The big news out of SEC country is the hiring of former Idaho/Utah State/Michigan State/Louisville coach John L. Smith to take over the interim gig at Arkansas. Smith had been an assistant at Arkansas so, at a basic level, the hire makes some sense.
But here's the thing--he was recently hired to be the head man at his alma mater, Weber State. He's in that job for about 4.5 months, selling the program to recruits, pontificating how wonderful and exciting it is to be coaching at his old school, before bolting for the Hogs. Certainly, Boise State fans have particular perspective and opinions of John L. going way back but this takes the cake. Does no one feel the need to honor commitments anymore?
Now before anyone and goes and starts calling me a hypocrite by pointing out former Bronco offensive coordinator Brent Pease did a very similar thing to Indiana, understand that I always had some reservations about that move. I'm not naive to the business side of sports and everyone wanting opportunities to advance their careers. But I also am not crazy about Boise State associating with those mercenary types... yeah... that's the one that probably makes me naive.
Whatever one's feelings on how Smith handled this--and lest we forget he's doing this on an interim basis, not as a permanent hire which makes it even more weird--I believe the lesson to be learned here is coaches can't have any aspirations of advancement and act on those opportunities without somehow ruffling some feathers. Is there some protocol to be followed for all this or is it really every coach for himself all the time? As always, give me your thoughts.
No comments:
Post a Comment