The baseball HC decision has the potential to fracture the fan base

[MetEdDawg]

Here's what we have to at least all agree on. This has got to be one of the more unique situations ever in a head coaching search. HC is gone after week one of the season. That never happens. But then your pitching coach/interim head coach takes you to the Final Four in your sport.

When the hell has that ever happened? In addition to that, this interim coach has had prior HC experience in the same conference and had very mixed results at a not great program. And he's up there in age relatively speaking. Add in the fact this is a Top 10 job with the best stadium in the country almost completed.

There's no book on hiring a coach for this situation. We all need to make sure we understand that there's a case to made for virtually any type of candidate including Henderson. If you can't see why he's a possibility you don't understand the gravity of what he just did. This is not a good situation for Cohen. Important thing is that no matter who it is, we HAVE to support them going forward.

[Todd4State]

Yeah, this also gives me pause. I wonder if he wants a second chance to prove he can be a head coach. I also don?t think you are destined to be a terrible head coach because you were average at one place. Maybe he learned some things. Perhaps the safest route would be to hire him and give him a short leash. If he underperforms, he?s gone. And for effs sake, please put out money for a pitching coach. The pitching situation is untenable and bad for my mental health.

And that's another issue. At Kentucky Henderson didn't have a pitching coach. Not sure how willing he is about giving that up. And his hitting coach was Rick Eckstein- basically a pro hitting coach. Does that sound familiar to anyone?

I think in the long run the PR hit would be worse if we hired him and then fired him because now at this moment we can point to the fact that he is an interim coach.

[msstate7]

I'm just concerned about his quote about being burned out and how baseball is an around the clock job. If I had an opportunity near the end of retirement to make a million dollars or so a year I'd probably do it too- but to be honest if I as near burnout I probably wouldn't do that great of a job.

That's fair. Personally I think the quote was just the type of thing a guy says who just got fired and had no good option on the table to go to

[Todd4State]

Here's what we have to at least all agree on. This has got to be one of the more unique situations ever in a head coaching search. HC is gone after week one of the season. That never happens. But then your pitching coach/interim head coach takes you to the Final Four in your sport.

When the hell has that ever happened? In addition to that, this interim coach has had prior HC experience in the same conference and had very mixed results at a not great program. And he's up there in age relatively speaking. Add in the fact this is a Top 10 job with the best stadium in the country almost completed.

There's no book on hiring a coach for this situation. We all need to make sure we understand that there's a case to made for virtually any type of candidate including Henderson. If you can't see why he's a possibility you don't understand the gravity of what he just did. This is not a good situation for Cohen. Important thing is that no matter who it is, we HAVE to support them going forward.

But if we get Kentucky level Henderson which history suggests we will not to mention we were close to going two and bar-b-que support will naturally decrease.

Cohen can't afford to make a bad hire here. Not with where we are as a program and not with the new stadium and etc. and especially after Cann didn't work out because whether that was Cohen's fault or not- it was a Cohen hire that didn't work out. If he hired Henderson and it doesn't work out with hai known track record and then people will start to question Cohen. Fair or not. That's why I don't think he hires Henderson. Plus his criticism of the team on the radio. If he was about to hire Henderson he probably would have been pumping him up.

[Todd4State]

That's fair. Personally I think the quote was just the type of thing a guy says who just got fired and had no good option on the table to go to

Either way it's not a good look.

[CoachT14]

But if we get Kentucky level Henderson which history suggests we will not to mention we were close to going two and bar-b-que support will naturally decrease.

Cohen can't afford to make a bad hire here. Not with where we are as a program and not with the new stadium and etc. and especially after Cann didn't work out because whether that was Cohen's fault or not- it was a Cohen hire that didn't work out. If he hired Henderson and it doesn't work out with hai known track record and then people will start to question Cohen. Fair or not. That's why I don't think he hires Henderson. Plus his criticism of the team on the radio. If he was about to hire Henderson he probably would have been pumping him up.

As I’ve said in the past, if Cohen hires Gary all of the progress we have made with Cohen since ‘08 is through. Same thing happened at Kentucky with Henderson. Gary took what Cohen built and made it stagnant. He will do the same here and get passed up by the in-state teams, which is exactly what Louisville did.

[Todd4State]

And to add to the above about the players:

The players deserve a coach that is going to develop them and elevate their game and make good decisions in the dugout. I didn't see that from Henderson this year.

[Mutt the Hoople]

LSU hired coach O because it was the only choice they had.

Coach Hendgeron?

[Todd4State]

As I’ve said in the past, if Cohen hires Gary all of the progress we have made with Cohen since ‘08 is through. Same thing happened at Kentucky with Henderson. Gary took what Cohen built and made it stagnant. He will do the same here and get passed up by the in-state teams, which is exactly what Louisville did.

You are exactly right. I've followed baseball for awhile and you always have to stay ahead of the curve to succeed at a championship level. That's why we fell off with Polk II. We were in a sort of similar position in 2001 when we hired Polk II. We didn't make it to Omaha but we won the SEC a Tournament and made a SR with a young team. Polk came in and we declined the next year, hosted a regional when that group was made up of juniors and then declined after that.

