1:55 PM UPDATE
The one thing I've learned in coaching searches is that things can change and minds can be changed. So understand, this is just how I feel as of right now:
I have a good source who's telling me that after the leak and the blowup on Thursday night, Missouri tried to keep Blake Anderson interested in the job and after what happened, as of now, he's not interested. So whatever happens this week, as of today, I wouldn't think it's going to end up with him back atop the list. That might not be breaking news to you guys, but I thought it was worth passing on.
I think things are starting to happen as far as moving on some new candidates and trying to have some more discussions. If I can dig up who is targeted and such I will.
Legitimately 15 minutes after posting this, I got directly conflicting information: "No, that's not true. He's still interested. I guarantee he'd take the job if it's offered." Both sources are excellent.
#SillySzn
--------------
This is going to be a little bit all over the place. Just putting out all kind of thoughts and hitting a bunch of different areas to start the weekend.
*I didn't want to call this an update thread because the truth is, I'm not sure where we're going to stand on updates. We are a week into the search. The truth is, I don't know any more about who I think Missouri will hire than I did a week ago.
The first reaction to that is probably going to be "What the hell do we pay you for?"
Let me stop you there for a minute. I did know quite a bit about who Missouri might hire. Our list on Thursday morning was pretty accurate. I'm not going to tell you it was exact. But it was pretty close. The problem is, that list is quite possibly out the window.
Blake Anderson, Jeff Monken and Skip Holtz were the three finalists. Jay Norvell was on the list and, according to my information, was probably the first guy outside of the finalists. We all know what happened then. So, to me, whether Missouri can even still hire one of those top three if it comes to that is entirely up to them. Do they take the call? Or do they say "I don't want to work somewhere that you've already told me I'm not wanted and somewhere that, from where I sit, I can't be positive the guy hiring me is there long term."
*I'm not saying Missouri's search ends up back at this list of three. It would seem it won't. There are two ways to take what happened on Thursday (I think it was Thursday, every day is the same to me now and I can't really keep them straight):
1) Jim Sterk informally presented his list and was told, that list isn't good enough. Go find someone better.
2) Sterk informally presented his list and was told, we're not saying we wouldn't hire any of those guys, but you need to exhaust a whole bunch of other avenues before we do it.
Honestly there may not be any difference between the two for the reason I laid out above. Anderson, Monken and Holtz have kind of been told where they stand with the powers that be at Mizzou and it ain't flattering. That said, the power of tripling a guy's salary and making him an SEC head coach can allow him to swallow a whole bunch of pride. So it's possible, if the search ends up right back here, that one of them thinks it's worth the risk and believes he's good enough to get the job done and takes it.
In talking to a few people over the last couple of days, I've repeated the same message: The only way Missouri looks worse than it did after the leak of information (and I want to be clear, I don't think the issue is that the board members told Sterk the list wasn't good enough because I think that's not completely out of the ordinary; the problem is that it was leaked to the media/public) is if they come back next week and end up hiring one of the three guys that it's now public knowledge the administration doesn't have much faith in. The response I've gotten has basically been, "You're right and I think the message to Sterk was pretty clear that it needs to be something better than this, but nothing would shock me."
*I think Jay Norvell could still be a part of this because from my information he wasn't one of the three that caused this uproar. Now, I think it would go over similarly. I don't think people would love it. But I also don't think Norvell has the stigma of Missouri already saying at least some involved don't want to hire him.
*But where does it go after that? This is the part where I just start throwing out things that I've heard that I can't vouch for being true necessarily. I'm being up front about that. Now, I'll still hear some things that I won't attach my name to publicly because I think they're ridiculous and I don't like looking ridiculous (like last week when people were saying Kyle Whittingham was a possibility or when I had four people tell me within 24 hours that Missouri was flying out to interview Bob Stoops--neither was accurate and I wasn't going to put that out there because I don't like inviting people to call me naive and stupid if I don't have to). But we're at a point where I don't have a lot of information as to what exactly is happening so I might as well start tossing out some of the things I've heard in the last 36 hours. Here we go:
The one thing I've learned in coaching searches is that things can change and minds can be changed. So understand, this is just how I feel as of right now:
I have a good source who's telling me that after the leak and the blowup on Thursday night, Missouri tried to keep Blake Anderson interested in the job and after what happened, as of now, he's not interested. So whatever happens this week, as of today, I wouldn't think it's going to end up with him back atop the list. That might not be breaking news to you guys, but I thought it was worth passing on.
