Ninja recommend ss to Florida?

[confucius say]

I would think that is how this played out since I've read everywhere that Byrne turned Florida down. He prob was asked who he would recommend and pointed the finger at Scott.

[DownwardDawg]

Ninja coming home. *****

[confucius say]

The article below from 10 days ago quotes Byrne as saying Florida reached out to him but he is staying put at Arizona, so the time line lines up.

Oh, and Byrne makes 600k so fl job would have doubled his salary.

[ShotgunDawg]

Whether people like Scott or not really isn't the point to me.

The point is that MSU simply can't reach it's goals until we stop becoming a stepping stone program. The media, Bo Bounds, fans ect... can point to a hundred objective, logical reasons for why Stricklin should take the Florida job, but, at the end of the day, MSU can't become more than it currently is if all it is is a stepping stone program.

We have lost DC after DC due to this, our head coach has whored himself out to the country because of this, yet we still have fans & supporters of the program justifying it.

Again, it HURTS MSU when we are perceived as & operate as a stepping stone athletic department.

How can you ever compete at a national level if the top athletic departments continue to poach your leaders?

How can you sell hope if you know the moment that you become successful the leaders & best employees will be in search of greener pastures?

So, I , along with others, can think of reasons Stricklin should take the Florida job, but, by acknowledging that, I forfeit my belief & hope that MSU can be a national power & my frustration that it isn't.

At what point does this cycle end?

Keep that in mind

[mcain31]

Maybe we'll have our own T. Boone Pickens or Phil Knight to change the perception

[confucius say]

Whether people like Scott or not really isn't the point to me.

The point is that MSU simply can't reach it's goals until we stop becoming a stepping stone program. The media, Bo Bounds, fans ect... can point to a hundred objective, logical reasons for why Stricklin should take the Florida job, but, at the end of the day, MSU can't become more than it currently is if all it is is a stepping stone program.

We have lost DC after DC due to this, our head coach has whored himself out to the country because of this, yet we still have fans & supporters of the program justifying it.

Again, it HURTS MSU when we are perceived as & operate as a stepping stone athletic department.

How can you ever compete at a national level if the top athletic departments continue to poach your leaders?

How can you sell hope if you know the moment that you become successful the leaders & best employees will be in search of greener pastures?

So, I , along with others, can think of reasons Stricklin should take the Florida job, but, by acknowledging that, I forfeit my belief & hope that MSU can be a national power & my frustration that it isn't.

At what point does this cycle end?

Keep that in mind

Thought provoking. So how do you fix the problem?

[ShotgunDawg]

Thought provoking. So how do you fix the problem?

That's a long process, but a good start is for MSU to come close to matching what Florida is offering Stricklin & getting him to stay.

The school & Stricklin would be sending a loud message about the future of MSU by doing that.

[Political Hack]

Whether people like Scott or not really isn't the point to me.

The point is that MSU simply can't reach it's goals until we stop becoming a stepping stone program. The media, Bo Bounds, fans ect... can point to a hundred objective, logical reasons for why Stricklin should take the Florida job, but, at the end of the day, MSU can't become more than it currently is if all it is is a stepping stone program.

We have lost DC after DC due to this, our head coach has whored himself out to the country because of this, yet we still have fans & supporters of the program justifying it.

Again, it HURTS MSU when we are perceived as & operate as a stepping stone athletic department.

How can you ever compete at a national level if the top athletic departments continue to poach your leaders?

How can you sell hope if you know the moment that you become successful the leaders & best employees will be in search of greener pastures?

So, I , along with others, can think of reasons Stricklin should take the Florida job, but, by acknowledging that, I forfeit my belief & hope that MSU can be a national power & my frustration that it isn't.

At what point does this cycle end?

Keep that in mind

Not sure when it does end, but I can tell you when it doesn't. It's doesn't end after 5-6 decent years of football when you're 1-2 with a loss to USA, a few good runs in baseball, and a decade of total suck in basketball. We are not there yet. That's ok. It's moving in the right direction. However, to me, it's more harmful to demand perfection as a mediocre program than it is to recognize where you are and continually try to build to be a top-flight program.

Here's another insightful tip... We're not going to hire Nick Saban should CDM leave. It's not going to happen. We will get a proven coach with success at a mid-tier school or an up-and-comer from a lower tier school that will see us as... wait for it... a stepping stone.

