Anyone think the deal with Arnett might have already been in the works?

[Other Kind]

This happened extremely fast but I understand wanting to keep the class together and some semblance of continuity for the staff and players. Is there any chance that Leach was potentially going to step down or make plans to and one way we kept Arnett from leaving for the confirmed “higher profile offers” was telling him he’s next in line?

 

[Dawgbite]

Nope!

 

[karlchilders.sixpack]

Saw where they said they had been working on it about 24 hours.

 

[msstatelp1]

personal opinion is yep but complete conjecture on my part.

 

[Dawgzilla2]

No. I think they started working on it yesterday. Maybe Monday night. Its not as if Arnett was going to negotiate very much

 

[Pilgrimdawg]

Yes, I bet this contingency plan has been in place for several weeks.

 

[PapaDawg]

This is nothing but my conjecture. I have smelled a lot of smoke concerning Leach’s health and him stepping down after the bowl game. Smoke and fire go together and that much smoke usually has some fire. I think this had been discussed between Leach, Keenum, Bracky (Cohen). Throw in the suddenness and the need to move forward quickly and here we are. I support Arnett 100%.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

This is nothing but my conjecture. I have smelled a lot of smoke concerning Leach’s health and him stepping down after the bowl game. Smoke and fire go together and that much smoke usually has some fire. I think this had been discussed between Leach, Keenum, Bracky (Cohen). Throw in the suddenness and the need to move forward quickly and here we are. I support Arnett 100%.

This seems more and more likely. Leach may have wanted to get through signing day, bowl game and portal, then step down.

 

[dog99walker]

I like Coach Arnett. You guys who didn’t like Leach’s calm sideline manner will love the intense Arnett.

 

[dickiedawg]

This happened extremely fast but I understand wanting to keep the class together and some semblance of continuity for the staff and players. Is there any chance that Leach was potentially going to step down or make plans to and one way we kept Arnett from leaving for the confirmed “higher profile offers” was telling him he’s next in line?

Makes too much sense. They moved incredibly quickly to name him interim, and incredibly quickly to name him permanent. It’s as if they never considered an outside hire.

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

This is nothing but my conjecture. I have smelled a lot of smoke concerning Leach’s health and him stepping down after the bowl game. Smoke and fire go together and that much smoke usually has some fire. I think this had been discussed between Leach, Keenum, Bracky (Cohen). Throw in the suddenness and the need to move forward quickly and here we are. I support Arnett 100%.

There was always a lot of speculation, and it wasn't mostly wishful thinking on the part of the Leach haters. He was coughing like a two pack a day 70 year smoker with emphysema.

 

[The Fatboy]

Makes too much sense. They moved incredibly quickly to name him interim, and incredibly quickly to name him permanent. It’s as if they never considered an outside hire.

I think they considered it but realized this was the absolute worst time to start a nationwide search for a coach. They did move quickly. Im glad they did. The players seems to really like Arnett. I think that is evidenced by the "run it back" theme we saw a couple weeks ago. Arnett may not be that experienced but he seems like a serious intense guy who loves this team. And he has plenty of experienced people around the university to help

 

[kired]

Yes, I bet this contingency plan has been in place for several weeks.

I think for a position like head football coach, it would irresponsible to not have a contingency plan in place for something like this. He’s basically like the CEO of a $100-million company. So I’m sure Cohen and Keenum had probably discussed who would be interim if Leach had to take a leave of absence for whatever reason. I mean, we had to replace our head baseball coach mid season just a few years ago. So you have to plan for it (even though we’re without an AD when this happened)

But I don’t think there’s been any indication Leach was really going to retire other than random internet rumors because he sounded so unhealthy. And if that were the case, I can’t imagine us simply planning to promote Arnett without a more in depth search.

 

[SirBarksalot]

Makes too much sense. They moved incredibly quickly to name him interim, and incredibly quickly to name him permanent. It’s as if they never considered an outside hire.

Not sure they had a choice but to move quickly in any case..

 

[Hail State]

This happened extremely fast but I understand wanting to keep the class together and some semblance of continuity for the staff and players. Is there any chance that Leach was potentially going to step down or make plans to and one way we kept Arnett from leaving for the confirmed “higher profile offers” was telling him he’s next in line?

No. It’s a premature emotional reaction to everything that’s going on. Though Bracky Brett is acting AD so maybe you’re right.

 

[TaleofTwoDogs]

"Bird in hand beats two in the bush". Why throw the dice on an assistant (like Morehead) or a fired HC from some other program when you have a very good known quantity in Arnett?

