Wildhack is killing it

[florange44]

What a relief to have a pro like JW running the show! Look at this list of accomplishments ( no particular order )


1) Dome Renovation is awesome
2) nudged JB out as smoothly as possible
3) hired Red
4) hired Alex Kline
5) hired FLJ
6) hired Fran
7) increased coaching budget for football
8) I’m sure there are many more I am forgetting

The over/under on Daryl Gross doing any of these is 1, and no one would bet the over.
What a gigantic difference in knowing what works at this school, professionalism, productivity, and vision.

Bravo John Wildhack, thank you from all the cuse fans.

Now, if you can get us a seat at the big boy table during the next realignment, thats Ring of Honor stuff. I think if anyone can do this, you can.

 

[albanycuse]

Nice post Mr Wildhack.

 

[Dcuse]

Nice post Mr Wildhack.

How nice. A Wildhack detractor.

 

[hoopsupstate]

$150 million football and academic complex.

 

[dwilmont44]

I like a lot of what he has done but at some point it needs to translate to winning teams

 

[albanycuse]

How nice. A Wildhack detractor.

You’re angry.

 

[Newhouser]

More hits than misses but the Q thing, the women's lax thing, what appeared to be a delayed start on NIL --- he has been better than the Dr but navigating the future is where his legacy will be determined. Where do we end up when the school has to start paying for the talent? That will be everyone in college athletics D-Day moment.

 

[orange79]

How nice ridiculously common on this board. A Wildhack detractor.

Fixed

 

[MSOrange]

I think it's fair to look at the good and bad, despite some's inability to handle any sort of nuance.

Positives

1. Done an excellent job with fundraising and a badly needed football complex.
2. Dome renovation and not having to move any games. Not an easy thing to accomplish
3. FLJ hire to get women's basketball turned around so quickly, although TBD how that will look in the long term.
4. Hire of Fran (at least 6 games in) and increased budget for the program
5. Navigating moving on from JB and John Desko. Some would argue both moves should have been done sooner, but as with a lot of business decisions, there are a lot of politics involved and I'm sure both coaches had some friends that I'm sure made things harder.

Middle ground or TBD

1. I like a lot of what is happening but Red needs to make the tourney before I consider him the savior. I really like Alex Kline - not sure who deserves more credit for that, Red or Wildhack.
2. NIL - you can definitely say we got a late start on that, but I think that's because we were actually trying to follow the spirit of what NIL is supposed to be. We probably should have anticipated it being the wild wild west, but I'm not going to fault anyone for trying to be ethical and follow the rules.
3. I don't expect to have a final 4 streak like had to back in the golden years for men's lacrosse, but I think a run every graduating class is reasonable. Last year was a solid move in the right direction and I'm curious to see if we can keep the momentum going this season and if Gait is really the right guy

Negatives

1. The Q situation - I don't expect the AD to attend every single practice and deal with the day to day of every single athletic program. That would be impossible and why he has associate ADs. But it does seem there were opportunities to be aware and get ahead of the Q situation before it got as ugly as it did.
2. We're fortunate that women's lacrosse thing didn't blow up bigger than it did this past offseason.
3. Not as many care about the Olympic sports, but it would be hard to screw up a hire as badly as women's volleyball has been.

 

[cayugacuse]

I think it's fair to look at the good and bad, despite some's inability to handle any sort of nuance.

Positives

1. Done an excellent job with fundraising and a badly needed football complex.
2. Dome renovation and not having to move any games. Not an easy thing to accomplish
3. FLJ hire to get women's basketball turned around so quickly, although TBD how that will look in the long term.
4. Hire of Fran (at least 6 games in) and increased budget for the program
5. Navigating moving on from JB and John Desko. Some would argue both moves should have been done sooner, but as with a lot of business decisions, there are a lot of politics involved and I'm sure both coaches had some friends that I'm sure made things harder.

Middle ground or TBD

1. I like a lot of what is happening but Red needs to make the tourney before I consider him the savior. I really like Alex Kline - not sure who deserves more credit for that, Red or Wildhack.
2. NIL - you can definitely say we got a late start on that, but I think that's because we were actually trying to follow the spirit of what NIL is supposed to be. We probably should have anticipated it being the wild wild west, but I'm not going to fault anyone for trying to be ethical and follow the rules.
3. I don't expect to have a final 4 streak like had to back in the golden years for men's lacrosse, but I think a run every graduating class is reasonable. Last year was a solid move in the right direction and I'm curious to see if we can keep the momentum going this season and if Gait is really the right guy

Negatives

1. The Q situation - I don't expect the AD to attend every single practice and deal with the day to day of every single athletic program. That would be impossible and why he has associate ADs. But it does seem there were opportunities to be aware and get ahead of the Q situation before it got as ugly as it did.
2. We're fortunate that women's lacrosse thing didn't blow up bigger than it did this past offseason.
3. Not as many care about the Olympic sports, but it would be hard to screw up a hire as badly as women's volleyball has been.

