Sunday, January 20, 2008
I wanted to just move on, but...
First of all, I would like to express that I am pleased that those of us in this blog haven't beat the horse to death regarding the feud between WVU and Rodriguez. The latest attack however is very concerning to me. I wondered in the days following the Fiesta Bowl why Coach Magee wasn't considered for the position. The explanation that he committed to UM too quickly seems somewhat plausible, but I'm still not sure. Allegations of discrimination are very serious, especially when you hire a coach who was previously dismissed due to a controversy surrounding race. I hope that WVU can somehow quash these allegations but I suspect that because they don't appear squeaky clean with regards to the hiring process, there will always be doubts.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
Weezie wins the Free McDonald's meal for being the 100th poster on this blog site. But I digress, it is very discouraging that it appears that the Rod/Administration war is now going nuclear. I for one am disgusted by it all. I too fear that the "race card" could hurt the image of the school. I wish that we didn't have to read more ink on this but I fear that we are in the beginnings of this war not the end. The really sad thing is in a war like this their are really no winners. I am saddened by this. I was hopeful that the administration was moving in a positive direction with regard to the offensive coordinator. And that maybe we would be seeing Calvin McGee in the booth for yet another season. That doesn't appear to be an option now.
DaGeek
Damn it. I hadn't read that article until today. I'm not ready to comment on the veracity of any of the allegations, because obviously I don't know. However-- and I may put these thoughts into a post later-- if even a few of these things are true, if the administration neglected to even interview any minorities and to even seriously consider outside candidates, I will gladly support any effort to get them removed. Even if it puts me in the same camp as the loathsome Rod-Worshipers. Nativism, Nepotism and Racism are not tolerable policies for a group representing our state to follow. Bill Stewart should be there on the merits of his coaching abilities and capacity to hire top-notch coordinators, not because he's "our guy". I'm still happy to give Stew the benefit of the doubt. As much as it pains me to see these allegations, let other heads roll if they must because I'm tired of the same old bullshit. Lets have the University hire people from the outside who will run this damn thing professionally.
As for Stewart's "controversial" history, I'm with Stew 100%. His comments were completely taken out of context by the player at VMI and really have no bearing on the issue at hand. However, I suspect that critics using the race card against the administration will certainly continue to bring up the incident which is unfortunate. Nor does the possible chance that there may be an individual(s) within the University that did not want to hire a black coach discredit Stewart's hiring. I would like to believe that the University hired the way it did because they were interested in building on the success of the current Mountaineers while providing the integrity of the Nehlen era.
I read the article that said that the unnamed administrator pointed to his "skin" for the reason for not hiring McGee. Is he sure he wasn't pointing to his belly? All kidding aside, McGee not only didn't have any prior head coaching experience, he really hasn't even been a coordinator. Add to that the University clearly had a list of 2 or 3 candidates they were looking at very hard. Bowden, Holiday, and Jones. Then the political crap started with Manchin and Pastilong couldn't do his job if he wanted to...so then they win they emotional victory over Oklahoma and they HAVE to consider the interim who we know would be willing to work for peanuts and voila. You have your coach. NO, McGee (or any other coach, black, white or hispanic) didn't ever get a serious look. That doesn't make them racist, it just makes for a bad hiring practice. And McGee is taking a cheap shot as a result.
Well here is Ed Pastilong's response as released in the Charleston Gazette Artical by Dave Hickman:
"West Virginia athletic director Ed Pastilong said Sunday there was one reason and one reason only that Calvin Magee never became a serious candidate to succeed Rich Rodriguez as West Virginia’s football coach, and it had nothing to do with race.
It’s because within hours of Rodriguez’s resignation on Dec. 16, Magee was on a plane bound for Michigan with Rodriguez and was introduced the next morning as the Wolverines’ offensive coordinator.
“Yes, I would have considered him if it hadn’t been for that,’’ Pastilong told the Gazette. “But it would be unusual for him to be considered a serious candidate when at Rich’s press conference Calvin was introduced as the new offensive coordinator at Michigan.’’
Pastilong’s remarks were in reaction to a story in Sunday’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in which Magee, WVU’s offensive coordinator under Rodriguez, claims that he wasn’t a candidate to replace Rodriguez because he is black.
The most egregious accusation in the Post-Gazette story came not from Magee, but from his agent, Mike Brown, who is also Rodriguez’s agent. Brown claims that in the hours following the news that Rodriguez was leaving, Magee met with an unnamed WVU administrator:
According to Brown, who declined to identify the person involved in this incident, “Calvin was in discussions with this West Virginia University administrator, and Calvin kind of politely asked him, ‘Do you think I have a shot [at becoming the next Mountaineers head coach]?’ The administrator said, ‘No you don’t,’ and pointed to his skin. That’s why Calvin got on the plane.”
