some random thougths on sports in 2014
Earlier this year, I predicted this about UH athletic director Ben Jay
So Ben Jay might not be around much longer. And when he's fired, the officially stated reasons may not match reality ................... that Ben Jay would be fired for even implying UH football might not be around much longer.
Guess what? Ben Jay will not be around much longer. He already announced his resignation, he's just sticking around until the next person gets hired!
The gossip is that Ben Jay got "fired"! Not sure what the truth is, but I wouldn't be surprised if his statements about the future existence of the football program being one of the reasons he is being "fired".
Also, there is allegations regarding recruiting violations associated with the men's basketball program. Basketball coaches Gib Arnold and Brandyn Akana were already fired, but the investigation is not over.
The questions are "what did Ben Jay know and when did he know it?" and "is that the other reason why Ben Jay is being phased out as athletic director?"
Gib Arnold has the reputation of being arrogant, alienating his players (to the point where many have transfered, even those who were starters), and recruiting less than ideal personalities for his team. One year, 4 of his recruits didn't even academically qualify.
Arnold's teams also peaked early in the season (raising hopes of "this will be THE year") and always start losing a lot late in the season, a time when great teams are supposed to gain, NOT lose momentum!
When Gib Arnold got fired, the top player Isaac Fotu also quit to go pro! Another player quit, came back and quit again. All this when the season was about to start! People were already giving up on the team before the first game.
But with Benji Taylor taking over as a coach, the team has responded in a positive way. They are winning, not only against small colleges, but also higher profile colleges like Pittsburgh, Nebraska and Colorado! They also lost a close game to a rising mid-major power Wichita State!
Now the big question is "can Benji Taylor keep the momentum going?" and "can he prevent a late-season meltdown that plagued the program in the recent past?" If the answers are yes, he will be able to continue as head coach! I'm thinking he will get it done and he will be better for the program than Gib Arnold was.
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For football, it's a different story.
When Ben Jay announced his resignation, he also announced Norm Chow will continue as football coach! He says it's because the team is improving (from 1-11 to 4-9). I think it's because UH can't afford to buy out anymore contracts!
Norm Chow was a good assistant coach. He is not head coach material. That much was said when a reporter who knew Chow from his BYU days wrote
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865600530/Norm-Chow-didnt-learn-from-LaVell-Edwards-example.html?pg=all
At one point, I ventured my opinion: Stick with an assistant’s job, I told him; he was too thin-skinned to be a head coach. He would hate it. I had been around him enough to know that he collected grudges against fellow coaches and media, and he dreaded talking to reporters. Why not do what he does best — run offenses? Why tempt the Peter Principle? Not all good assistant coaches make good head coaches. A head coach has to be able to deal with media and criticism and a lot of things that Chow doesn’t like and that have nothing to do with coaching, which brings me to …
then the writer mentioned how then-BYU head coach LaVell Edwards was better able to deal with the press.
That article came up because earlier this year, Norm Chow yelled with rage when a mildly-critical sportswriter Dave Reardon showed up to practice.
Chow, who later apologized, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that he was angry about a column that Reardon had written that was critical of the coach’s decision to hire Kevin Clune, the Utah State linebackers coach, as defensive coordinator (even coaches with 4-20 records can’t be second-guessed).
Predictably, that backfired. Don’t like negative coverage? Then create more. Reardon’s column the next day ran at the top of Page 1: “Coach’s tantrum adds another loss to bleak record.” Talk about a gift for a columnist who is looking for something to write about during the dull spring season.
Add to all that,
- Norm Chow's stupid rule against player's long hair (nevermind that the great teams of the June Jones era had long, wild hair)
- his slander of Blake Muir transferring because he had "no friends on the team"
- his saying he won't be easy on his QBs, whereas June Jones hired Dan Morrison as QB coach to be "the soothing voice in the quarterback's ear".
- and of course, his inability to beat good teams
Norm Chow is poison to the program!
He isn't head-coaching material.
Most importantly, his 4-9 record (so-called improvement) is WORSE than the slightly-below average season that got Coach Mack "retired" a year after winning a conference championship!
That's right, every season with Coach Mack is BETTER than every season with Norm Chow!
The results are in -- UH should NEVER had "retire" Coach Mack!
With former Mack's assistants Nick Rolovich and Dave Aranda having success coaching on the continent, we need them back at UH! I think by next year, they should be ready to become head coaches!
PS: The truth about Coach Mack's "retirement"
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As usual, there is less drama on the Wahine teams at UH, which means there's not as much to write about! The Wahine volleyball were in rebuilding mode this year after losing 7 great seniors last year. They still made the tournament, but lost to super-power Washington. The Wahine basketball has been on the rise with their 3rd season with coach Laura Beeman. Hopefully she sticks around for a long time.
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In other college sports. it's another year, another round of coaches getting fired for not winning championships. This year, it's Nebraska's Bo Pellini, who got fired for going 9-3. Yep, winning only 75% of your games isn't good enough at Nebraska.
Another sign that this is the era of too much demand for instant gratification!
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In other college sports. it's another year, another round of coaches getting fired for not winning championships. This year, it's Nebraska's Bo Pellini, who got fired for going 9-3. Yep, winning only 75% of your games isn't good enough at Nebraska.
Another sign that this is the era of too much demand for instant gratification!
