No longer Gruntled.

FAM wrote:

This is actually a win-win situation. As I was listening to the game last night cheering on the Dukes it then crossed my mind again...that because Ferry beat Pitt the powers that be will renew his contract again because of one win against a team that didn't even care about playing them. As I said in a previous post it was an anomaly. As Duquesne lost at the end I didn't swear or even get upset. I looked at it as the vaccinations you got as a little kid. It hurt then, but was to make you better in the future if something happens. So, they lost, which is another step closer to hiring a real coach. However, and you can quote me on this. "If Ferry ends up with a losing record this year, that does NOT mean they will let him go." I don't think Harper is there yet and can still get talked into keeeping Ferry by none other than Ferry himself. Remember, he talked them into giving him another year on his contract and this year's mantra is that they are young. Each year he uses a new message. Last year it was blaming the players most of the time. HIs first two years it was that they really weren't his players and the ones that were there weren't the ones he needs for his type of program and style. I can't remember his mantra from his third year. I do believe they will get crushed in A-10 play and I SINCERELY BELIEVE THAT they would do much better with a much better coach.

This is why it needs to be a bad year. 14 wins will probably allow him to get one more year. I don't think he can survive a 10 or 11 win season. Keep in mind that beating Pitt wasn't enough to save the last 4 coaches who did it.
 

Maybe Jarrett Durham was right after all... "You have to learn to lose before you can learn to win." I just didn't expect Ferry to focus so much on the first part of the equation.

Harper is probably doing his homework right now. Firing Ferry now is the wrong move. You'd have to put an assistant in charge, and of course the players would then demand that the assistant get the job. No, no, no! Wait until the last game, and then pull the plug. Harper should be looking at what's out there right now. There is talent on hand. Go get a guy who has a reputation for getting the most out of his players.

FAM WROTE: 

"Remember, he talked them into giving him another year on his contract and this year's mantra is that they are young."

Not true. His hiring contract, as with many NCAA coaching contracts, has a provision automatically extending the contract one year if a new A.D. took over the program during the life of his original hire-contract.  There was no negotiation by either side as to the extension. But, the buy outs for those type of extensions are more often than not substantially less than the annual salary.  So if the ax is to fall the cost of  chopping may be less a factor for the firing body to consider.  How do I know this.  It is and was a part of my work experience.

ElDuque wrote:

I don't like that provision. Nor did I like the length of the original contract. Certainly smart negotiation on the part of Ferry's agent, but a clear lack of foresight on Duquesne's part. Someone basically said let's throw all our eggs in the Ferry basket.

Dumb.

Dumb in theory but smart move by ferry. I think he was aware that it took him about 7 years to start winning at LIU, so he needed to guarantee himself as much time here as possible.

Perhaps you didn't read what was posted by Grammy on this extension in relation to the hiring of a new A.D.  I don't think you can blame anyone for something that is universally done.

levon1975 wrote:

Perhaps you didn't read what was posted by Grammy on this extension in relation to the hiring of a new A.D.  I don't think you can blame anyone for something that is universally done.

Many = Many. Not universal.

It was negotiated. As I said, smart by Ferry, dumb by Duquesne. How did Dougherty not understand that firing a coach and hiring a new one would not put the AD under the magnifying glass? Did he think this would be a universally loved move?

If so, dumb.

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

duq81 wrote:

ElDuque wrote:

I don't like that provision. Nor did I like the length of the original contract. Certainly smart negotiation on the part of Ferry's agent, but a clear lack of foresight on Duquesne's part. Someone basically said let's throw all our eggs in the Ferry basket.

Dumb.

Amodio was desperate after Dambrot turned him down twice. Interest in the job was nil, and Ferry knew he had leverage, and he used it. Amodio overplayed his hand. He must not have felt secure in his position, because if he had, he would have allowed Ron to stay without an extension. Considering the state of the roster, a winning season was going to be very difficult to achieve. The smart move would have been to let Ron stay, and then fire him after an 18 or 19 loss season. While some folks still would have been unhappy, my guess is that there would have been far fewer angry people than he actually ended up with. The only reason I can see for him pulling the plug when he did, is that he was afraid that if the 2012-13 season played out poorly, fans, and the press would see the writing on the wall for Ron, and would also begin to speculate that he would be getting the boot as well. By firing Ron a year early, he bought himself another 5-6 years. When he saw that Ferry might not get it done, he knew he'd be toast, so he got out when the getting was good.
 

Only twice? Dambrot made it sound like Amodio pursued him like a lovesick adolescent. I know Dambrot played it into a bigger contract, but it wouldn't surprise me if "he of little clout" actually did something like that. Look at the contract Ferry got.

As I said above, if Dougherty didn't understand that firing a popular coach would put his AD under the microscope, then certainly the fiasco of how the firing was handled and the subsequent trouser wetting over Dambrot (and nearly over Gaudio) should have caused him (or someone) to take a long, hard look at the next coach's contract. And knowing that Amodio's chances of getting canned himself jumped up, they should have held firm without the provision (and at less money too!).

All the way around, from the firing to the hiring to the extra year provision, dumb.

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Chuck gets a ballroom named after him, Amodio gets to escape, Ferry gets $3 million, and the students, alumni and fans get ungatz.