be successful. I just hope he's been given enough of an opportuntiy to show it.

 

[DogMania]

Without inflections or really knowing who you are I could be going out on limb, albeit a very big one, with my assumption that your statement was tongue and cheek. I can also guess that you were not raised in the midwest.

If JC was Fishy, your post would have been accurate.

I guess I'm unique in examining Manuel's position in all of this the way I presented him. He had to know before taking the job what was coming his way. If he didn't, he doesn't deserve the job. My guess is he knew ahead of time and felt he could handle things. But that means the way events played out they were the result of several people and not just one individual.

Manuel is the AD of not just MBB, but all athletics. He obviously knew that replacing JC would take place during his tenure but I doubt he thought it would play out as it did and even if he saw that was one of the possible scenarios, I’m sure he was hoping it would go down that way. But even so, the challenge and pay was more than enough for him to take the job. Every time we get in the car, there’s a chance we’ll get into an accident. When we do, I doubt that any of us would say, “Yeah, I saw it coming before I got into the car! I had it all under control.”

 

[freescooter]

The more I think about this, the more I could see this completely blowing up and become on huge mess. Unless KO does something extrodinary this season, say win the BE regular season or at least finish close to the top, I can see Manuel dumping him so that he can put his stamp on the program. I can see the players, incoming recruits and fans in an uproar and UConn having to go through at least another year of turmoil if that happens. Who knows how long the program could be set back if it goes that way. I would hope that Herbst would not allow that to happen, but who knows.

I think KO will do enough gain some confidence and will win everyone over with his character and work ethic. I just hope along the way, he is able to get XRM and a couple other very talented recruits to give him more to work with next fall and beyond.

This is my view too. But I also think that it will be a short-term mess. You bring in a new head coach and he is successful, suddenly all will be forgiven. After all, everyone loves a winner. But I also think that in the long run it will be in everyone's best interests to just get it over with. You can't move forward with rebuilding the program if you don't make the decision to do so. College basketball, until they change the rules on 1 and dones is subject to wild swings, so it is highly possible for the right coach to bring UConn back reasonably quickly. I'd put my money on Shaka to be able to do that. As I've said before, my biggest fear for the program is not that Ollie is over matched. That is easy to solve. Fire him and move on. And it isn't that he is great. Again its easy. Give him a contract. It is that he is mediocre. It will take a lot of guts to replace a mediocre Kevin Ollie, strange as that might seem. If he ends up always a year away from greatness, a perpetual 19-13 coach (that was Sendek's average over 10 years at NCState, hence my references to him) we'll be forgotten on the national stage very quickly, but he'll be tough to fire.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

If Warde Manuel actually has any interest in keeping the men's basketball program a national power, then he shouldn't have any trouble firing a coach who goes 19-13 every year. We have a very spoiled fanbase and I can't imagine the donors are too far behind. If Ollie gives us nothing but mediocrity, people are no longer going to be talking about what a nice guy he is.

 

[Adios]

The dude was brought in to "coach" LeBron James at Cleveland and Kevin Durant at Oklahoma City. He should be fine. Let's hope.

 

[8893]

Where I’m going with this, is if…yes it’s a big if… on his own Manuel would not have chosen KO, KO ends up succeeding in a big way and the fact that there really is no guarantee UConn would have landed one of their top choices, then could it be possible that by manipulating this whole situation giving Manuel no other viable option, JC actually acted in the best interest of UConn? I’m not saying I buy this or not, but it is an interesting idea.

Of the options, that's my view. I'm buying in. Y'all in.

And as an aside (not related to you, DM) I think the name "Sendek" should be added to the "fecundity" filter on this board. If I read that name and that stupid analogy one more time I'm going to go postal.

 

[freescooter]

Sendek Sendek Sendek SENDEK!!!

 

[freescooter]

If Warde Manuel actually has any interest in keeping the men's basketball program a national power, then he shouldn't have any trouble firing a coach who goes 19-13 every year. We have a very spoiled fanbase and I can't imagine the donors are too far behind. If Ollie gives us nothing but mediocrity, people are no longer going to be talking about what a nice guy he is.

Here's the thing...I don't share you're view of the fan base. I'm not actually sure there is all that big a UConn fan base. There is a Jim Calhoun fan base for sure. And if Ollie regularly puts up 19-13, 20-12 it will take 5 plus years before the fan base gets that he's mediocre. The very idea that a major power is giving the head coaching job to someone with virtually no coaching experience is crazy and everyone knows it. If this were North Carolina you'd all be shocked and likely making fun of them. This is more like a move they'd make at a D3 school, not at a 3 time national champion D-1 program. But virtually everyone defers to Calhoun...when his idea is beyond strange. And if Ollie is 19-13, we'll be hearing he's just a year away for a decade before anyone says its time for a change.

 

[ctchamps]

I was not raised in the midwest, which I am guessing is a safe assumption about some 99% of the posters on this board. Not sure how that's relevant or why you are guessing that, but you have piqued my curiosity.
Yesterday, a buddy related a study that indicated people from the midwest struggle with irony and are more or less likely to take things at face value. People from the northeast love word play, double meanings, irony and so forth.

While the notion that JC intentionally did Manuel a favor was tongue-in-cheek, my conclusion that Manuel potentially stands to benefit from the timing of JC's retirement is not. If JC had retired in, say, April, I do not believe Manuel would have given much, if any, consideration to naming Kevin head coach, even on an interim basis. No matter how much he may have wanted to believe in Kevin, I don't think Manuel would risk the most important decision he is likely to make in his new job by naming someone who had no head coaching experience, and very limited coaching experience generally. That's a high risk move that would be either (or both) very ballsy or very foolish (there's a thin line often), and Manuel strikes me as neither ballsy nor foolish. But since JC's timing left Manuel with little practical choice but to give Kevin a shot, he now has cover for that decision in the event that it does not work out, and he can then say that he gave him a chance but decided to go in a different direction based on what he observed during that trial period.

True but if KO does not succeed he still will be judged on the next hire. So at best JC gave him one year of job security minus heat. And even that isn't necessarily definitive because a lot of people will still look to blame Manuel as well as JC if KO struggles, because many of us aren't reasonable when we're angry.

But much of this assumes that the choice will be clear within this trial period. While I am hopeful that Kevin will knock it out of the park, I am concerned about the pressure of the seven-month contract and how much can actually be accomplished during that time under the circumstances. In other words, I'm not sure that the choice is going to be much clearer within the time that Manuel has given himself to decide, which is why I think a two year contract would have made more sense. At a minimum, it would have prevented the April 2013 deadline from being worked into most of the stories that will be written about the team this season and the corresponding perception of instability and uncertainty within the program.
This would be one of the least fair years to evaluate any coach or any hire given the situation of the transfers and the lack of any proven bigs. But that's too logical for most of us.

 

[upstater]

Why do you believe that no other coach would throw his hat in the ring?!?! That sounds ridiculous to me. If it got to the point of a national search where KO was also included, why wouldn’t there be a number of solid choices that would participate? The fact that they would have the search would speak volumes as to how little confidence the school had in KO. And when it comes to money and challenge why wouldn’t some coaches at least listen and interview. I'm not aware of any hiring committee that includes, JC, but maybe I'm ignorant of that fact. But even so, JC would be just one of many, and I don't see why the rest of the committee might not select one of the top available candidates, for example Shaka Smart (or fill in whoever you like) if that coach threw their hat in the ring.

You do realize we are talking about doing a search last Spring, don't you? It was hypothetical. i.e. What if Calhoun hadn't retired in the Fall?