 

[PirateBay]

I think for a position like head football coach, it would irresponsible to not have a contingency plan in place for something like this. He’s basically like the CEO of a $100-million company.

I understand where you’re coming from, but no it isn’t. A company has to make money and can fail, the stakes are higher, the company can literally cease to exist. It’s like saying a Call of Duty player is basically a Navy Seal.

A football program is playing with money that is given by someone else, or received from the conference which is essentially a collective minimizing risk. If things go down the tank, the worst case scenario is trying again with little to no decrease in funding. Which isn’t even the coach‘s concern since they have an AD, President, and Board above them to make those decisions. Companies also generally only have a few direct competitors, which means a smaller pool of qualified CEO’s, which makes finding a competent replacement more difficult. There are 65 P5 football teams and every single one of those jobs has the same job description, requires the exact same skillset, and there are literally hundreds of other coaches qualified to replace the HC.

Its a stressful job, for sure. But, at the end of the day, it’s a low risk job and you are making a lot of money to coach a game.

 

[Trojanbulldog19]

"Bird in hand beats two in the bush". Why throw the dice on an assistant (like Morehead) or a fired HC from some other program when you have a very good known quantity in Arnett?

Kind of a fallacy. Know commodity in a DC. Unknown head coach. Not saying he won't be but he isn't a known commodity. Hopefully it turns out great because I liked him as a DC. He bailed our offense out a lot this year. So hopefully he picks an OC wisely that will help his defense

 

[kired]

I understand where you’re coming from, but no it isn’t. A company has to make money and can fail, the stakes are higher, the company can literally cease to exist. It’s like saying a Call of Duty player is basically a Navy Seal.

A football program is playing with money that is given by someone else, or received from the conference which is essentially a collective minimizing risk. If things go down the tank, the worst case scenario is trying again with little to no decrease in funding. Which isn’t even the coach‘s concern since they have an AD, President, and Board above them to make those decisions. Companies also generally only have a few direct competitors, which means a smaller pool of qualified CEO’s, which makes finding a competent replacement more difficult. There are 65 P5 football teams and every single one of those jobs has the same job description, requires the exact same skillset, and there are literally hundreds of other coaches qualified to replace the HC.

Its a stressful job, for sure. But, at the end of the day, it’s a low risk job and you are making a lot of money to coach a game.

I don’t mean we had a permanent replacement planned. I just mean we surely had an interim replacement planned in case of an emergency. That’s why Arnett was quickly named interim Sunday. He wasn’t just randomly picked by Bracky. I’d hope we have the same for Jans or Lemonis too, probably someone designated by each coach who could run things if they had to unexpectedly miss a game

 

[PirateBay]

I don’t mean we had a permanent replacement planned. I just mean we surely had an interim replacement planned in case of an emergency. That’s why Arnett was quickly named interim Sunday. He wasn’t just randomly picked by Bracky. I’d hope we have the same for Jans or Lemonis too, probably someone designated by each coach who could run things if they had to unexpectedly miss a game

On that I agree. I think Arnett had been HC in waiting for some time.

 

[HumpDawgy]

I'm not sure if he had interviewed with anyone for a DC job before this happened, but with his defensive success this season, I don't believe we would have been able to keep him unless there was something in place just in case Leach had to step away (either permanent or temporarily). Leach has been dealing with health issues most of this year.

 

[GloryDawg]

He was probably on verge of making 2 million plus as DC and was HC in wait. The death of Mike Leach expedited his rise to HC. Just my opinion. I feel the contract is going to be fair to both parties. Add another million to two million to the 2 million he was going to receive, and I would imagine that was guaranteed for four years with zero buy outs.

 

[Cantdoitsal]

On that I agree. I think Arnett had been HC in waiting for some time.

I hope and would like to think this is the case on Arnett. I'm also thinking that just maybe we are in position to hire a high profile OC who likes to sling it so he can fly immediately to Nashville and have an in home visit with Chris Parson. This is different than having to fire a HC because we tanked and needing to clean house and start over so to speak. I think this is still The Pirate's Ship that needs to stay the course and keep this Crootin' Class Intact.

 

[Old Dawg]

I'm not sure if he had interviewed with anyone for a DC job before this happened, but with his defensive success this season, I don't believe we would have been able to keep him unless there was something in place just in case Leach had to step away (either permanent or temporarily). Leach has been dealing with health issues most of this year.

I thought ZA was hired as DC at Syracuse and walked away when Leach called. Or am I thinking of someone else?

 

[Maroon Eagle]

I thought ZA was hired as DC at Syracuse and walked away when Leach called. Or am I thinking of someone else?

You are correct.