Im doing a study on "bad coaches".... of the following 5 coaches: Mike Price(Alabama), Rick Neuheisel(Colorado/Washington), Jim Harrick Sr.(UGA/Rhode Island/UCLA), Admin Eustachy(Iowa State), Dave Bliss(Baylor).... how would you desribe what they did to their respective schools and see if you can answer the following questions....

 

1) While not all situations are termination, they all had to do with termination. Did these coaches resign due to the pressure placed by the department or of their own accord? Explain your thoughts.

 

2) Do you feel the actions taken by the department were too harsh? (Let's assume all resignations were forced.)

 

3) If you were the athletic director what would you have done differently? Explain your thoughts and argue your position.

 

thanks alot, this is a big help in my research

 

only serious replies please, this is for my class in school(problems in intercollegiate sports)

I'd be glad to help, but can you tell us what happened in all 5 of these instances, like why the coaches lost their job, and whether the coach resigned or was fired.

sure...

 

let me find some articles for you

I dont know about the questions but ill say this:

 

Price didnt do anything. so he got a little drunk and went to a strip club, but that wasnt enough reason for getting fired. they needed to voice their displeasure with him and make sure that he knew they didnt want this to happen again. the man never even got to coach a game.

 

Eustachy if i remeber correctly was going to parties in rival schools during raod trips, drinking and hugging female college students. He deserved to lose his job. a coach going to frat parties at other schools after playing them, its wrong, he deserved what he got.

 

What i remember about Harrick at UGA is that he payed a kids apartment and made sure he got good grades without him even going to class, i think thats what happened. i know he payed something, its not a question, i might be able to overlook the payment thing if the kid is really in need (and we know NCAA regulations are a joke) but the grades thing was unexusable.

 

I dont even have to say anything about Bliss. Lying to make a dead player look like a crack dealer to save his a**? there's no doubt he deserved to lose his job. he even should sued by the kids family (which he probably is)

Mike Price-Alabama

 

Admin Eustacy-Iowa State

 

Dave Bliss-Baylor

 

Rick Neuheisel-Washington- the link doesnt work but just reload the page and it comes up

 

Jim Harrick-UCLA and UGA

i forgot about Neuheisel. i believe he was putting down big money in ncaa tourney pools which you could say is wrong because a coach shouldnt be gambling but at the same time it was a different sport. but also he knew the rules and still did it.

 

i believe he also left a mess in colorado when he left and i think i heard UW is heading in the same direction but im not sure

bump

 

Im surprised more of you dont have opinions on this

1. I think in all cases of resignation, not firing among the coaches, the resignations were a culmination of many reasons that forced the coaches out. These reasons include in my mind things like: the coaches wanted to save their own already damaged reputations by leaving and not letting more information come out, the fact that the coaches thought they would be laughed at or not have full power if they stayed at their job, and the atheltic departments wanting to get rid of such embarassements at the head coaching position instead of keeping them around, and risking damage to their program, loss of recruits, and loss of respect around the nation.

 

2. Dave Bliss and Jim Harrick were just very bad people in my opinion, and I think them being forced out were definitely for the best of their programs. Eustacy's situation I saw a lot of info on, as I live in the midwest, and I believe that he had to go to. He's not a bad person, but you can't have your coach out getting drunk and kissing college aged girls at frat parties after games. Rick Neuheisel was fired for being in an NCAA basketball pool, and I think that's stupid and unfair. THE GUY IS A FOOTBALL COACH, and I don't understand why they fired him for gambling in something that has nothing to do with his sport, and then they brought up past things that had nothing to do with this case to smear Neuheisel's reputations, which I also thought was wrong. Mike Price did what tons of college coaches do, only he was dumb enough to get caught, and although I disagree with that move, I understand why Alabama did it.

 

3. Tough question. Bliss and Harrick had to go, as did Eustacy's I don't disagree with what happened in those cases. I don't think I would have fired Neuheisel, I think that whole thing is ridiculous, and he really didn't do much wrong. His gambling had nothing to do with his sport, and his firing was unfair, and if I was UW's AD, I would have kept Neuheisel around unless there was some underlying stuff he did wrong I don't know about, which I don't think there is. As for Mike Price, that's tough because he didn't do anything very wrong, but it's hard to have a program's respect when you are caught out at strip clubs. In that case, I don't know what I would do, that's why i'm glad i'm not an AD.

