Tom Mason and Jason Phillips New Jobs

[JasonB]

The ASU bit killed him on the recruiting trail, just as the Baylor incident hurt Morris. The other thing was that he lost his big recruiters (Klemm, Rhinebold) and didn't replace them with quality coaches/recruiters. He complained about not having other support from the school, but the reality is that they supported him light years more than previous coaches.

I don't think he was here for the paycheck. It was an ego play. He wanted to show people that 1) he could turn around ANY program, 2) he could recruit on a shoestring budget and do things his way. And then use that to get a higher profile job. But it wasn't a money thing, it was an ego thing.

The only other thing I would add is that I think June didn't start to "look down on" SMU until after that UCF game. Phillips looked down on SMU from the moment he got here, and Morris pretty much did the same, which is why he was so quick to talk to Baylor.

Tom Mason struggled as a head coach, but I have tons of respect for the guy. He never said anything but positive things about SMU, loved it here, completely bought into the whole thing.

[PerunaPunch]

JJ issued an ultimatum to UofH, and they called his "bluff". But it wasn't a bluff, because head coaches at that level have a lot of pride (it's almost a job prerequisite). He either had to walk away from the program he loved or be emasculated in front of his fans, his staff and players –- not much of a choice there. And then at the 11th hour, the one school who still had an opening (because everyone else had turned Orsini down) came a callin'. JJ either had to take the SMU offer or... nothing. No mystery here folks.

[One Trick Pony]

The ASU bit killed him on the recruiting trail, just as the Baylor incident hurt Morris. The other thing was that he lost his big recruiters (Klemm, Rhinebold) and didn't replace them with quality coaches/recruiters. He complained about not having other support from the school, but the reality is that they supported him light years more than previous coaches.

I don't think he was here for the paycheck. It was an ego play. He wanted to show people that 1) he could turn around ANY program, 2) he could recruit on a shoestring budget and do things his way. And then use that to get a higher profile job. But it wasn't a money thing, it was an ego thing.

The only other thing I would add is that I think June didn't start to "look down on" SMU until after that UCF game. Phillips looked down on SMU from the moment he got here, and Morris pretty much did the same, which is why he was so quick to talk to Baylor.

Tom Mason struggled as a head coach, but I have tons of respect for the guy. He never said anything but positive things about SMU, loved it here, completely bought into the whole thing.

I've sat at the bar and drank with June for hours and it wasn't an ego thing , it was a money thing. " too good of an opportunity to pass up".

And of course he had a Giant Ego any great class A narcissist is equipped with this.

He also deplored his employer. About as much as some of us did him , when he quit and was still showing up looking at that ridiculous Play card.