Starkville Daily News article on Polk.

[DerHntr]

<table class="contentpaneopen"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="contentheading" width="100%">Polk stresses hurt feelings, Cohen set to move on staff</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table class="contentpaneopen"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="createdate" valign="top" colspan="2">Tuesday, 10 June 2008</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" colspan="2">By AARON SEIDLITZ
Starkville Daily News

Ron Polk wants to make one thing clear. He said the words he said and started the course of action he started on Friday came because he feels protective of his coaching staff and his idea of how he enviosened the Mississippi State baseball
program moving forward.

On Friday, Polk stated that he felt "slapped in the face and punched in the stomach" by incoming athletic director Greg Byrne because Byrne went against his suggestion to hire Polk's assistant coach Tommy Raffo. Polk said he was going to take his name off of Polk-Dement Stadium, MSU out of his will and would be moving from Starkville.

He softened on two of those three positions on Monday, by saying - as of right now - he wishes to keep his name on the stadium and that he will reconsider leaving MSU in his will. "The story is basically that I'm not going to take my name off the stadium because former and current players, guys who love this university, don't want to see that happen," Polk said.

What worries Polk now is that he believes his assistant coaches will be out of a job. Assistant coaches Raffo, Russ McNickle and Wade Hedges are the ones whose positions are in limbo while Cohen prepares to make his decisions on a staff. Polk said that the group had had a meeting with Byrne, and Polk said the coaches were told they would be given an opportunity to talk to Cohen.

Cohen said on Monday that he is ready to announce one new addition to his coaching staff today. He did not specify who that will be. In regards to the rest of the staff, the new head coach said that it will take a little time and that he is sifting through numerous options right now. The current assistants, he said, are options as he moves forward, but so far he has heard little from them.

"We're working through this process and are making sure we get the guys we want as we move forward. We got some great candidates and we're really excited," Cohen said. "When a staff works together for a long time - like coach Polk's has - they become a tight nit unit.

"I don't know if any of those guys have expressed an interest to me (about staying)." Byrne said a meeting did take place, but he was not ready to comment on the status of the decisions being made in regards to Cohen's coaching staff.

Polk re-emphasized his stance that Cohen is a good coach and a good hire. He just wasn't the hire he was expecting Byrne to make and he wasn't expecting Cohen to take the job.

"I'm not talking to the players and telling them they shouldn't play for coach Cohen," Polk said. "They're his players and he's their coach now. All I asked John to do was please, please, please don't take this job because it effects my life too. But he told me this was his dream job, and I guess he feels that's more important than what I wanted him to do."

As things have progressed, Polk said he understands how Cohen has moved forward.

"He has been good in saying that I'm like a second dad to him and that I'm the reason he's coaching right now," Polk said. "That makes me feel good."</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

/Discuss
//More of the same stuff but he appears to be calming it down substantially.
///Also, there was a letter to the editor today in the print version of the SDN about Polk. It was from a mom of a 14 year old kid in Indiana (I think). She basically told Polk he was an embarrassment and to stop acting like a "crybaby."

 

[TilloDawg]

Man, the old <17>er still don't get it, does he ?

All I asked John to do was please, please, please don't take this job because it effects my life too. But he told me this was his dream job, and I guess he feels that's more important than what I wanted him to do."

 

[DAWG61]

heard of a coach in any major division one program who felt it was their right to get to name their predecessor. That is just beyond me that Polk thinks it is his decision on who should be the next coach. 100 times out of 100 that decision goes to the AD and the University. Neither of those are Polk so to me this just proves that he needs to retire. He has been very radical in his approach towards the NCAA and now this... It's not like the guy is John Wooden or Pat Summitt. I could see if he had something like 8 National Championships but he has none so just step down quietly and you will be remembered as a hero. Now you have cost yourself untold damage over what?

 

[ArrowDawg]

...........think they have the right to tell another person not to take a job, especially when it's a job they've dreamed about having their whole life?

As far as we know, we only have one life on this Earth. You can either make the most of it and take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves, or you can pass them up because of someone else's feelings and then spend the rest of your natural life regretting your decision. Sometimes you're even going to threaten friendships in the process, and you hate to do it, but ultimately we all have to look out for ourselves and our families before anybody else. That's what John Cohen did, and he's right in doing it.

When you think about it, the perfect storm had to happen for John Cohen to get a shot at his dream job. First of all we had to hire a President with some balls, someone who particularly would look at the regressing athletic situation and make a change at the top. That happened when we hired Doc Foglesong. He promptly gave LT the boot and hired a young, aggressive AD. What also had to happen was for Polk to announce his retirement at the right time. If he had announced this a year ago, LT would have still been fully in charge and would have quickly handed the reigns over to Tommy Raffo. If that had happened, chances are that John Cohen would have had to bury his dream 6-feet under and be content with becoming a career guy at UK, or wait until another program with better tradition came calling. Fortunately for Cohen, Polk waited a year too late and Greg Byrne was given the power to make the hire at MSU. The rest is history.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Starting off with...

Dean Smith
Bear Bryant
Bob Devaney
Ray Meyer
Gene Bartow (okay, so we're talking UAB basketball)
Skip Bertman
Darrell Royal
...and Charley Shira

Edit to add: Yes, I know. Most of the gentlemen also were ADs at their universities, but Smith and Meyer were not.