I think things are starting to happen as far as moving on some new candidates and trying to have some more discussions. If I can dig up who is targeted and such I will.
Legitimately 15 minutes after posting this, I got directly conflicting information: "No, that's not true. He's still interested. I guarantee he'd take the job if it's offered." Both sources are excellent.
#SillySzn
--------------
This is going to be a little bit all over the place. Just putting out all kind of thoughts and hitting a bunch of different areas to start the weekend.
*I didn't want to call this an update thread because the truth is, I'm not sure where we're going to stand on updates. We are a week into the search. The truth is, I don't know any more about who I think Missouri will hire than I did a week ago.
The first reaction to that is probably going to be "What the hell do we pay you for?"
Let me stop you there for a minute. I did know quite a bit about who Missouri might hire. Our list on Thursday morning was pretty accurate. I'm not going to tell you it was exact. But it was pretty close. The problem is, that list is quite possibly out the window.
Blake Anderson, Jeff Monken and Skip Holtz were the three finalists. Jay Norvell was on the list and, according to my information, was probably the first guy outside of the finalists. We all know what happened then. So, to me, whether Missouri can even still hire one of those top three if it comes to that is entirely up to them. Do they take the call? Or do they say "I don't want to work somewhere that you've already told me I'm not wanted and somewhere that, from where I sit, I can't be positive the guy hiring me is there long term."
*I'm not saying Missouri's search ends up back at this list of three. It would seem it won't. There are two ways to take what happened on Thursday (I think it was Thursday, every day is the same to me now and I can't really keep them straight):
1) Jim Sterk informally presented his list and was told, that list isn't good enough. Go find someone better.
2) Sterk informally presented his list and was told, we're not saying we wouldn't hire any of those guys, but you need to exhaust a whole bunch of other avenues before we do it.
Honestly there may not be any difference between the two for the reason I laid out above. Anderson, Monken and Holtz have kind of been told where they stand with the powers that be at Mizzou and it ain't flattering. That said, the power of tripling a guy's salary and making him an SEC head coach can allow him to swallow a whole bunch of pride. So it's possible, if the search ends up right back here, that one of them thinks it's worth the risk and believes he's good enough to get the job done and takes it.
In talking to a few people over the last couple of days, I've repeated the same message: The only way Missouri looks worse than it did after the leak of information (and I want to be clear, I don't think the issue is that the board members told Sterk the list wasn't good enough because I think that's not completely out of the ordinary; the problem is that it was leaked to the media/public) is if they come back next week and end up hiring one of the three guys that it's now public knowledge the administration doesn't have much faith in. The response I've gotten has basically been, "You're right and I think the message to Sterk was pretty clear that it needs to be something better than this, but nothing would shock me."
*I think Jay Norvell could still be a part of this because from my information he wasn't one of the three that caused this uproar. Now, I think it would go over similarly. I don't think people would love it. But I also don't think Norvell has the stigma of Missouri already saying at least some involved don't want to hire him.
*But where does it go after that? This is the part where I just start throwing out things that I've heard that I can't vouch for being true necessarily. I'm being up front about that. Now, I'll still hear some things that I won't attach my name to publicly because I think they're ridiculous and I don't like looking ridiculous (like last week when people were saying Kyle Whittingham was a possibility or when I had four people tell me within 24 hours that Missouri was flying out to interview Bob Stoops--neither was accurate and I wasn't going to put that out there because I don't like inviting people to call me naive and stupid if I don't have to). But we're at a point where I don't have a lot of information as to what exactly is happening so I might as well start tossing out some of the things I've heard in the last 36 hours. Here we go:
Last edited:
