re: If you agree that Coach O was not the right hire at the time...

quote:

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Who do you think LSU should have hired instead, after Herman and Fisher said no?

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The real question is not who should have been next. The real question was did we try hard enough to get the two guys you are saying said "no". Did they actually say "no", or did we say "no" when they tried to negotiate?

Alleva allowed emotion and arrogance play a part in the coaching search, which there is no place for that in business, or any place that other people rely on you doing your job so they can feed their families.

Obviously Jimbo didn't say "no", because he had a price tag and is now coaching elsewhere.....we said no

I don't believe that Herman said "no", because he had a price tag and is now coaching elsewhere.....we said no

I get that LSU (read "Alleva") didn't want to just be used as leverage for someone to get more money, but:

1) We kind of owed it to Jimbo after the prior year and the accompanying leaks that no doubt made his job harder and strained his already strained relationships at FSU.

2) From all accounts and rumors, Herman wanted to hear what his supposed "dream job" had to offer, and LSU said "no" take it or leave it we have our coach.

Alleva and the BoD completely botched not only the firing and hiring of the HC, but also the good faith we had built up with other coaches. It wasn't on the same scale as the Tennessee disaster this year, but prior to that unfolding, our handling of the HC position at LSU the previous two years was quite an embarrassment and poorly handled.

To answer your question, there are a number of coaches out there that you make them say "no", no matter how unrealistic they may seem, prior to falling back on a d-line coach that no one else had shown interest in as an HC since his first and only time working in that capacity.

Remember that it isn't always about the paycheck, you can often provide other benefits. Jim Harbaugh gets a multi-million dollar whole life insurance policy provided with money added every year. That is part of his "salary". Sometimes you have to get creative to get the right guy.

Maybe Jimbo would have come for less that the $75mm/10 year guaranteed contract, if we offered him living, car service, unlimited jet usage, private healthcare for his son, full input on upgraded facilities, a tenure trigger in the performance of his job as a form of retirement benefit,....Who knows, did we even make that attempt? Or did LSU (read "Alleva") just say, "nope that is too much money...we have other options...you need us more than we need you..."