Zenger Fired
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Maybe if you know who ran C-Bernie (I don’t) and if you know who imposed Girod (I don’t), who had connections to KUMED and MRI and the sort of medical research they might have converged on in disaster areas like, say, Haiti, then you could probably get in the ball park about why Zenger got the ax and why now?
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@BShark nobody else
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Ah, #fakenews. Sorry. See, it can’t get worse than that, right?
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Crimsonorblue22 said:
Going to be a lot of happy Jayhawks!
Me, me, me…it took a while but finally happened.
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http://m.kusports.com/news/2018/may/21/possible-ad-candidates-kansas/
Matt Tait with a very early preliminary list of names for Zengers replacement. Nothing too flashy on this list.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 I think Schneider should be given at least one more season with the class he has coming it, people forget the teams best player was injured in the preseason and he has shown improvement each year. Ritch Price is a great guy and it’s hard to recruit kids for a warm weather sport to Kansas but he doesn’t have a ton to show for his time here. The same could be said for Megan Smith the softball coach, dead last in B12 this year and that flatout can’t happen. I’d be shocked if any moves are made right away outside of football if Beaty struggles early (which is almost a given to this point). If Curry becomes the athletic director, which I high doubt happens I’ll have to think before I come to any games. Never, ever had anyone that I’ve seen had a even remote positive assessment of him.
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@kjayhawks never!
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@Woodrow I hope there are more options!
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A name I’m interested in that hasn’t popped up yet is former Arkansas AD Jeff Long.
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I am totally serious that we need to hire a new AD that will stick his neck out and HIRE Art Freckin Briles! After a winning season everyone will forget about all of this BS going on right now… OKAY guys and gals fire away!
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I will take the job and be the sacrificial lamb! Just sayn
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@kjayhawks Schneider has had way too much turnover and instability on his roster to ever have consistent success. He’s 6-48 in Big 12 games that cast majority of those losses have not been the least bit competitive.
Ritch Price has been here 16 years and has 3 NCAA tournament appearances and has missed the B12 tournament 7 or 8 times I believe.
Softball has regressed from a few years ago when KU was safely making the NCAA tournament.
I think Price’s contract is near its end so firing him shouldn’t be a concern.
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HighEliteMajor said:
The greatest question ever, on all topics, is “why”?
The football failures seem obvious.
But the Adidas issues are more troubling. If he was fired for some role, some complicity, the sacrificial lamb, that could be a concerning “what if.”
Word is? The big time KU Donors wanted a change. As they closed their donations to the football program. Yet what do I know I’m naïve?
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Texas Hawk 10 said:
Glad it finally happened. Sounds like Girod has already started looking for Zenger’s replacement even before he fired Zenger. I think Girod gave Zenger the courtesy of finishing put the academic year before pulling the trigger.
I also don’t see Beaty being fired immediately either because there aren’t any quality coaches available around Memorial Day. I would expect a new AD to be hired in late June or in July and that Beaty will start the year as football coach, but won’t make it to the end of the season. KU has a bye week halfway through the season, I would expect Beaty to be fired after 6 games unless there is significant on field improvement and in the W-L column. That’ll give the new AD ample time to identify and hire a quality coach for 2019.
Other coaches that need to go are Brandon Schneider, Ritch Price, and the softball coach because those 3 programs have been really bad either since Zenger got here, or significantly regressed since he got here.
This is a make or break season for Beaty. He either delivers or he is done.
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There is a week off after the West Virginia game (6th game) and, if KU has won less than 2 games, Beaty will be gone and KU will start the search way ahead of the rest dangling a lot of money to get a good coach with the messages that KU is committed to having a winning football program. There is really not a good reason why KU cannot have a competitive football program.
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Isn’t Art Briles in hell?
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@dylans We could bring him back
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dylans said:
Isn’t Art Briles in hell?
I mean he should be
. For a football coach, I’d look at Seth Litrell from North Texas. Young, was a legit college QB at OU (captain on a title team) and has done a very good job at a tough place to win.
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@DoubleDD This is quite odd timing, you have to admit. If you want to simply believe what is said, then the word might be most appropriately “gullible.” But I’m not saying that here. I would say that I may be searching for something that isn’t there, and that you may be gullible. It’s all a “may.” Or, of course, you may have very logical reasons to think its about football … in May.
I just don’t believe folks like this. Spin and narrative control is quite the rage.
It is undeniably odd that Zenger is canned just after we’re named in the FBI baloney, and just after the cheerleader/hazing deal. I also find it odd that the chancellor was so adamant that neither played any role. Almost so adamant that he might have the idea that to do otherwise might impact legal proceedings, right? Almost so adamant it sounds as if its part of a deal to assist Zenger in future job searches?
No, No, it’s all football – 6 months after the season ended, so Girod has been stewing on this for how long? Right, it’s all football. If it’s all football, what has been the intervening event, football wise, that precipitated this decision?
Or, what have been other precipitating events?
Of course, we can accept the disjointed party line as true, as fact. Or, alternatively, we can simply consider that sometime folks aren’t truthful for a reason and there are other answers.
And a completely different thought – who really runs that university? Who is really the boss? We know that answer. His predecessor crushed a prior AD like a dove, as I recall.
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This link posted earlier by @BShark tells the story behind the firing of Zenger or at least one version of it. It appears donors were tired by the lack of progress primarily with the football program which as we all know has become an embarrassment for KU, setting all kinds of records, most of them negative. I mentioned a few days ago some of the other programs that were also under performing but football is by far the main one. The one thing that Zenger appeared to do relatively well was fundraising and once he lost the big donors it was time for him to go and surely enough he was gone. I know and talk to a large number of KU alumni in the KC Metro area and I can’t think of one that supported him
Last season we all had high hopes for the team some even dared to dream of a bowl bet and after the first game the season went to hell and it was huge disappointment. The upcoming season will start with no hopes and the general expectation that barring a miracle, Beaty will be pretty much gone. No one and I mean NO ONE wanted Zenger to pick yet another football head coach.
