A Sea Of Red

Falwell makes it official

http://www.aseaofred.com/gill-to-return ... h-in-2017/

I'm glad Falwell is making that call...

“I told Turner before we hired Ian that we’re going to stick with him,” Falwell stated in the interview. “He told his staff that last week or the week before, and I think it’s the right thing to do. I think the jury’s still out on whether or not he can take the program to where it needs to be, and we’re giving him that opportunity.”

That'll help recruiting.

Is that a shot or are you trying to show a glimmer of positivity this time Jon?

Mehhhh

Jerry is making it clear he is still going to be very hands on with athletics.

thepostman wrote:Jerry is making it clear he is still going to be very hands on with athletics.

Yep that's exactly what I took out of it. 'He (Ian) will advise me....".
He HAS been hanging out with Trump too much. At least Trump can back his hubris up

Saying 'the jury is still out' also isn't a ringing endorsement

What a mess Jerry has created and his dismissive attitude on the sports line just kind of confirms he just doesn't care. Rich went out of his way to be nice about the whole thing and he still seemed annoyed.

Purple Haize wrote:Saying 'the jury is still out' also isn't a ringing endorsement

That was exactly the point of my post. I'd rather an administrator say nothing than to say that. Wait til other schools get ahold of that line and use it against us in recruiting.

thepostman wrote:What a mess Jerry has created and his dismissive attitude on the sports line just kind of confirms he just doesn't care. Rich went out of his way to be nice about the whole thing and he still seemed annoyed.

Jerry was doing his best Defense Lawyer imitation wasn't he? It reminded me of the Black Knight from Monty Python 'Each accusation is but a flesh wound..'
Rich has to be careful because LU is a cash cow for the station. Did you happen to catch the Luther interview?

Jonathan Carone wrote:

Purple Haize wrote:Saying 'the jury is still out' also isn't a ringing endorsement

That was exactly the point of my post. I'd rather an administrator say nothing than to say that. Wait til other schools get ahold of that line and use it against us in recruiting.

I know. I was helping Board Monitor BJ get clarification

Purple Haize wrote:

thepostman wrote:What a mess Jerry has created and his dismissive attitude on the sports line just kind of confirms he just doesn't care. Rich went out of his way to be nice about the whole thing and he still seemed annoyed.

Jerry was doing his best Defense Lawyer imitation wasn't he? It reminded me of the Black Knight from Monty Python 'Each accusation is but a flesh wound..'
Rich has to be careful because LU is a cash cow for the station. Did you happen to catch the Luther interview?

Not yet but I plan to tomorrow.

I agree that jury is still out. A couple things need to happen next season:

Improve run game, especially against good opponents. Improve play calling.
Come ready to play every game. LU has always had a habit of not "showing up" some games. Charleston Southern was this season's no-show.

ballcoach15 wrote:I agree that jury is still out. A couple things need to happen next season:

Improve run game, especially against good opponents. Improve play calling.
Come ready to play every game. LU has always had a habit of not "showing up" some games. Charleston Southern and Jacksonville State and Coastal were this season's no-shows.

FIFY

My reaction to the Sportsline interview was somewhat different I did not think JLFJR came across as annoyed at all I agree it would have been better left unsaid that the jury is still out on Gill after this year, but I'm encouraged that he seemed to indicate that he will consult with McCaw on other possible coaching changes Hoping that means there is still hope for a change at OC He clearly did not trust Barber to hire a new head coach, whether it was now or down the road, and that being the case, a change needed to be made at AD

As far as the negative impact uncertainty may have on recruiting, it is no doubt a factor, but I am reminded of something our friend forbidden posted here, that at this level recruits tend to "fall in love with the one who is in love with you" If our staff does a good job of evaluating talent, focusing on recruits who fill our needs and are a fit at Liberty (as best as we can tell) and we "show them love" I believe we will still get the players we need First class facilities and $6000 a year FCOH don't hurt either

If they decide to stick with the current staff, I would hope McCaw will have a serious meeting with Gill and let him know that the defeciencies in the offensive system can no longer be blamed on the coordinator Gill needs to take charge and DEMAND we get more creative on offense If that means taking away the play calling, so be it

Good post oldflame .