 

[jwbigcreek]

Smith, Bryant, Devaney, Bertman, & Royal (I think) all won NC's (some of them multiple NC's). I always loved Polk (at least during Polk I), but he's got as many NC's as I do.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

And Ray Meyer is often considered to be a national championship winning coach since DePaul won the NIT back in 1945 at a time when the NIT was considered a national title.

 

[RobertF50]

If he retires and comes back 3 times does that mean he gets to pick 3 coaches for us. Polk just wanted someone to keep things the same so he could run things behind the scenes.

 

[Stormrider81]

This whole ordeal isn't about Tommy Raffo, Russ McNickle, the diamond girls, the current players, player parents, the camps, etc. This is about Ron Polk. In his interview Monday afternoon on SS930 here in Jackson he kept saying "I". "I have to get these guys another job." "Now I have to start over." The worst came when asked if emotion took over and caused a lot of his comments he said this: "Yes, think how I felt after Tommy got passed over." How you felt? Who cares how you feel, you didn't get passed over for the job. Raffo did. I feel for him, not you. That whole interview was about Polk. He would have to line up jobs for his assistants. Apparently they aren't capable of putting their resumes out there themselves. I, I, I. Ron Polk is one of the most egotistical people around, and this proves it. This has always been about Ron Polk. That's why he concentrated more on the NCAA than on having MSU baseball on the level it deserved. That's why he took the job at Georgia. That's why he supported the hiring of a coach that he even admitted himself would not be as good of a hire as Cohen. People need to stop saying he's being loyal to Raffo or the kids or the program. Ron Polk isn't being loyal to anyone but Ron Polk. He's always been about #1 (see what I did there?) and he always will be.

 

[Agentdog]

Polk just wanted someone to keep things the same so he could run things behind the scenes.

No, kidding. I hate it for Raffo. However, even if Raffo was named head coach, Polk is sitting over in his new building looking over Raffo's shoulder and chiming in on every move. Hiring Cohen was the best thing for MSU baseball to be able to take a different direction.

 

[DawgNsuds]

Starting off with...

Dean Smith
Bear Bryant
Bob Devaney
Ray Meyer
Gene Bartow (okay, so we're talking UAB basketball)
Skip Bertman
Darrell Royal
...and Charley Shira

Edit to add: Yes, I know. Most of the gentlemen also were ADs at their universities, but Smith and Meyer were not.

Okay, so I'm too lazy to do the research, but didn't most of these hand picked successors fail?</p>

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Starting off with...

Dean Smith
Bear Bryant
Bob Devaney
Ray Meyer
Gene Bartow (okay, so we're talking UAB basketball)
Skip Bertman
Darrell Royal
...and Charley Shira

Edit to add: Yes, I know. Most of the gentlemen also were ADs at their universities, but Smith and Meyer were not.

Okay, so I'm too lazy to do the research, but didn't most of these hand picked successors fail?</p>

Here we go...
</p>

Bill Guthridge succeeded Dean Smith as UNC's head coach. Coached for three seasons and led the Tar Heels to two Final Fours before retiring. The second Final Four appearance was unexpected since they were an 8-seed. I'd call Guthridge's short tenure a Success.</p>Ray Perkins succeeded Bear Bryant as coach of Alabama. He led the Tide to three bowl games in four seasons before going to Tampa Bay. I'd also call Perkins's short tenure a Success.

Tom Osborne succeeded Bob Devaney. If Bo Pelini proves to be successful at Nebraska, the Cornhuskers will have a Holy Trinity of coaches (if you don't count Dana X. Bible who also coached at Nebraska).

Joey Meyer coached DePaul for 13 seasons until he was let go. While he had a winning record, DePaul fans wanted more; however, the Demons faithful are still looking for a coach who can provide them with the consistency that Ray Meyer provided. So, in comparison to his father, Joey Meyer failed, but he did pretty well in comparison to his successors.

Murry Bartow coached UAB for six seasons. He left after a losing record in 2002. I'd call his tenure at UAB at failure-- even though he did lead the Blazers to an NCAA berth.

Smoke Laval coached LSU to two College World Series berths, but Tigers fans weren't satisfied with LSU's 0-for-Omaha efforts, and after a 35-24 record in 2006, he resigned. In comparison to Bertman, I'd call Laval's tenure a failure, but still two CWS appearances...

Fred Akers succeeded Darrell Royal. He had Earl Campbell's senior year, an 86-31-2 record, but lost three consecutive bowl games in 1983-85 before having a losing record in 1986. Akers left Texas for Purdue. By Texas standards, Akers's tenure was a Failure, but by historic MSU standards, the stadium would be called Fred Akers Stadium, so I'll call that a Push.

Bob Tyler coached MSU to a Sun Bowl win in 1974, but the Bulldogs were forced to forfeit many wins in the 1970s. Even with the forfeits and such, Tyler's last year was exciting with Marler and McDole. A failure thanks to probation, forfeits, and such... but I'll always remember the spur of the moment decision making Tyler did in the 1978 Alabama game. Marler had apparently gotten injured pregame and couldn't move around much, so Tyler decided to go with a spread offense... MSU lost, but what an entertaining game...

 

[RobertF50]

Ron Polk named Pat McMahan(sp?) as his successor at MSU and after 4 successful seasons, left for a better offer.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Yeah, but considering that Polk wasn't in my original list that drew that question, I decided not to answer.