Even Coach Mac at Florida is waiting for Saban to retire at Bama. Does that mean they're a stepping stone program? College football is a never ending cycle unless you're Alabama. No other school in the SEC, besides Bama, has a coach they'd offer a lifetime contract to. It's the nature of the business. If you get worked up about staff changes, you're always going to be worked up as a college football fan. It's part of it.

[BrunswickDawg]

Thought provoking. So how do you fix the problem?

Part $, part marketing, part winning, part quality hires.

I think this is where keeping Stricklin becomes a major step in changing that perception. If Scott wants to be here, and we step up and pay him, that will change public perception. IF Dan had been willing to go the "pinebox" route and squelch rumors in off-seasons, that would help. Ending the revolving door at DC by making the right hire, paying him and keeping him (hopefully Sirmon is that guy).

If you look across the board at all our programs, Scott has already helped change that "stepping stone" perception. We just have to get there in football.

[Political Hack]

That's a long process, but a good start is for MSU to come close to matching what Florida is offering Stricklin & getting him to stay.

The school & Stricklin would be sending a loud message about the future of MSU by doing that.

Good God man. No. Use that extra 800k and pony up for better assistants and a better recruiting budget. Let's use money to actually win games.

[HSVDawg]

That's a long process, but a good start is for MSU to come close to matching what Florida is offering Stricklin & getting him to stay.

The school & Stricklin would be sending a loud message about the future of MSU by doing that.

I don't disagree with you general assessment, but I think you might be exaggerating the issue just a bit. For starters, lets look at the DC's we have lost. Torbush was fired. Diaz left for Texas which definitely supports your point. Chris Wilson was pretty much fired without being fired. Collins left not long after receiving a huge raise and was in line for another one after 2014, and returned closer to home as he was a Florida guy originally. Collins is also running a totally different and much more aggressive D there than we ever saw in 3 years at MSU which suggests more than anything that he didn't want to be Mullen's puppet. Diaz left again to go back to his hometown for equal / less pay after doing a so-so job last season. That's one out of 5 that actually left for greener pastures whereas the others just left either due to being terminated, wanting to be closer to home, differences with the HC, or some combination of the above.

Now lets look at Byrne leaving. That is another case of a guy wanting to return to his roots as he grew up in Arizona. Mini-me? Same thing.

If Stricklin actually bolts (which I don't think he will), there can be a more serious conversation about our shortcomings with retaining good leadership. But as it stands, I imagine Stricklin will stay and also get a nice deserved raise for himself.

[ShotgunDawg]

Good God man. No. Use that extra 800k and pony up for better assistants and a better recruiting budget. Let's use money to actually win games.

I respectfully disagree.

That's 800 K to ensure the perception of stability in the Athletic Department. That's 800 K to control your own destiny as a program & not worry about what others do.

I certainly get your points, but I believe that's first step towards not being a stepping stone program. Stability = good people wanting to stay & good people being most interested in our staff openings.

Just my opinion though. It's certainly up for debate

[Percho]

Good God man. No. Use that extra 800k and pony up for better assistants and a better recruiting budget. Let's use money to actually win games.

Maybe the money people have to decide if the intelect and vision of Scott is worth say 5/6 plus also upping the assistants. After all we know the money isn't going to be coming from the State of Mississippi.

It's up to the haves to decide what, "we," have.

[ShotgunDawg]

I don't disagree with you general assessment, but I think you might be exaggerating the issue just a bit. For starters, lets look at the DC's we have lost. Torbush was fired. Diaz left for Texas which definitely supports your point. Chris Wilson was pretty much fired without being fired. Collins left not long after receiving a huge raise and was in line for another one after 2014, and returned closer to home as he was a Florida guy originally. Collins is also running a totally different and much more aggressive D there than we ever saw in 3 years at MSU which suggests more than anything that he didn't want to be Mullen's puppet. Diaz left again to go back to his hometown for equal / less pay after doing a so-so job last season. That's one out of 5 that actually left for greener pastures whereas the others just left either due to being terminated, wanting to be closer to home, differences with the HC, or some combination of the above.

Now lets look at Byrne leaving. That is another case of a guy wanting to return to his roots as he grew up in Arizona. Mini-me? Same thing.

If Stricklin actually bolts (which I don't think he will), there can be a more serious conversation about our shortcomings with retaining good leadership. But as it stands, I imagine Stricklin will stay and also get a nice deserved raise for himself.

You make great points. The perception still stands though

[ScottH]

I would think that is how this played out since I've read everywhere that Byrne turned Florida down. He prob was asked who he would recommend and pointed the finger at Scott.

Nope.

Foley and Stricklin are real close.