Pretty fair observation imo although I am not plugged into any inside stuff. The land scape he has to traverse is so different from his predecessors.

 

[Dcuse]

You’re angry.

Raging.

 

[Dcuse]

Fixed

Well done.

 

[StLouisCuse]

Agreed that Wildhack has done an incredible job. Especially given the landscape of college athletics since his tenure has began. It's an extremely difficult path to navigate and he deserves a whole lot of credit. We know he bleeds Orange and will do everything in his power to ensure SU Athletics is positioned as best as it can be.

 

[djcon57]

I like a lot of what he has done but at some point it needs to translate to winning teams

I'd argue we're seeing results with his football hire immediately. Granted, season isn't over...

 

[baggerbob]

I think it's fair to look at the good and bad, despite some's inability to handle any sort of nuance.

Positives

1. Done an excellent job with fundraising and a badly needed football complex.
2. Dome renovation and not having to move any games. Not an easy thing to accomplish
3. FLJ hire to get women's basketball turned around so quickly, although TBD how that will look in the long term.
4. Hire of Fran (at least 6 games in) and increased budget for the program
5. Navigating moving on from JB and John Desko. Some would argue both moves should have been done sooner, but as with a lot of business decisions, there are a lot of politics involved and I'm sure both coaches had some friends that I'm sure made things harder.

Middle ground or TBD

1. I like a lot of what is happening but Red needs to make the tourney before I consider him the savior. I really like Alex Kline - not sure who deserves more credit for that, Red or Wildhack.
2. NIL - you can definitely say we got a late start on that, but I think that's because we were actually trying to follow the spirit of what NIL is supposed to be. We probably should have anticipated it being the wild wild west, but I'm not going to fault anyone for trying to be ethical and follow the rules.
3. I don't expect to have a final 4 streak like had to back in the golden years for men's lacrosse, but I think a run every graduating class is reasonable. Last year was a solid move in the right direction and I'm curious to see if we can keep the momentum going this season and if Gait is really the right guy

Negatives

1. The Q situation - I don't expect the AD to attend every single practice and deal with the day to day of every single athletic program. That would be impossible and why he has associate ADs. But it does seem there were opportunities to be aware and get ahead of the Q situation before it got as ugly as it did.
2. We're fortunate that women's lacrosse thing didn't blow up bigger than it did this past offseason.
3. Not as many care about the Olympic sports, but it would be hard to screw up a hire as badly as women's volleyball has been.

Wasn't it that someone under him dismissed the stuff about Q, rather then following up on it?

 

[MSOrange]

Wasn't it that someone under him dismissed the stuff about Q, rather then following up on it?

That was a significant part of it. But as I remember, things were also brought directly to John's attention also and he blew it off before things blew up. Either way, if one of his direct reports is blowing off stuff like that, it's not a good look about the culture.

 

[sweetpea]

What is the women's lacrosse stuff?
'

 

[MSOrange]

What is the women's lacrosse stuff?
'

This thread discusses it. It may not be fair to judge how this was handled until/unless more of it becomes public, but seems like there is some smoke there with the staff changes.

Women's Lacrosse - K-Train

According to the Fanlax board Kayla had an Affair. Cheated on her husband with Coach Rehfuss... isn't that a fireable offense at Syracuse. What a joke this has all become

syracusefan.com

 

[sweetpea]

This thread discusses it. It may not be fair to judge how this was handled until/unless more of it becomes public, but seems like there is some smoke there with the staff changes.

Women's Lacrosse - K-Train

According to the Fanlax board Kayla had an Affair. Cheated on her husband with Coach Rehfuss... isn't that a fireable offense at Syracuse. What a joke this has all become

syracusefan.com

Thank you for the link.

 

[Scooch]

I think it's fair to look at the good and bad, despite some's inability to handle any sort of nuance.

Positives

1. Done an excellent job with fundraising and a badly needed football complex.
2. Dome renovation and not having to move any games. Not an easy thing to accomplish
3. FLJ hire to get women's basketball turned around so quickly, although TBD how that will look in the long term.
4. Hire of Fran (at least 6 games in) and increased budget for the program
5. Navigating moving on from JB and John Desko. Some would argue both moves should have been done sooner, but as with a lot of business decisions, there are a lot of politics involved and I'm sure both coaches had some friends that I'm sure made things harder.

