John Wildhack joins Orange Nation today at 12:15

[kcsu]

Which totally negates the supposed benefit of the long contract in combating negative recruiting

It's all so stupid, that story never made sense

I dont think Portal kids are concerned about the coach being there multiple years

 

[Scooch]

Dino going 5-7, 6-0 to 7-5, 4-0 to 6-7 - showed that we were stalled. And as mediocre as Dino was, at least some of the games were exciting and the team looked very good in several games. Dino could just never get depth and we fell apart after the inevitable key injuries. And we stepped on our d**** in big games (pick 6 against ND).

Red going 20 wins! no tournament, 12-20, 21-14 with a First Four is improvement and the people at SU who care more about JB's legacy (or whatever) than they do about having fans will point to that as success.

Red is not suitable for this role and he was the #2 watching the program fall off a cliff, so I don't think he's even suited for the Assoc. Head Coach role, so the chances are low that we make the tournament and we just have to deal with his incompetence for one more year.

I think that's wrong, but we'll see.

 

[Scooch]

I think some people in this thread are not drawing the distinction between what John said publicly and what he may have said privately to Red. I have no inside info, but if he is the kind of manager I think he is, I'm sure he would have provided Red with clear benchmarks as to what has to happen next year.

True. And yet, I doubt Wildhack even needs to say anything specific to Autry. Red's not an idiot, he's been in the coaching game for a long time and he knows how this works. I doubt JW needs to spell it out for him. Like, if he goes 19-12 next year and misses the tourney I doubt he's going to be blindsided when he gets canned.

 

[orange79]

True. And yet, I doubt Wildhack even needs to say anything specific to Autry. Red's not an idiot, he's been in the coaching game for a long time and he knows how this works. I doubt JW needs to spell it out for him. Like, if he goes 19-12 next year and misses the tourney I doubt he's going to be blindsided when he gets canned.

Fair

 

[SUFan44]

Because that is what they want not what he said

Exactly. Which is my fear.

 

[CNYGuy]

i think im out on JW as AD

Football and MBB since he's come to town have been below .500 in conference play

I can give him credit for Fran, but not a lot, since FB called to sell him on his vision. Impossible to know if FB would have been on JW radar because it sounds like he wanted Chesney, and who knows how 2024 plays out.

Ultimatums never work. We'll be on the coaching hunt a year from now

I don't get the football talk here and don't care who called who first. Is there anyone who follows Syracuse football who doesn't feel good about the current direction of the team? I mean even the guy we just fired left the program in a better spot than he found it.

We STUNK for almost 20 years. Now wave 4 bowls and 2 10-win seasons in the last seven years (plus two 5-7s and one major outlier that happened to be during a global pandemic where our opponents still had fans and we had to practice in small groups because of different state laws)... We have better recruiting and more NFL talent than anytime since Pasqualoni.

To me, we have a basketball issue right now that needs to be fixed. It's not a complete meltdown across different sports.

 

[BillSU]

But they are because he isn't getting fired and nothing is changing.

NOT YET!

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

Indiana hasn't make the Elite 8 since 2002. They only have THREE Sweet 16s since 2002. We are the new Indiana. At least they have B1G money to maybe one day pull themselves out.

Give me a break Indiana would beat us by 20.

Nebraska football is the best comp but they don't even suck as badly as Cuse hoops right now we've fallen further.

Their is no former power that is currently this pathetic across all sports.

Admin has to keep Fran happy and probably would botch the hire this year that's my justification for this cowardly and moronic move.

 

[NKR1978]

I think that's wrong, but we'll see.

I'm a little emotional.

 

[NKR1978]

Their is no former power that is currently this pathetic across all sports.

We were just 10-3 in football, and that's really what matters. We got a ton of national love this season.

I think our best case scenario is to be Tennessee football. I think we compare really well to them. Huge stadium. Orange, though theirs is trash. Great tradition but not a ton of championships. Huge fanbase. Important program, but kind of in the shadow of a few conference mates. They took a long slumber after Fulmer. But they're back.

 

[Newhouser]

He hired Fran, that worked out very well for Syracuse University and remade the Dome - yeah I'd say he's a very good AD.

Dome was going to get done and Fran wasn't all Wildhack.

 

[CNYGuy]

Their is no former power that is currently this pathetic across all sports.

NCAA College Football Rankings: AP Top 25 Football Poll

The official page for the AP Top 25 college football poll, a tradition since 1936. Keep up to date and view the latest ranking updates each week.

apnews.com

In case you missed it, we're currently a top-20 football team.

 

[gmoney44]

Did you not watch the Dino situation literally a year ago?

Ya, he really laid down the law firing Dino after five straight years of mediocre to horrible seasons.

 

[Millhouse]

I dont think Portal kids are concerned about the coach being there multiple years

Me neither
But that was the story for the crazy contract

 

[RF2044]

Ya, he really laid down the law firing Dino after five straight years of mediocre to horrible seasons.

