The Pac-12 commissioner is being paid nearly $4.2 million a year, more than any of his peers, to oversee a revenue gap between his conference and Jim Delany’s that amounts to a $228 million, single-year conference-wide deficit. Nice work, if you can get it.
In my next life, I want to come back as a P5 conference commissioner.
Filed under It's Just Bidness, Pac-12 Football
Willie Taggart’s gotten off to a rocky start at Oregon for, among other things, some trouble with the strength and conditioning program that resulted in the S&C coach being suspended for a month and Taggart losing direct control over the S&C program.
Taggart has responded in the most professional way he could.
Head coach Willie Taggart, whom Oregon hired to replace Mark Helfrich in December, said he is no longer speaking to The Oregonian reporter who broke the story, claiming that the reporter’s characterization of the workouts as “grueling” and “akin to military basic training” were inaccurate, unfair and directly contradicted what Taggart told the reporter before the story was written.
Keep in mind that the words used by the reporter were suggested to him by several sources and that a faculty athletics representative who investigated said the story was fair and that coaches made mistakes in the first workout. Oh, and let’s not forget that three players were hospitalized due to the workouts.
So when you boil it down, Oregon’s head coach has decided to get pissy with the paper covering his team over semantics. That certainly bodes well for his public relations skills. Better win big and win fast, my man.
Filed under Pac-12 Football
The University of Colorado’s Board of Regents, not wanting to be tarred with the same brush as Baylor, has delayed considering Mike MacIntyre’s $16.25 million contract extension while the school reviews the coach’s handling of domestic abuse allegations levied against a former assistant coach.
Not sure where this is headed. Regents run the risk of looking like they’re rubber stamping if the investigation is done merely to provide cover for the school. But MacIntyre won 10 games last year and coached in the conference title game. Colorado posted a grand total of 11 wins in the four previous seasons, so how hard do you want to make his life?
Filed under Crime and Punishment, Pac-12 Football
A few scraps rounded up for the buffet line…
Apparently, this is what passes for a catchy slogan at Arizona State these days.
“Forks Up”? Sounds like people getting ready to attack their dinner. Was “Fork You” already taken?
Filed under Pac-12 Football
Oregon fired its head coach yesterday. Given that Mark Helfrich was just two years removed from coaching in a national championship game, the move had a real SEC flavor to it.
But Oregon managed to elevate the situation with some first-class dickishness. Check out what the school sent out yesterday.
Nice. I’d throw out some “stay classy, Oregon” advice, but that train appears to have already left the station. If there were any justice, that would chill the bidding for Helfrich’s replacement, but let’s face it — the Ducks can throw enough money around to make anybody swallow their qualms about that.
Filed under It's Just Bidness, Pac-12 Football
Oregon football’s fallen off a cliff since Chip Kelly left, finishing 4-8 this season. You’d think the fate of its head coach would be front and center right now for the AD, but Stewart Mandel suggests he’s got bigger fish to fry.
I have no idea if that’s meant to be comforting, but if I’m Mullens’ boss, and things really are in limbo coaching wise, I think I’d be making a polite suggestion about looking into conference calling.
Filed under BCS/Playoffs, Pac-12 Football