[BrunswickDawg]

That's fair. Personally I think the quote was just the type of thing a guy says who just got fired and had no good option on the table to go to

Have you ever spent 15 years at a job where you never got the resources your competitors get, never got the support of your organization as a whole, while producing as good or better results as anyone in the job ever has with less? I have. And it doesn't matter how good you are it burns you out in ways you can't imagine. And you'd be amazed at how just the act of stepping away can rejuvenate you.

And I'm not saying hire Hendo. Just saying unless you've been there, you don't know.

[Mutt the Hoople]

casual baseball fans that will support anyone MSU hires even if it's Willy Wonka.

Everlasting Gobstopper Tuesdays at Dudy Noble? I'M IN!

[CoachT14]

You are exactly right. I've followed baseball for awhile and you always have to stay ahead of the curve to succeed at a championship level. That's why we fell off with Polk II. We were in a sort of similar position in 2001 when we hired Polk II. We didn't make it to Omaha but we won the SEC a Tournament and made a SR with a young team. Polk came in and we declined the next year, hosted a regional when that group was made up of juniors and then declined after that.

Exactly. We don’t need an old retread right now. We either need Schloss or to hire one of the top non-P5 guys. And there are plenty of those that will be way more successful here for 10+ years than Gary Henderson.

[ShotgunDawg]

To add to this, Cohen has get to out of the radio booth.

As a baseball nut, I love his commentary up there & eat it up, but, unless he's 100% positive, it's undermining to the head coach.

When a normal color analyst has a negative view on something in the game, it's not a big deal because that analyst doesn't control the job security of the coach. However, when the AD is disagreeing publically with the coaching staff on the radio, it has the potential to create an extremely toxic situation that devalues our head coaching position.

[Mutt the Hoople]

Sure I?ll support whoever is hired but Gary Henderson has Polk III written all over it.

To be more accurate, it'd be Polk IV...Polk quit on us in 1992, and was talked back into coaching by Lonnie Tinkle. Then he quit on us in 1998, then finally he was pretty much shitcanned by Byrne after floundering in 2008.

[ShotgunDawg]

Exactly. We don’t need an old retread right now. We either need Schloss or to hire one of the top non-P5 guys. And there are plenty of those that will be way more successful here for 10+ years than Gary Henderson.

I'd take Southern Miss' coaching staff 10/10 times ahead of Henderson

[LibraryDawg]

Cohen should be fired and run out of Starkville. He slaughtered Henderson and our team on the radio last night and that should be enough to march him out.

What was said on the radio Friday? I missed it

[Cooterpoot]

I'd take Southern Miss' coaching staff 10/10 times ahead of Henderson

No you wouldn’t. Trust me. Berry will retire in a few years and USM fans will be happy about it.

[MetEdDawg]

But if we get Kentucky level Henderson which history suggests we will not to mention we were close to going two and bar-b-que support will naturally decrease.

Cohen can't afford to make a bad hire here. Not with where we are as a program and not with the new stadium and etc. and especially after Cann didn't work out because whether that was Cohen's fault or not- it was a Cohen hire that didn't work out. If he hired Henderson and it doesn't work out with hai known track record and then people will start to question Cohen. Fair or not. That's why I don't think he hires Henderson. Plus his criticism of the team on the radio. If he was about to hire Henderson he probably would have been pumping him up.

I just don't think Henderson is that bad. He developed talent at Kentucky. But that program isn't committed to baseball. And I would argue that he was hampered by what Cohen left him (or should I say didn't leave him). Cupboard was bare when he left. And we are comparing Henderson to Cohen's success there. Cohen was the only coach to ever have success there. Maybe Henderson isn't as good as Cohen. Doesn't mean he's bad.

I get some of the in game decision making. But again, he had to do it all this year. It's not easy to manage the college game and have to be in charge of the pitching staff. Most everyone on here gives him shit but would crap their pants having to do the same. Give him a pitching coach that's good and can make suggestions on matchups, moves, etc and I think he would be fine.

I'll also add this. Who was the last unsuccessful HC for us? Our program and culture drives our success. We need organizational structure in the worst way right now and I think that lack of cohesiveness is a bigger threat to us right now than Henderson is.

I'll add that I would prefer a big time hire. But right now with all the turnover and all the craziness, I'll take Henderson over someone who's never been a HC all day. This team is going to be very gun shy pouring themselves into another HC. A guy like Mangum will have had 4 different head coaches. And a lot of these young kids will be asked to buy in to 3 guys in less than one year. That's just something to keep in mind.

[shoeless joe]

Henderson wouldn't be some gosh awful hire that some of you think...he prolly wouldn't be the best either. But I don't think he'd tank the program. Obviously if we went that route some staff decisions would need to be in place for sure.

All that said, I have come to the belief that if he was going to get the job he'd already have had the interim tag removed. I think Cohen has someone and it's not Henderson.

[CoachT14]

You don’t have to hire an upcoming assistant this year. There are plenty of legitimate coaching options for us that are guys who are now head coaches.