4-20 in our last 24 SEC games, 4-21 if you count the tournament loss to LSU in 2021 is just horrendous-although not as bad as our outside shooting percentage LOL. I find myself getting madder and madder about our current basketball situation, because we did not get there overnight, rather it was foreseeable to anyone paying attention.
Kermit is easily the least successful head coach we have had since Ed Murphy-and Ed actually gave us more fun moments than Kermit has and had none of the resources or salary that Kermit enjoys. In both cases, we went down a level to find a coach. Obviously, success at a lower level does not insure success in the SEC. Sure, there are examples of it working, but generally with young up and comers, not old war veterans. And in Kermit’s case, he had already failed in his one abbreviated attempt to coach in the SEC. Perhaps, we should have taken something from his own alma mater passing on him repeatedly.
But I don’t so much fault the hiring as the contact we gave him. Kermit made less than $500k during most of his years in coaching. He just received a huge raise to $850,000 the year before we hired him. Why did we feel the need to give him a $3 million a year contract? Did we seriously think we needed to do so to retain him? If so, there is a decided lack of intelligence in our athletic department. Or, is it a case that we did it just to pay our coaches what similarly titled coaches make at rival institutions? If so, that needs to stop, we need to be smarter.
I have no issue with paying a coach his market value, whatever that may be. But I do have an issue with paying someone multiples of what they could make elsewhere just because we want to keep up with the Joneses. State, to their credit, has never been run that poorly, they were paying Howland far less than we pay Kermit, even though his resume was ten times that of Kermit’s and he was a proven commodity at this level.
In Kermit’s case, even in his first year the chinks in his armor were visible. Yes, we made the tournament, but we lost five of our last six games and were absolutely blown out of the gym in an 8/9 match-up in which we were a slight favorite. And that was his best team in five years, how did we not see this coming and commit so much money to a guy who the modern game has clearly passed by?
Some may say the money doesn’t matter, well it does when his buy-out is used as an excuse for staying the course. If we give a coach a contract that we cannot afford to honor if the program goes into the tank, shame on us. Kermit should have never been brought back this year, it’s unfair to the kids and the fans.
On football, I am not as panicked as some here, but I do think the recent exodus of so many players proves a point I was told when I worried what would happen if Lane left: almost nobody would have followed Lane to Auburn, the assistants kept the program together and if they were retained we would keep almost everyone, but perhaps Judkins. That being said, I do believe we are in the process of upgrading our assistants, which was needed. And unlike Kermit, Lane was in demand and I understand how we got into the contract situation we are now in.
In this case, we are paying his market, which was unfortunately set by Auburn, even if he has yet to earn that kind of compensation. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to someday regret having made the commitment we have to Lane, that’s still an open question in my book. However, all we can do for now is support the Grove Collective and hope Lane does some growing up and achieves the potential I think he has here. In the meantime, we are probably going to face some challenges over the next 12 months, let’s not freak out with every setback. I am just hooding for a Howard commitment to buoy the mood around here.
Back to basketball, we are playing a meaningful game at the Pavilion today, the only one this weekend. Alabama has a higher NET ranking (#19) than ours (#28), so a win today will do much to advance our Tourney hopes. I hope those who can will make it to the game, our support has been less than what it should be for the quality of the program this year.
Finally, Thank God for Baseball, it can’t get here too soon. And while I believe that Major League II missed the Berenger/Russo romance element, it did not suck, screw the critics. I particularly liked David Keith playing the arrogant free agent catcher. He was in several old movies I enjoyed, such as An Officer and a Gentleman and Lords of Discipline, but his turn as a baddie in ML Ii made the movie for me.
Kermit is easily the least successful head coach we have had since Ed Murphy-and Ed actually gave us more fun moments than Kermit has and had none of the resources or salary that Kermit enjoys. In both cases, we went down a level to find a coach. Obviously, success at a lower level does not insure success in the SEC. Sure, there are examples of it working, but generally with young up and comers, not old war veterans. And in Kermit’s case, he had already failed in his one abbreviated attempt to coach in the SEC. Perhaps, we should have taken something from his own alma mater passing on him repeatedly.
But I don’t so much fault the hiring as the contact we gave him. Kermit made less than $500k during most of his years in coaching. He just received a huge raise to $850,000 the year before we hired him. Why did we feel the need to give him a $3 million a year contract? Did we seriously think we needed to do so to retain him? If so, there is a decided lack of intelligence in our athletic department. Or, is it a case that we did it just to pay our coaches what similarly titled coaches make at rival institutions? If so, that needs to stop, we need to be smarter.
I have no issue with paying a coach his market value, whatever that may be. But I do have an issue with paying someone multiples of what they could make elsewhere just because we want to keep up with the Joneses. State, to their credit, has never been run that poorly, they were paying Howland far less than we pay Kermit, even though his resume was ten times that of Kermit’s and he was a proven commodity at this level.
In Kermit’s case, even in his first year the chinks in his armor were visible. Yes, we made the tournament, but we lost five of our last six games and were absolutely blown out of the gym in an 8/9 match-up in which we were a slight favorite. And that was his best team in five years, how did we not see this coming and commit so much money to a guy who the modern game has clearly passed by?
Some may say the money doesn’t matter, well it does when his buy-out is used as an excuse for staying the course. If we give a coach a contract that we cannot afford to honor if the program goes into the tank, shame on us. Kermit should have never been brought back this year, it’s unfair to the kids and the fans.
On football, I am not as panicked as some here, but I do think the recent exodus of so many players proves a point I was told when I worried what would happen if Lane left: almost nobody would have followed Lane to Auburn, the assistants kept the program together and if they were retained we would keep almost everyone, but perhaps Judkins. That being said, I do believe we are in the process of upgrading our assistants, which was needed. And unlike Kermit, Lane was in demand and I understand how we got into the contract situation we are now in.
In this case, we are paying his market, which was unfortunately set by Auburn, even if he has yet to earn that kind of compensation. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to someday regret having made the commitment we have to Lane, that’s still an open question in my book. However, all we can do for now is support the Grove Collective and hope Lane does some growing up and achieves the potential I think he has here. In the meantime, we are probably going to face some challenges over the next 12 months, let’s not freak out with every setback. I am just hooding for a Howard commitment to buoy the mood around here.
Back to basketball, we are playing a meaningful game at the Pavilion today, the only one this weekend. Alabama has a higher NET ranking (#19) than ours (#28), so a win today will do much to advance our Tourney hopes. I hope those who can will make it to the game, our support has been less than what it should be for the quality of the program this year.
Finally, Thank God for Baseball, it can’t get here too soon. And while I believe that Major League II missed the Berenger/Russo romance element, it did not suck, screw the critics. I particularly liked David Keith playing the arrogant free agent catcher. He was in several old movies I enjoyed, such as An Officer and a Gentleman and Lords of Discipline, but his turn as a baddie in ML Ii made the movie for me.
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