[Libertine]

SR did not retire. He was "retired" by Borek. There's no way that came as a surprise to JF.

[Purple Haize]

SR did not retire. He was "retired" by Borek. There's no way that came as a surprise to JF.

That may be up for debate, at the time Borek had the juice for something like that. The point is that JF didnot have a successor inline as is his MO

[Chris Lang]

No names Lang? Disappointing.

Sorry. Some things cannot be said in a public forum. You'll just have to trust me on this one.

[Libertine]

SR did not retire. He was "retired" by Borek. There's no way that came as a surprise to JF.

That may be up for debate, at the time Borek had the juice for something like that. The point is that JF didnot have a successor inline as is his MO

It wouldn't be debated by the Rutigliano family.

[Purple Haize]

SR did not retire. He was "retired" by Borek. There's no way that came as a surprise to JF.

That may be up for debate, at the time Borek had the juice for something like that. The point is that JF didnot have a successor inline as is his MO

It wouldn't be debated by the Rutigliano family.

LOL That would be TRUE!!! Ahhh the fond memories we all have of John M............................

[A.G.]

So for better or worse JF has a long track record of making athletic decisions

Points well-taken. I did say "correct me if I'm wrong." Thanks for the history lesson, and I guess the Great November Blood Letting was also all JF??? But it sure seems as all the hires for replacements have been positive.

[Libertine]

So for better or worse JF has a long track record of making athletic decisions

Points well-taken. I did say "correct me if I'm wrong." Thanks for the history lesson, and I guess the Great November Blood Letting was also all JF??? But it sure seems as all the hires for replacements have been positive.

Not entirely. It's easy to believe that JF runs Liberty by force of his will alone (b/c he does). But, if someone whose advice he trusts (AL Williams, Reber, Thomas, et al.,) has a different point of view, JF is surprisingly easy to persuade. JF was far from happy about last year's results, particularly the imaginative ways in which we lost, but there were a lot of little fingers in last November's blood pie. That's why it's been so surprising (in a good way) to me the quality of the people brought in since then and the positive support that they've received from just about every corner.

[PeterParker]

In the business world, after an entrepreneur has started a company/organization from scratch through the first or second phase of development, most business analysts say that it is imperative for the entrepreneur to step-back and relinquish absolute control to highly qualified people with extensive experience in order not to squash the momentum of the company's growth. (Though most all entrepreneurs have a tough time relinquishing the reins to their "pet projects." Many organizations/companies go through the same phases, and the ones whose founders have realized this principle are usually the ones you see that have risen above the competition to become successful. No organization, colleges included, is exempt from this phenomenon.

[Sly Fox]

That philosophy only works when the right people are in place to carry the entity to the next level. Often the second wave of generally Ivy League-educated managers don't have the chutzpah that the founder had and as a result the original leader resumes control (i.e. Michael Dell). Too often the visionaries give too much credence to the bean counters and they rip the soul out of a company. That obviously would be the fear on the mountain. Jerry has tested the waters in letting some control slide down the chain of command with mixed results. I have a feeling Jerry is giving our new AD a little more control than any of his predecssors. Hopefully Barber takes full advantage fo the opportunity.

[TallyW]

Peter's discourse is fantastic as a sweeping generalization but names like Dell, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates say that there are plenty of men and women who are able to grow a step ahead of the organization. Liberty would not be as far along as it is without Jerry. People can talk all the smack they want... it just wouldn't have happened. God has truly worked all things out for his glory. Not to mention that every organization makes bad decisions. The key is to learn and grow from them.. I think the campus speaks volumes to the fact that LU continues to rise to new levels.

Ohh... by the way... Google's founders haven't done too badly either... and they still make the decisions. Their IPO and continued rise in stock price is evidence of that.

It's nice to quote from a textbook... it's a whole different thing to live it.