Comments on: MSU’s Stricklin Has To Ask Fans For Patience During Search

By: RingProudly

RingProudly — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 18:53:42 +0000

@John at MrSEC
Sorry if I offended, certainly wasn’t my goal.

I don’t find myself to be particularly positive, just neutral. Lots of things are possible. It’s certsainly possible noone is interested in Mississippi State, but THAT is what I find unlikely. Prohm, after a year of coaching, would turn down ~1m for a major high-profile job for 300K at Murray State? That just doesn’t seem logical to assume.

You’re right, Stricklin did post due to the speculation and concern. That, however, means nothing other than the fact that the base is energized. It doesn’t mean things are *actually* going wrong. It just means that people are in a tizzy. That, I won’t deny.

I’ll admit the search seems, on the surface, to be a bit sloppy. Knowing Stricklin and his former hires and hiring processes, I doubt that it’s sloppy internally.

As far as your blog, never cease to offer your opinion. You seem to be one of the more educated – and certainly level-headed – opinionated sports writers there are. I love your stuff, just felt the original post was a bit alarmist. Regardless, I don’t have to agree with an opinion to respect it, and I respect you and your blog very much.

Also, I feel this deserves to be said: few bloggers take the time to reply to every comment. That’s impressive and very appreciated.

By: John at MrSEC

John at MrSEC — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:22:07 +0000

RingProudly…

You do indeed ring proudly. You’re a fountain of positivity for your school. Thumbs up for that.

This site delivers news and opinion. The news is a number of coaches have interviewed with MSU only to stay put with raises at their existing schools. Sure, it’s possible Stricklin wasn’t interested in them. But that seems a bit unlikely.

Also, I don’t think I said things are “falling apart,” as you put it. In fact, I said State could still land the next Dean Smith. But the fact that the school’s AD is having to put out a press release asking for patience is not a good sign, whether one rings proudly or not.

If he’s making a comment, there’s a reason for it. He’s hearing from State fans and alums who want to know what’s taking so long. We tried to explain in three quick points what the hold-up might be.

And I’ve stated — knowing full well that I could be wrong — that I think and have thought State would have been better off giving Stansbury another year. We’ll see who State hires and how they do. Until then, the news is that State’s search isn’t looking good to this point and the AD has had to address that fact… and the opinion — at least here — is that MSU’s next coach won’t bring more success than Stansbury brought.

We aren’t surprised that MSU has had trouble bringing someone in. That’s been our position since Stansbury’s “retirement.”

For State’s sake, I hope I’m wrong. But this site is very much news plus opinion. And that’s my current opinion. I’ll be happy to admit my error if MSU lands some big name coach with a late-game money thrust. Or if MSU grabs an up-and-comer who’s on other teams’ radar.

But remember this — James Franklin’s hire at Vanderbilt resulted in “huh?” reactions from this site and many others. After a season on the job, he’s looking pretty darn good. As we’re fond of saying… anything’s possible.

Thanks as always for reading,
John

By: RingProudly

RingProudly — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 15:10:07 +0000

I like your blog, and I find it unfortunate that you seem so critical of the process. Realistically, noone knows exactly what’s going on behind the curtains. Just because these coaches interviewed doesn’t mean Stricklin didn’t turn THEM down. He very well could be waiting for a Nick Saban (cough cough Tubby) or simply biding his time to get the exact right fit. He issued a plea for patience because you’re right about one thing – MSU fans will be expecting a lot and are a rabid fanbase. State hoops fans, and in general, are easy to get into a tizzy.

I think assuming things are falling apart, and framing the situation that way, is based only on surface-based assumptions and is not something I know this blog to be a fan of doing. I respect your writing more than that.