More Rice Commitments Looking Elsewhere

[ponydawg]

No doubt Graham raised it all.

Stallion, I think it is a HUGE stretch to say the reason UCF went from 8-3 one year to 4-8 the next was because it had a lot to do with Orsini leaving. Yes Orsini got the community excited, raised money and built stadiums but he was not calling the plays or recruiting the players. And if he did have a lot to do with the drop off, then how can you use UCF as a program who stepped up and justified paying that kind of cash to keep their coach.

[Stallion]

my reference to UCF was because they helped set the market for coaches in the non-BCS level. They paid 1 Million for O'Leary as has TCU for Patterson-1.3 Million plus 1 Million annuity if he stays 6 years, as has Tulsa for Graham. Obviously, Rice doesn't feel that they need to play what middlin' schools like UCF, TCU and Tulsa pay for "miracle" head coaches. The reference to Orsini was merely pointing out that SMU "outbid" a CUSA brother for an AD. I would also point out that Graham, Patterson and Orsini got big paychecks even though they had very little experience in their jobs.

[ponydawg]

Yes, how are you feeling right now if you're one of the Rice schmucks who dropped a mil or two on Graham's plan?

I don't think they feel that bad. While he did leave, he did more at Rice in ONE year then we have done here in 20!
He rejuvenated the alumni, he showed the team, the students, the alumni and everyone else that you can win at Rice....of all the places.
It might have been a quick fix, but he showed it can be done.

[ponydawg]

my reference to UCF was because they helped set the market for coaches in the non-BCS level. They paid 1 Million for O'Leary as has TCU for Patterson-1.3 Million plus 1 Million annuity if he stays 6 years, as has Tulsa for Graham. Obviously, Rice doesn't feel that they need to play what middlin' schools like UCF, TCUand Tulsa pay for "miracle" head coaches. The reference to Orsini was merely pointing out that SMU "outbid" a CUSA brother for an AD. I would also point out that Graham, Patterson and Orsini got big paychecks even though they had very little experience in their jobs.

Gotchya. But I would be pretty ticked off if I was a UCF fan and my coach was getting paid 1 million bucks and he goes 4-8! I think O'Leary is a great coach, but I think he went 8-3 in '05 because other teams took UCF lightly, but then in '06 they were ready to take them seriously. UCF might be an example of why you shouldn't be so quick to dull out a million just on one year of success.

[Stallion]

UCF is also getting their money's worth. They are at a critical stage of development-building a new football stadium that I believe will open this year right?-UCF has risen from nothing in about 10 years. They also have to stay as close to a similar program like USF which has attracted a Big East BCS membership in about 10 year. O'Leary gives them credibility-and a CUSA West Championship. BTW UCF has the best recruiting class in CUSA this year according to Rivals. Nobody should have expected that a "miracle year" would not mean further building.

[ponydawg]

Was O'Leary being seriously courted by some bcs schools after his 8-3 season? I can't remember. I don't think they would be calling him after the 4-8 season. I guess either way it is a gamble and only time will tell.

[Gravy Owl]

Patterson and O'Leary are not rising; they have proven their worth. Frodd is not in their league, and a lot of people think even O'Leary is overpaid. He got so much credit for the bowl berth, but Hatfield had 3 teams that were at least as good; the difference was conference tie-ins. Frodd was not a finalist for National Coach of the Year; maybe you confused him with Briles? He got badly outcoached by Larry Blakeney, whose salary is $226K. The deal that Rice offered and he signed was for $600K per year, which is also more than Briles, Price, Bennett, Kragthorpe, Holtz, Snyder, and Bower made last year. And his tactics proved his lack of ethics, which really makes everything else moot.

It's true that he raised a lot of money. Guess where it came from? Rice supporters! So much for the notion that we aren't committed. We feel great about that; most of it went to facilities upgrades that will help Bailiff too.

Bottom line is Tulsa overpaid. We ended up with an excellent coach at a fair price.

[Stallion]

Apparently a 9th Rice commitment is wavering. Chris Jones a very athletic Safety prospect apparently is scheduled to visit Baylor this weekend and they have offered.

[PonyPride]

Wasn't there a report out there that he was interested in SMU for a while?

[Stallion]

I'm not sure SMU was on his list-I think I posted on him with respect to Rice's early commitment. He's not extremely highly recruited but when you start checking on his athletic talent you kinda wonder why he isn't. I thought he was a nice pickup for Rice.

[EastStang]

A lot of 1-A programs have either filled their slots or are holding slots open for players already offered in hopes of a switch at this point in time. I suspect his early committment to Rice ran off other programs and now he's probably stuck with Rice or 1-AA and transfer.