I'm not trying to get in the middle of your debate, but I think the point Scooch is trying to make is that Dino got to some [artificially low] benchmark -- i.e., bowl eligibility

And was still let go, despite that nominal level of "success." Many believed that if he qualified for a bowl, he'd be secure. But as it turned out, attaining the minimum threshold of success wasn't good enough for Wildhack. Which by extension might mean [not trying to put words in Scooch's mouth] that Autry has to do a lot better than go 19 - 15 and just miss the tournament.

 

[MSOrange]

Dome was going to get done and Fran wasn't all Wildhack.

Agree but by the same token, the JB transition and Red wasn't all Wildhack either.

 

[Newhouser]

We were just 10-3 in football, and that's really what matters. We got a ton of national love this season.

I think our best case scenario is to be Tennessee football. I think we compare really well to them. Huge stadium. Orange, though theirs is trash. Great tradition but not a ton of championships. Huge fanbase. Important program, but kind of in the shadow of a few conference mates. They took a long slumber after Fulmer. But they're back.

SU is a peer of the Vols?

 

[powdersmack]

This is...concerning. Is there anyone on the hill cognizant of how to run a basketball team these days?!

"The men’s basketball program has not been fully staffed in terms of the number of permissible assistant coaches. Wildhack said any off-season determinations on personnel were up to Autry.
“If he comes to me and says, hey, this is what I want to do, we’re going to do it,” Wildhack said."

 

[Scooch]

Ya, he really laid down the law firing Dino after five straight years of mediocre to horrible seasons.

I'm not trying to get in the middle of your debate, but I think the point Scooch is trying to make is that Dino got to some [artificially low] benchmark -- i.e., bowl eligibility

And was still let go, despite that nominal level of "success." Many believed that if he qualified for a bowl, he'd be secure. But as it turned out, attaining the minimum threshold of success wasn't good enough for Wildhack. Which by extension might mean [not trying to put words in Scooch's mouth] that Autry has to do a lot better than go 19 - 15 and just miss the tournament.

Thanks RF, you're picking up what I'm putting down.

Today's statement was what I've been expecting for months, so I'm not posting from a place of frustration. However, I totally get that people are mad and cynical.

If JW fired Red on Sunday I wouldn't have been upset with it. The past year of this program has been a catastrophe, full stop. I have serious concerns about Autry's ability to lead this program. He botched the most-recent offseason about as badly as possible. And I lay that blame right as his feet. He didn't do the work -- not in raising money and not in player evaluation.

My point here is simply that we're all of 15 months from the last time JW applied his expectations to the job status of a head coach. And in that case, the bare minimum was not good enough.

Look, if Red makes the play-in game and keeps his job, I'll grab a pitchfork and join the rest of you. That's not an acceptable outcome to me.

 

[Scooch]

This is...concerning. Is there anyone on the hill cognizant of how to run a basketball team these days?!

"The men’s basketball program has not been fully staffed in terms of the number of permissible assistant coaches. Wildhack said any off-season determinations on personnel were up to Autry.
“If he comes to me and says, hey, this is what I want to do, we’re going to do it,” Wildhack said."

I saw this quote and I thought JW's response is correct. He's putting forth that the program is Red's, and that John's job is to provide all of the necessary resources that Red wants.

Red has to be the one who's the architect of his staffing, player compensation funding, practice agenda, etc. Wildhack is saying that he'll do what any good senior executive should do -- give someone what he or she needs to be successful.

If Red can't map out what those needs are, then he'll fail and he'll rightfully be canned.

 

[McCuse]

I would love for you to be right on that. But I have a feeling he is going to be highly sought after this offseason. Some schools probably willing to pony up big bucks.

Meanwhile we are giving Red another year only to be inevitably fired when he fails which he will. What big name NIL player will want to play for a lame duck coach and program.

Pull the bandaid off now.

Sounds like it's too late for that.

 

[BomberOrange]

Rest of the world? Thanks for your informative post

 

[NKR1978]

SU is a peer of the Vols?

I think SU basketball is apt comparison to Tennessee football.

 

[sweetpea]

It's entirely possible that Hodgson bides his time for one more year to get a chance at this gig.

I don't see that if another Power 4 school gives him a legitimate offer.

 

[721Comstock]

I saw this quote and I thought JW's response is correct. He's putting forth that the program is Red's, and that John's job is to provide all of the necessary resources that Red wants.

Red has to be the one who's the architect of his staffing, player compensation funding, practice agenda, etc. Wildhack is saying that he'll do what any good senior executive should do -- give someone what he or she needs to be successful.

If Red can't map out what those needs are, then he'll fail and he'll rightfully be canned.

Here’s the thing:

Eve IF Red can “map out his needs” and gets them,
does anybody think he’s got the coaching chops to be successful anyway?

I do not.

I love Red, what he’s meant for the program, yada yada yada.
But he’s clearly NOT the guy we need, if we’re going to ever get back to competitiveness and relevance again.

PS - JW totally lucked into Fran.
Yes, he gets credit for hiring him, but Fran got himself hired.