We can obviously only guess as to what the true dynamics of the situation are, but if YOU were the AD, would you hire:
Seth Littrell... if it was going to cost an extra $5, 6, 7 million, or so(?), to completely clean house and allow him to replace all of the current staff with his existing staff at UNT? Would you be amenable to a special "Leavitt/KSU-type" provision in his contract that allows him to take off for OU for little or no money when that job comes open? ...He has great connections and recruiting ties in Texas and Oklahoma, and has had relative success turning the UNT program around, but would you be willing to fork out the extra $$ to bring him in without concerns that you may have to replace him in the not-to-distant future? How confident are you that he would be "very successful" at KSU? ...Enough that you would (have) cave(d) to all of his demands?
Chris Klieman... knowing exactly what you'd be getting as far as work ethic, coaching success, personal integrity, etc, are concerned, but also considering that all of his success has been with an FCS program, albeit one with a much smaller budget, but one that has kicked our a$$ in the past, along with many other FBS programs? He doesn't have the recruiting ties in Texas and Oklahoma that we'd like to see, but he may want to keep some of our current staff that does have some of those recruiting relationships, and he may want to dramatically increase the recruiting budget in order to make it a major priority. Are you confident that he could bring the same level of success that he's had at NDSU to KSU?
Jim Leavitt... considering his age, "baggage," KSU ties, previous coaching success, and everything else that has already been hashed and rehashed? Are you confident that he would be successful?
Blake Seiler... considering he has only one year of experience as a coordinator, no head coaching experience, but may actually be one of the brightest minds in college football for all we know?? You could save a lot of money as it relates to buyouts and such, but he also may want to put a lot more $$ into hiring well qualified assistants and strengthening our recruiting processes
Mike Norvell...???
Neal Brown...???
As with any game, there are rules to this one, too. As the AD, you have to accept responsibility for EVERYTHING. Even if you have to go to a Board for approval of the financial package that it will take to come to terms with your desired candidate, you have to accept ALL of the blame if the Board is not willing to approve those $$. And, naturally, you (not the Board) should be fired if the Board doesn't approve that financial package. ...Of course, you could solicit your major donors for the extra funds to cover any excess buyout money or to fund a higher budget than the Board is willing to approve. No doubt, those donors would require the same level of certainty you have that your desired candidate is "the best" candidate for the position, so you'd have major financial support where you want/need it the most. If they aren't convinced that you'd be hiring "the best" candidate, though, they may not be willing to commit those extra dollars. In that case, you could turn to the many knowledgeable fans that "are" convinced that you'd be making the the best possible hire... KSO has to have well over a thousand subscribers, and GPC still has to have at least 50, who would be convinced that a candidate such as Seth Littrell is the "only" man for the job. So, you could establish a grassroots fundraising program led by some of the most passionate, outspoken segment of our fanbase. All it would take is a $5,000 contribution from each of those passionate KSO/GPC subscribers in order to cover all of the buyouts and set the stage for us to compete for championships once again.
You're the AD! ...Who would you hire???
Seth Littrell... if it was going to cost an extra $5, 6, 7 million, or so(?), to completely clean house and allow him to replace all of the current staff with his existing staff at UNT? Would you be amenable to a special "Leavitt/KSU-type" provision in his contract that allows him to take off for OU for little or no money when that job comes open? ...He has great connections and recruiting ties in Texas and Oklahoma, and has had relative success turning the UNT program around, but would you be willing to fork out the extra $$ to bring him in without concerns that you may have to replace him in the not-to-distant future? How confident are you that he would be "very successful" at KSU? ...Enough that you would (have) cave(d) to all of his demands?
Chris Klieman... knowing exactly what you'd be getting as far as work ethic, coaching success, personal integrity, etc, are concerned, but also considering that all of his success has been with an FCS program, albeit one with a much smaller budget, but one that has kicked our a$$ in the past, along with many other FBS programs? He doesn't have the recruiting ties in Texas and Oklahoma that we'd like to see, but he may want to keep some of our current staff that does have some of those recruiting relationships, and he may want to dramatically increase the recruiting budget in order to make it a major priority. Are you confident that he could bring the same level of success that he's had at NDSU to KSU?
Jim Leavitt... considering his age, "baggage," KSU ties, previous coaching success, and everything else that has already been hashed and rehashed? Are you confident that he would be successful?
Blake Seiler... considering he has only one year of experience as a coordinator, no head coaching experience, but may actually be one of the brightest minds in college football for all we know?? You could save a lot of money as it relates to buyouts and such, but he also may want to put a lot more $$ into hiring well qualified assistants and strengthening our recruiting processes
Mike Norvell...???
Neal Brown...???
As with any game, there are rules to this one, too. As the AD, you have to accept responsibility for EVERYTHING. Even if you have to go to a Board for approval of the financial package that it will take to come to terms with your desired candidate, you have to accept ALL of the blame if the Board is not willing to approve those $$. And, naturally, you (not the Board) should be fired if the Board doesn't approve that financial package. ...Of course, you could solicit your major donors for the extra funds to cover any excess buyout money or to fund a higher budget than the Board is willing to approve. No doubt, those donors would require the same level of certainty you have that your desired candidate is "the best" candidate for the position, so you'd have major financial support where you want/need it the most. If they aren't convinced that you'd be hiring "the best" candidate, though, they may not be willing to commit those extra dollars. In that case, you could turn to the many knowledgeable fans that "are" convinced that you'd be making the the best possible hire... KSO has to have well over a thousand subscribers, and GPC still has to have at least 50, who would be convinced that a candidate such as Seth Littrell is the "only" man for the job. So, you could establish a grassroots fundraising program led by some of the most passionate, outspoken segment of our fanbase. All it would take is a $5,000 contribution from each of those passionate KSO/GPC subscribers in order to cover all of the buyouts and set the stage for us to compete for championships once again.
You're the AD! ...Who would you hire???