 

Sorry for the long post ramp, but I give long answers to questions like this.

thanks Mags, i appreciate it....

All of the coaches deserved what they got.

 

 

In the case of Alabama, they deserve to get some of the blame...for some reason I feel they didnt do a good enough job in background checking for all of the coaches.

 

 

Look coaches need to be above reproach and need to be a shining example for their players....that is one of their jobs aside from wins and losses.

 

Bliss....he tried to cover up murder...not only does that deserve a firing...but it could almost warrant jail time. Eutchacy(sp) went out and partied when he should of been preparing or something of the sort...reason enough. Price, where the stories are conflicting...went home with a stripper and such...not exactly what you expect from a coach...Harrick helped assure students would pass without having to do anything...Neuheisal gambled, but it was only on an NCAA office pool....

 

 

now to answer the questions....

 

1) Price, Eustachy, Neuheisal, and probably Harrick resigned due to pressure from the departments...Neuheisal was forced out due to many other issues...this just provided more of a conveinent (sp) excuse. Bliss more so on his own accord...but there was definitely pressure. Athletic departments simply cannot have these issues in their programs, especially with all the money tied to postseason berths and not wanting to be labeled as a program that supports all of these 'sinful' ways

 

 

2) None of the actions were too harsh. All of them screwed up and should of known what they were doing. Again only in the Price situation do we really have conflicting reports...Perhaps the departments could have helped someone like Eutchasy in his problems...and if it had just been a drinking problem they probably do...but its the dancing and partying at rival institutions that cannot be tolerated...As I already stated...Neuheisal was on his way out for acting like a circlejerk to the AD...Bliss well what more needs to be said....The funny thing with Harrick is that Georgia had to have known this was his MO...he has been in trouble with the NCAA in every place he has coached, so perhaps the problem is that the AD at Georgia needs to focus more on character than results....

 

 

3) Finally....the only thing I do as AD differently is not force them the resign. I fire them outright, especially in the cases of Bliss, Neuheisal and Harrick. They did not deserve to get the grace of resigning. They should of been fired outright. Eutschacy I put him on suspension or probation and give him help to get over his problem....but then there is the fact that he partied at rival institutions after games....thats the thing that cannot be tolerated. In the case of Price I do a more through search process before finding a 60 year old coach that will only be around for a few years anyway to turn my program around and return it to greatness...something they may have done with Shula.

 

 

Hope that helps in all that rambling.

thanks Das.... big time

Bliss and Harrick pretty clearly needed to go.

 

In Bliss's case, you could probably make a case for a criminal act in that he impeded a murder investigation, though it would be a stretch to actually charge him. He did try to make it seem that Dennehy was dealing drugs which would've sent the cops investigating in the wrong direction.

 

Harrick and his son broke almost as many rules as Charlie Pell, especially with the fake grades. He definitely needed to go and should probably never be in charge of another program again. I agree with Das that Harrick should've been fired rather than allowed to retire, but it probably avoid some litigation this way.

 

What Price did, in and of itself, shouldn't cost most people their job. If I got caught doing what he did, I could keep my job because it wouldn't effect my ability to program computers. But if I was a salesman for my company, and my name was plastered all over the newspapers, it would adversly impact my ability to sell and you better believe I'd be out of a job. A college coach is part salesman; he's a recruiter. Because of the publicity in the job; he's held to a different level of accountability than normal people. The publicity part of the job is why it pays $1 million; he has to deal with the responsibilities of being in the public. He didn't so he lost the job. I think it was deserved. There was a good chance that this incident would've hurt his ability to recruit; Alabama couldn't take the chance and see how it went for a couple of years.

 

I look at Eustacy's situation as the same as Price.

 

Neuheisal's situation is different. (BTW - Das, I think he was fired; I think he's still trying to sue to regain his job). I think the Washington AD got rid of Neuheisal because Neuheisal interviewed for the 49ers job and lied about it. Neuheisal had supposedly received clearance on the NCAA pools from the person in Washington's athletic department who was responsible for NCAA compliance issues. Other people in the department were only reprimanded (their pools weren't as lucrative). Neuheisal deserved to be fired because he lost his credibilty but I think using the NCAA Basketball Pool to do it was a reach.

thanks Gator

thanks to those who replied