olldflame wrote:My reaction to the Sportsline interview was somewhat different I did not think JLFJR came across as annoyed at all I agree it would have been better left unsaid that the jury is still out on Gill after this year, but I'm encouraged that he seemed to indicate that he will consult with McCaw on other possible coaching changes Hoping that means there is still hope for a change at OC He clearly did not trust Barber to hire a new head coach, whether it was now or down the road, and that being the case, a change needed to be made at AD

As far as the negative impact uncertainty may have on recruiting, it is no doubt a factor, but I am reminded of something our friend forbidden posted here, that at this level recruits tend to "fall in love with the one who is in love with you" If our staff does a good job of evaluating talent, focusing on recruits who fill our needs and are a fit at Liberty (as best as we can tell) and we "show them love" I believe we will still get the players we need First class facilities and $6000 a year FCOH don't hurt either

If they decide to stick with the current staff, I would hope McCaw will have a serious meeting with Gill and let him know that the defeciencies in the offensive system can no longer be blamed on the coordinator Gill needs to take charge and DEMAND we get more creative on offense If that means taking away the play calling, so be it

I agree.

olldflame wrote:My reaction to the Sportsline interview was somewhat different I did not think JLFJR came across as annoyed at all I agree it would have been better left unsaid that the jury is still out on Gill after this year, but I'm encouraged that he seemed to indicate that he will consult with McCaw on other possible coaching changes Hoping that means there is still hope for a change at OC He clearly did not trust Barber to hire a new head coach, whether it was now or down the road, and that being the case, a change needed to be made at AD

As far as the negative impact uncertainty may have on recruiting, it is no doubt a factor, but I am reminded of something our friend forbidden posted here, that at this level recruits tend to "fall in love with the one who is in love with you" If our staff does a good job of evaluating talent, focusing on recruits who fill our needs and are a fit at Liberty (as best as we can tell) and we "show them love" I believe we will still get the players we need First class facilities and $6000 a year FCOH don't hurt either

If they decide to stick with the current staff, I would hope McCaw will have a serious meeting with Gill and let him know that the defeciencies in the offensive system can no longer be blamed on the coordinator Gill needs to take charge and DEMAND we get more creative on offense If that means taking away the play calling, so be it

I like he said they are sticking with Gill next year
I don't like the 'consult with Ian'. Let your AD, AD and you do your President thing. You know who does that? Jerry's new buddy Trump. He hires good people tells them what he wants and says get it done.
So I'm rooting hard for Gill

That was not his only quote about Ian and finding a football coach. I got the impression he hired Ian and believes in him, and will let him do his thing as an AD.

I don't love the way the advisor line sounded, but at the end of the day, that's how it works. The AD usually doesn't hire or fire coaches without sign off of the president. While what Jerry said is technically true, it came across wrong because of the messenger.

Jonathan Carone wrote:I don't love the way the advisor line sounded, but at the end of the day, that's how it works. The AD usually doesn't hire or fire coaches without sign off of the president. While what Jerry said is technically true, it came across wrong because of the messenger.

Or the listener

And to the best of my knowledge it is spot on that presidents ALWAYS sign off on coaching hires (at least in major sports)

It's all in the phrasing and delivery of it. Most presidents would never say the AD was going to advise them on coaching changes, even though that's how it works. They'd say they would let their AD make the calls on coaches because that's what they hired them to do.

It is called empowering you're employees. The way he talks about the people that work for him in a public forum goes against anything I'v ever been taught about leadership.

thepostman wrote:It is called empowering you're employees. The way he talks about the people that work for him in a public forum goes against anything I'v ever been taught about leadership.

And you have to take history into account. The Athletic Department, with the possible exception of the first year or two of Barber and a brief spell when Borek was here, have always been run from the Mansion.
But you are correct about empowering employees. Not something JR is good at but that's assuming he wants to be. At this level you should hire competent people and let them do their job.

I am on record as being unhappy about how JLFJR has handled some things in the past couple of years, especially the dismissal of Mark DeMoss from the board, but unlike some on this forum it appears, I believe I can still look at his actions and words for what they are, without the prism of assumed bad motives or arrogance in every case

What I am reading here is agreement that a university president having the final say so on coaching hires is SOP pretty much everywhere, but we want ours to tell everyone he is leaving it totally up to his AD Excuse me for calling on that