Why Jeff Long was a good hire
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Plenty have questioned if Long was the right guy to hire, some wanted Parker from CSU. I think Long was probably the best we were able to get. Long has experience which IMO is a good thing, doesn’t mean he didn’t make his mistakes like Giving Bielema a extension. I don’t think hiring Bielema was a mistake because of his record at Wisconsin, on paper it was a great hire and just didn’t workout. Hiring Patrino I don’t think goes as all bad on him, yes he was rumored to be a little in left field but hell his own wife had no knowledge of his cheating and shanigans, not surprised that his boss didn’t. I’d be ok a scandal like that over Baylor’s any day not that I want any scandal. Experience is big, Zenger had very little of this and used his football background with his used car salesman approach to get on at KU. Respect, the fact that Long is well respected in the college athletics world probably means that he has a pretty good idea of what he’s doing and he’s a decent guy. The world of collegiate sports can be very cut throat at times and having someone that’s been in the game that long (no pun intended lol) that doesn’t have people throwing shade at him on a mainstream level is positive. Connections, I am one of the many people that believe the B12 is all but done after the current media contract is up in 2022 (I believe). Having connections from being around a long time could be huge in terms of finding a conference home outside of the Mountain West or American if the B12 does come crashing down. Those same connections and relationships build with coaches like Bob Stoops, Brent Ventables, Dave Wannstedt and Les Miles could come in handy finding a new coach for the laughing stock of D1 football. Now I’m not saying he could talk any of the mentioned names into coming to town (I would be unbelievablely excited) but having there input on who’s the next big guy that needs a break or who they believe would fit could pay off if has that type relationship with really any of those guys.
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Whether he was a “good” or " bad" hire is now somewhat academic…he has been hired. I think the best thing to do now is to support him as much as we can and hope things work out (no results are ever “guaranteed”). The time for "what if"s is over. Not quite as pessimistic as you are about the B12. Figure that there is a >50% chance the B12 will survive. I’m thinking that neither UT nor OU will want to leave IF a new TV deal is within a couple of million of what they would receive elsewhere. Both have attractive T3s that could make their total take close to or possibly even above what they could get elsewhere without going through the hassle of “moving” (new “rivals”, longer travel, more different time zone to deal with, etc.). But, IF the TV contract is not that good, I do agree that if either “leaves”, even if the B12 survives as a conference name, it will be a P4.5 at best. If both left, then G5 (or AAC) it is for most of the survivors. In that case, the fate of KU is certainly up in the air, in my opinion.