[Gutter Cobreh]

You make great points. The perception still stands though

You have absolutely lost your mind to offer Stricklin more money because he was offered another job...

I would think if we had that kind of cash laying around, the first priority wouldn't be giving the AD a raise....

If money was his main objective, he would have bolted at the first offer instead of rejecting it which prompted a counter. I suspect the reason they can't find someone else is because they have a hard time ridding themselves of the past (i.e. Foley staying on board in a consulting capacity, bringing Spurrier back, etc., etc.)

[rolodawg]

Whether people like Scott or not really isn't the point to me.

The point is that MSU simply can't reach it's goals until we stop becoming a stepping stone program. The media, Bo Bounds, fans ect... can point to a hundred objective, logical reasons for why Stricklin should take the Florida job, but, at the end of the day, MSU can't become more than it currently is if all it is is a stepping stone program.

We have lost DC after DC due to this, our head coach has whored himself out to the country because of this, yet we still have fans & supporters of the program justifying it.

Again, it HURTS MSU when we are perceived as & operate as a stepping stone athletic department.

How can you ever compete at a national level if the top athletic departments continue to poach your leaders?

How can you sell hope if you know the moment that you become successful the leaders & best employees will be in search of greener pastures?

So, I , along with others, can think of reasons Stricklin should take the Florida job, but, by acknowledging that, I forfeit my belief & hope that MSU can be a national power & my frustration that it isn't.

At what point does this cycle end?

Keep that in mind

Is Shotgun really Bluto in disguise? I could only think of the famous line "Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?" while reading this post.

[SailingDawg]

Whether people like Scott or not really isn't the point to me.

The point is that MSU simply can't reach it's goals until we stop becoming a stepping stone program. The media, Bo Bounds, fans ect... can point to a hundred objective, logical reasons for why Stricklin should take the Florida job, but, at the end of the day, MSU can't become more than it currently is if all it is is a stepping stone program.

We have lost DC after DC due to this, our head coach has whored himself out to the country because of this, yet we still have fans & supporters of the program justifying it.

Again, it HURTS MSU when we are perceived as & operate as a stepping stone athletic department.

How can you ever compete at a national level if the top athletic departments continue to poach your leaders?

How can you sell hope if you know the moment that you become successful the leaders & best employees will be in search of greener pastures?

So, I , along with others, can think of reasons Stricklin should take the Florida job, but, by acknowledging that, I forfeit my belief & hope that MSU can be a national power & my frustration that it isn't.

At what point does this cycle end?



The cycle ends when our athletic budget is the same as top tier schools. It will also take doubling school enrollment, facilities, host town size, etc.

[Really Clark?]

You have absolutely lost your mind to offer Stricklin more money because he was offered another job...

I would think if we had that kind of cash laying around, the first priority wouldn't be giving the AD a raise....

If money was his main objective, he would have bolted at the first offer instead of rejecting it which prompted a counter. I suspect the reason they can't find someone else is because they have a hard time ridding themselves of the past (i.e. Foley staying on board in a consulting capacity, bringing Spurrier back, etc., etc.)

So you wouldn't consider giving him a pay raise to at least league average? Considering he was just also named AD of the Year by his peers. I'm not saying be stupid but you have to show appreciation and respect for the work he is doing and is being recognized for nationally. (And for that one particular poster, no Mark Keenum doesn't want him gone by any stretch of the imagination and he is not looking to move while he has some value left.)

[preachermatt83]

That's a long process, but a good start is for MSU to come close to matching what Florida is offering Stricklin & getting him to stay.

The school & Stricklin would be sending a loud message about the future of MSU by doing that.

Worked with Mullen***. We paying him very well and he's still trying to step

[maroonmania]

Whether people like Scott or not really isn't the point to me.

The point is that MSU simply can't reach it's goals until we stop becoming a stepping stone program. The media, Bo Bounds, fans ect... can point to a hundred objective, logical reasons for why Stricklin should take the Florida job, but, at the end of the day, MSU can't become more than it currently is if all it is is a stepping stone program.

We have lost DC after DC due to this, our head coach has whored himself out to the country because of this, yet we still have fans & supporters of the program justifying it.

Again, it HURTS MSU when we are perceived as & operate as a stepping stone athletic department.

How can you ever compete at a national level if the top athletic departments continue to poach your leaders?

How can you sell hope if you know the moment that you become successful the leaders & best employees will be in search of greener pastures?

So, I , along with others, can think of reasons Stricklin should take the Florida job, but, by acknowledging that, I forfeit my belief & hope that MSU can be a national power & my frustration that it isn't.