Firing Zenger at this time and creating a search committee sends a message that KU is looking not only for an AD but in all likelihood a football HC as well and places potential candidates on notice.
A secondary and more subtle message could also be that KU is cleaning house in advance of any potential negative findings resulting from the ongoing investigations. A proactive approach sends a positive message and helps in this type of situations.
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@justanotherfan have you read this article? I’d like your take on it. You might have to google Fritzel, if you are not familiar w/him.
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@HighEliteMajor The timing isn’t odd at all. Girod recently met with the high value donors in Arizona. They likely withdrew financial support of the stadium project unless changes were made. Since Girod said there was already a search committee in place, that means he likely started assembling that committee shortly after the donors meeting.
That’s the why on the timing. The lack of progress is likely specifically referring to the fundraising of the stadium project.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 I’m with you on the item of the stadium project. I see that as a bit different than football, as in the product on the field. Beatty should have been canned the day the season ended. I like your words of moderation … using the words “likely.” Personally, I strongly believe there were other motivators here.
To that end, if Zenger knew of the hazing, and didn’t tell the chancellor, I do think that would be a really big deal for the chancellor. It would if I were chancellor. I think that may be the case because the coach is still the coach. Just bits and pieces of evidence.
I also wonder … in the unknown-knowns category … how much knowledge of the Adidas “scheme” did Zenger have?
And to the post above, did he screw the school out of millions of dollars reworking a contract he didn’t have to?
But your conclusion is the best evidence now, related to the stadium project. Not being able to raise money kills an AD.
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It sounds like they took a good business deal and turned it into a bad business deal. I don’t know the details on why, but its a head scratcher to be sure.
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@justanotherfan @Crimsonorblue22
The Frietzel name is well known in business circles in Lawrence and the reputation is questionable to put it mildly.
The contract change is very hard to understand and even harder to justify and definitely did not favor KU. I suspect someone built a nice retirement fund as a result of that change.
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I think we, KU, has the same kind of deal w/newly remodeled KU country club, the old alvamar, I think.
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I do agree that it is odd timing. Yet I’m kind of old fashion even when I’m trying to concoct some conspiracy theory. Want to find the truth? Always follow the money. The Big money KU alumni’s held a meeting to pull funding on the football program, as they weren’t happy with the direction. Can’t say I blame them. Why invest millions in a football program that really isn’t showing any improvement?
Look I’m here to debate and discuss the current events of our beloved Jayhawks. I understand that I’m not always going to be right or that the majority of the board rats may not agree with me. Yet I don’t think I deserve sniper shots, no matter how eloquently they are put.
Have a great day.
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Yay!
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@dylans you slow or what?
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@Crimsonorblue22 no, it just makes me happy.
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@dylans you didn’t just find out, did you?
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So, when do we get a real football coach?
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@Crimsonorblue22 Nah, it’s old news. Depending on whom gets hired I’ll probably be just as excited in a couple of years. I despised the job that man was doing.
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Yay!
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Remember talking about fritzel and sz signing a dumb contract w/him?
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Wow … makes one wonder what incentive there was to sign a dumb contract? Though I have to say I’ve never really heard a bad word about Zenger personally.
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@HighEliteMajor why would KU allow him to sign anything and why does anyone continue to work w/fritzel? What’s his tie w/KU?
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@Crimsonorblue22 I don’t know … but he sure has a history of being in messes.
http://www2.ljworld.com/weblogs/town_talk/2015/dec/17/a-list-of-past-thomas-fritzel-controvers/
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HighEliteMajor said:
Wow … makes one wonder what incentive there was to sign a dumb contract? Though I have to say I’ve never really heard a bad word about Zenger personally.
I’ve got a few for ya!
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I’m sure this relates back to sz and the airplane sign at the fb game
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@Crimsonorblue22 I really like the LeBatard show. Theta are a bunch of blithering idiots, but he’s not wrong on this topic.
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Girod and KU just got turned down by the AD at SMU.
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Would have been a great hire. Hopefully not a ominous sign.
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@Woodrow I agree, IF true (always take it with a couple of grains of salt unless “verified”, which it usually isn’t). Would think most ADs would like to move from a G6 to a P5 school. But, if he didn’t think he was ready for the job or “up” to the job, maybe it’s a good thing he “passed.”
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This is a tough hire and a tall task for anyone we bring in. On top of everything football that they will have to do, I expect them to have to make a hire for almost every sport. Including Men’s Basketball, providing Bill sticks to his word of retiring around 60. A big gamble for an AD who is comfortable where they are.
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https://twitter.com/ucfdannywhite/status/1012672946266169346?s=21
Cross another target off. He’s referencing KU in this tweet.
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The expectation is that the new AD will have to fix the football program and that is one tall order that most potential ADs would not want to take on.
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we will never find anyone decent!
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The fix for football is really easy … fire Beatty, hire a coach that runs the flexbone like Georgia Tech. We don’t need the stud, accurate QB. Time consuming offense. Keeps a bad defense on the sidelines more. Tough to prep for on short time as no one in the conference runs it. While certain players won’t want to come here, it will create a situation where guys that can run the ball are at a premium, and athletes are fits for the system. Point of attack blocking takes less time, and thus skill level of O-linemen needed is a touch lower. Most passing is quicker release, and play action. Pass blocking, a difficult skill, is less needed. Navy runs the same thing. And before some say no, just see how GT and Navy have done. They have good players. Better than ours. And before some say no, look how we’ve done trying to be like everyone else.
I guarantee at least 4 wins in the second season under that system.