Pastilong said if anyone on his staff or within the university said that to Magee it was news to him.
“I think the only person who could speak to that would be that administrator,’’ Pastilong said. “I didn’t see Calvin [that day].’’
Pastilong said he did eventually talk to Magee regarding the head coaching job and Magee admits that much. It happened several days after Rodriguez resigned and during the time that WVU was sifting through and interviewing candidates for the job. Magee said it was Dec. 21, five days after Rodriguez resigned, when he was approached by Pastilong regarding the job.
But Magee said he felt that contact was simply to satisfy pressure from the Black Coaches and Administrators (BCA) to interview minority candidates. Pastilong said he did so with an open mind and with no pressure from the BCA, but that the conversation ended very quickly.
“I was attending meetings of the coaching staff [those who remained to prepare WVU for the Fiesta Bowl game with Oklahoma] and I think it was after one of those meetings about the third day that I asked him to walk back with me,’’ Pastilong said Sunday. “He and I sat down in the team meeting room and I asked him if he was definitely going to Michigan and he said he was. But he said he wanted to stay and coach the bowl game.’’
Pastilong said that when Magee confirmed to him his intent to go to Michigan with Rodriguez, he naturally eliminated him as a serious candidate for the job.
As for any pressure from the BCA to interview minority candidates, Pastilong said he was the one who first initiated contact with BCA executive director Floyd Keith.
“I called Floyd Keith and we had a discussion and it was very early in the process. I think it might have been Monday [Dec. 17, the day after Rodriguez resigned],’’ Pastilong said. “He faxed some names to me and we followed up on some of those. He mentioned Calvin to me and Calvin’s was among the names he faxed to me. But by then Calvin was already on board at Michigan.’’
West Virginia did contact one black candidate about the job, Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley. But because Locksley was in California at the time preparing for the Rose Bowl, the two sides never met face to face.
Keith told the Post-Gazette that the BCA will continue to look into West Virginia’s search, which ended the day after the Mountaineers beat Oklahoma and interim coach Bill Stewart was given the job.
“We are going to look into the search,’’ Keith said. “We are going to corroborate what [Magee and Locksley] report. If the evidence is that there were really no interviews and [West Virginia officials] say that there were, then that’s a problem.’’
In the Post-Gazette story, Magee admitted that jumping into the Michigan job so quickly was probably a mistake. He claims he did so in order “to explore my options.’’ He returned the next day to Morgantown and said he quickly grasped that damage was done.
“I immediately felt like I should have stayed away [from Ann Arbor],’’ Magee said.
In the end, Pastilong defended the school’s search.
“We had a good search and we did our very best to include as many people as we could and be as objective as we could,’’ Pastilong said. “And in the end it was clear who the best man for the job was — the one who led us to a 20-point victory over a team a lot of people considered the best in the country." -http://wvgazette.com/section/Sports/WVU/2008012025
Well on a similar note here is what Terrelle Pryor had to say to TheWolverine.com in an interview following his weekend visit to Michigan:
"I don't want to sound cocky or anything, but I think I could play in any offense," he said. "But this is a good mix of pass and run and I liked it at West Virginia. I saw a whole lot of Pat White plays this weekend, probably every one."-
http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=764179
In other words Rod is using West Virginia Highlights to do his recruiting at Michigan. It isn't that this is necessarily legally wrong (it is not and what else is he going to show him) but it is just that it feels like a slap in the face. Kind of a this is what I did for Pat White, at lowly WVU imagine what I can do for you here at the all-mighty Michigan. And Pat White did what he did because he is exceptional in every way that he could be. I just wanted to expound a little on what is going on even in the public light.
DaGeek
Excellent info on the "real" comments from Magee and Pastilong's point of view. However, the BCA has hounded everyone and will probably hound WVU about not seriously considering any black coaches. I don't believe that the BCA's position is necessarily valid, but they have been consistent at criticizing institutions that have not seriously considered a black coach. While it is a travesty, that black head coaches aren't more prominent, it is just as sad a day when teams feel they must put on a show for the country even if they already have a narrow idea on a particular individual(s) for the position.
As for Rodriguez, what would you expect him to show recruits, Michigan footage. It wouldn't have been out of line for Belein to show WVU recruits footage of his teams at Richmond while recruiting his first year to Morgantown, and we should expect no less from Rodriguez. Besides, Rodriguez is just a pretty good coach without Pat White. Pat White is the reason people call him a genius.
Weezie, regarding Rod's use of WVU footage, that is why I had the paranthetical phrase stating the same in my post. I agree it is what he has to show recruits however I am not sure the Michigan faithful agree that he needs to sell his philosophy. It is my guess that they feel that Michigan is why an athlete comes to Michigan. But I digress you are right.
DaGeek
Post a Comment