At what point does this cycle end?

Keep that in mind

I agree, and why do we get pilfered from by Florida continuously? Are they THAT enamored with our staff? Think about it, we lost Pat McMahon to them as Head Baseball Coach, Andy Jackson as Head Tennis Coach, Geoff Collins as football defensive coordinator and now potentially Stricklin (a home grown product) to them as AD. This is almost beginning to feel like we are being targeted by Florida as their "training ground". If Stricklin goes this one will hurt the most because Stricklin bleeds maroon and white like we do. Really couldn't say that about the others that left for Florida.

[Gutter Cobreh]

So you wouldn't consider giving him a pay raise to at least league average? Considering he was just also named AD of the Year by his peers. I'm not saying be stupid but you have to show appreciation and respect for the work he is doing and is being recognized for nationally. (And for that one particular poster, no Mark Keenum doesn't want him gone by any stretch of the imagination and he is not looking to move while he has some value left.)

Yes, I do think he has earned a bump in pay. That bump is for the things you mentioned.

Shotgun wants to match UF simply because they offered him that amount, which is a preposterous recommendation.

I would bump people based on merit, not what other institutions are out there trying to recruit them. What dollars we have need to be used to ensure we are fair and equitable so that the "ship jumping" isn't made easy.

[HSVDawg]

You have absolutely lost your mind to offer Stricklin more money because he was offered another job...

I would think if we had that kind of cash laying around, the first priority wouldn't be giving the AD a raise....

If money was his main objective, he would have bolted at the first offer instead of rejecting it which prompted a counter. I suspect the reason they can't find someone else is because they have a hard time ridding themselves of the past (i.e. Foley staying on board in a consulting capacity, bringing Spurrier back, etc., etc.)

The kind of cash you are talking about "laying around" for an AD raise is a drop in the bucket compared to what it takes to buy out a coach or even put your name on a building on campus. And you can't just assume he will turn it down again when the second offer is way more money. If he's currently making $500k and he gets a $1.4 million offer, if we don't at least come back with $700-800k we might as well be packing his bags for him and having Keenum drive the UHaul to Gainesville.

The bottom line with college athletics at the Power 5 level is that the price of poker is going up exponentially pretty much everywhere. It's going up with facilities, coaching salaries for both head coaches and assistants, and yes even AD salaries. You could argue against a lot of the ways we choose to spend the money. For instance, I could argue that $25 million could have been better spent bowling in the north end zone instead of building the new Seal Complex when we had just built the Hollimon complex less than 10 years ago. But the undeniable truth is you have to spend money everywhere these days. You can't rob Peter to pay Paul anywhere or you get left behind.

[Tbonewannabe]

The kind of cash you are talking about "laying around" for an AD raise is a drop in the bucket compared to what it takes to buy out a coach or even put your name on a building on campus. And you can't just assume he will turn it down again when the second offer is way more money. If he's currently making $500k and he gets a $1.4 million offer, if we don't at least come back with $700-800k we might as well be packing his bags for him and having Keenum drive the UHaul to Gainesville.

The bottom line with college athletics at the Power 5 level is that the price of poker is going up exponentially pretty much everywhere. It's going up with facilities, coaching salaries for both head coaches and assistants, and yes even AD salaries. You could argue against a lot of the ways we choose to spend the money. For instance, I could argue that $25 million could have been better spent bowling in the north end zone instead of building the new Seal Complex when we had just built the Hollimon complex less than 10 years ago. But the undeniable truth is you have to spend money everywhere these days. You can't rob Peter to pay Paul anywhere or you get left behind.

Building the Seal Football Complex got us ahead of some SEC schools in football practice facilities and also put us ahead of a lot of schools in other sports facilities by the other sports using the Holman complex. Our facilities are pretty much on par with almost anyone in the country except the top level schools. Our football stadium is smaller but nicer than a lot. Our basketball probably needs to be upgraded but it is still pretty good especially our new practice facility. We are about to have the premier baseball stadium in college baseball and softball and tennis just got great upgrades. Stricklin has done a great job as AD as far as facilities go.

[ShotgunDawg]

Our fan base is way too logical to ever be an SEC power

[BrunswickDawg]

Building the Seal Football Complex got us ahead of some SEC schools in football practice facilities and also put us ahead of a lot of schools in other sports facilities by the other sports using the Holman complex. Our facilities are pretty much on par with almost anyone in the country except the top level schools. Our football stadium is smaller but nicer than a lot. Our basketball probably needs to be upgraded but it is still pretty good especially our new practice facility. We are about to have the premier baseball stadium in college baseball and softball and tennis just got great upgrades. Stricklin has done a great job as AD as far as facilities go.

