I would like to see what you think he should have said. Something like “I know this guy isn’t qualified but he’s got a lot of internal supporters at Syracuse, and they forced my hand so maybe a miracle will happen and this will work out”?
His job is literally to SELL THE DECISION TO THE PUBLIC. What he said isn’t some black mark against him - it shows that he’s a consummate professional who did what is expected of him or anyone in that role. That is - sell the decision as a great one even if you fought like hell against it behind closed doors and still disagree with it.
The complaints about Wildhack’s are often so childish that they end up sounding like a three year old toddler’s tantrum. This is a shining example. There’s certainly parts of his track record that can be legitimately criticized - “he did his best to get the community excited about Red and set him up for success” is not on any sane adult individual’s list.
In my opinion, he could've chosen his words differently and still get the public behind the hire, all while simultaneously being the "consummate professional." Perhaps, along the lines of Autry taking the next step, being exciting about the opportunity ahead, etc. However, I'm not a speech writer and don't profess to be. I just think, again, IMO, when you look at the words he voluntarily chose, it comes across, well, "selling a bill of goods."
Was Autry
"exposed to every aspect to the sport" when everyone knew he hadn't been since he had never been a head coach, let alone one at the P4 level? And that being so, how is that
"being uniquely prepared" for the job? No, so why spew it. The Syracuse community is pretty knowlegeable about its hoops.
"Earned?" That
"earned" comment of his reminded me of his "equity" comment about JB, just the season before when he was feeling all the noise about JB. Remember that interview? That
"equity" tanked pretty quick, (seeminglly as fast as the stock market mention just recently in some other speech "hitting the 50k mark") as JB was out by the following season's end.
The fact that he said in his speech that
"Adrian's not here because he's an alum, or because he was a player, or because he was an associate head coach" speaks for itself. The reality is, it's exactly why he was here, and, most knew it, so quite insincere. Moreover, he wasn't going to sell that "bill of goods" to anyone, not even to himself. Generally, folks are aware of those who've walked the walk vs. otherwise.
Again, just my opinion on an anonymous message board. That said, in regards to your;
"I would like to see what you think he should have said." You couldn't care less. If you were being honest, you wouldn't have suggested something as assine as you did. So, there's that. Additionally, your mentioning of a
"three year old toddler's tantrum" is a somewhat ironic, considering your own rant comes across exactly as that. Furthermore, your apparent unwillingness in refraining from making things personal with your intentional slight; "not on any
sane adult individual's list" speaks volumes as well.