Middle ground or TBD

1. I like a lot of what is happening but Red needs to make the tourney before I consider him the savior. I really like Alex Kline - not sure who deserves more credit for that, Red or Wildhack.
2. NIL - you can definitely say we got a late start on that, but I think that's because we were actually trying to follow the spirit of what NIL is supposed to be. We probably should have anticipated it being the wild wild west, but I'm not going to fault anyone for trying to be ethical and follow the rules.
3. I don't expect to have a final 4 streak like had to back in the golden years for men's lacrosse, but I think a run every graduating class is reasonable. Last year was a solid move in the right direction and I'm curious to see if we can keep the momentum going this season and if Gait is really the right guy

Negatives

1. The Q situation - I don't expect the AD to attend every single practice and deal with the day to day of every single athletic program. That would be impossible and why he has associate ADs. But it does seem there were opportunities to be aware and get ahead of the Q situation before it got as ugly as it did.
2. We're fortunate that women's lacrosse thing didn't blow up bigger than it did this past offseason.
3. Not as many care about the Olympic sports, but it would be hard to screw up a hire as badly as women's volleyball has been.

Very fair post.

Anyone in a position like JW's is going to have their share of misfires or decision that some disagree with. It's inevitable. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and all.

At a macro level, it's hard to overstate how much JW has improved the Athletics Department. SU is in a farrrrrr stronger position today at an institutional level than we've been in at any point in the past 3 decades.

 

[orangenauburn]

I think it's fair to look at the good and bad, despite some's inability to handle any sort of nuance.

Positives

1. Done an excellent job with fundraising and a badly needed football complex.
2. Dome renovation and not having to move any games. Not an easy thing to accomplish
3. FLJ hire to get women's basketball turned around so quickly, although TBD how that will look in the long term.
4. Hire of Fran (at least 6 games in) and increased budget for the program
5. Navigating moving on from JB and John Desko. Some would argue both moves should have been done sooner, but as with a lot of business decisions, there are a lot of politics involved and I'm sure both coaches had some friends that I'm sure made things harder.

Middle ground or TBD

1. I like a lot of what is happening but Red needs to make the tourney before I consider him the savior. I really like Alex Kline - not sure who deserves more credit for that, Red or Wildhack.
2. NIL - you can definitely say we got a late start on that, but I think that's because we were actually trying to follow the spirit of what NIL is supposed to be. We probably should have anticipated it being the wild wild west, but I'm not going to fault anyone for trying to be ethical and follow the rules.
3. I don't expect to have a final 4 streak like had to back in the golden years for men's lacrosse, but I think a run every graduating class is reasonable. Last year was a solid move in the right direction and I'm curious to see if we can keep the momentum going this season and if Gait is really the right guy

Negatives

1. The Q situation - I don't expect the AD to attend every single practice and deal with the day to day of every single athletic program. That would be impossible and why he has associate ADs. But it does seem there were opportunities to be aware and get ahead of the Q situation before it got as ugly as it did.
2. We're fortunate that women's lacrosse thing didn't blow up bigger than it did this past offseason.
3. Not as many care about the Olympic sports, but it would be hard to screw up a hire as badly as women's volleyball has been.

I watched the women's volleyball team last night.

Didn't know they had lost 30 straight conference games

 

[MSOrange]

I watched the women's volleyball team last night.

Didn't know they had lost 30 straight conference games

They are brutal. To be fair, I should have ADJW credit for the soccer championship in talking about Olympic sports. Sure Ian is the coach, but the infrastructure and support from the AD has to be pretty solid for any team to win a championship.

 

[dwilmont44]

I'd argue we're seeing results with his football hire immediately. Granted, season isn't over...

Welp

 

[GreekFreak]

What a relief to have a pro like JW running the show! Look at this list of accomplishments ( no particular order )


1) Dome Renovation is awesome
2) nudged JB out as smoothly as possible
3) hired Red
4) hired Alex Kline
5) hired FLJ
6) hired Fran
7) increased coaching budget for football
8) I’m sure there are many more I am forgetting

The over/under on Daryl Gross doing any of these is 1, and no one would bet the over.
What a gigantic difference in knowing what works at this school, professionalism, productivity, and vision.

Bravo John Wildhack, thank you from all the cuse fans.

Now, if you can get us a seat at the big boy table during the next realignment, thats Ring of Honor stuff. I think if anyone can do this, you can.

Is he watching the football game tonight?

 

[FllCrtPrss]

The jury is still out on Brown and Autry