Don't forget that we have the premier golf facility in the country now too.

[BrunswickDawg]

Our fan base is way too logical to ever be an SEC power
The curse of having so many engineers.***

[HSVDawg]

Building the Seal Football Complex got us ahead of some SEC schools in football practice facilities and also put us ahead of a lot of schools in other sports facilities by the other sports using the Holman complex. Our facilities are pretty much on par with almost anyone in the country except the top level schools. Our football stadium is smaller but nicer than a lot. Our basketball probably needs to be upgraded but it is still pretty good especially our new practice facility. We are about to have the premier baseball stadium in college baseball and softball and tennis just got great upgrades. Stricklin has done a great job as AD as far as facilities go.

Oh I totally agree with everything you said. I just illustrated that as a point that we have to continuously be spending money on facilities just like everywhere else even if it seems you are set in that area. It was listed as an argument similar to "we should be spending potential AD raise money for assistant raises on football instead". My point was you can't make a decision whether to raise the AD's salary or raise assistant coach salaries or upgrade facilities. You have to do all of those things pretty much every year.

[Tbonewannabe]

Don't forget that we have the premier golf facility in the country now too.

I really hope this helps the program. I would love to see some MSU golfers on the tour. There are a couple out there but not really in the big tournaments.

[ElitedawgRecruiting]

I look at it like this. From Scott's perspective I would take that scratch and run. That doesn't make him a bad bulldog. It makes him a good husband and father. This chance ain't coming around again anytime soon. Money can't buy happiness but it can rent you a smile.

From our perspective there is a lot that can be improved on. If he stays or goes. Stadium needs to be finished. Coaches need to be put on the hot seat and told to win here and be happy to be here or go be an OC at Ohio state. Softball coach needs to be told to start winning games cause acting like a dumbass on TV and being Vanntastic ain't getting us nowhere. We built you a palace. Now quit being the clown princess of softball. And we need a guy that can be more fan friendly and less like Rod Tidwell.

[Political Hack]

Our fan base is way too logical to ever be an SEC power

It's funny because it's true.

[HSVDawg]

I look at it like this. From Scott's perspective I would take that scratch and run. That doesn't make him a bad bulldog. It makes him a good husband and father. This chance ain't coming around again anytime soon. Money can't buy happiness but it can rent you a smile.

Money is relative though. He makes $500k currently in Starkville, MS. That's plenty enough to set himself, his wife, his kids, and his grandkids for life. Especially if he hangs on long enough to draw state retirement. His quality of life doesn't really improve much from going to Gainesville and making double that amount. It all boils down to whether or not ambition to get a Top 5 AD gig outweighs his school pride. Simple as that.

[Tbonewannabe]

Money is relative though. He makes $500k currently in Starkville, MS. That's plenty enough to set himself, his wife, his kids, and his grandkids for life. Especially if he hangs on long enough to draw state retirement. His quality of life doesn't really improve much from going to Gainesville and making double that amount. It all boils down to whether or not ambition to get a Top 5 AD gig outweighs his school pride. Simple as that.

I would think family would come into play also since his wife's parents live in Starkville and are on the older side.

[ScoobaDawg]

I wouldn't blame Scott for going at all. Florida Athletics is a HUGE DEAL. Scott has done a good job here even though some arent happy about Rick ray. Maybe he hasn't been great with that hire which is the most major one he handled but he has learned. If Foley believes in him enough to offer him this job I think he can do good things there and elevate his stature even more. Foley will be micromanaging him and Super gators will be doing the same as our boosters did for a big 2 sports there.
I would be in favor of giving Scott a 200-300k pay bump to keep him but I just don't think we need to jump up to even a million.

[Bothrops]

I'm not meaning to sound ungracious of all the recent gifts, but we need some more wealthy donors to step up and give the school a boost. MSU will either sink or swim based on gifts. Things are hyper competitive these days.

[Vandelaydawg]

You have absolutely lost your mind to offer Stricklin more money because he was offered another job...

I would think if we had that kind of cash laying around, the first priority wouldn't be giving the AD a raise....

If money was his main objective, he would have bolted at the first offer instead of rejecting it which prompted a counter. I suspect the reason they can't find someone else is because they have a hard time ridding themselves of the past (i.e. Foley staying on board in a consulting capacity, bringing Spurrier back, etc., etc.)

And more importantly because he's earned it.