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For those that may have missed it on the home page:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... cc27e.html

I'm not sure how the search committee works, but my impression is that Copeland doesn't make his hiring decisions in a vacuum. The bottom line though is that he will be resposible for the hire when it is all said and done.

Now that Dement is gone, it's now time to fire Copeland. Jeff Jones is NOT the right candidate.

I don't think Jeff Jones will get it. He's tight with Copeland, I gather, but that doesn't mean he'll get hired. I hope we're looking at someone who's more familiar with Texas and the Southwest in general.

The only article that said Jeff Jones was a candidate was factually inaccurate in a number of ways and reaked of pure speculation. I doubt Jeff Jones is even considered.

When Bennett was hired the Committee was little more than a rubber stamp according to one of the members with whom I am a friend.

There is a feeling (according to my friend) that it might be different this time, with Gerald Turner playing a more significant role, even though he will apparently not be an official member of this Committee.

This committee has some excellent members who will definitely not be a rubber stamp. It will be a thorough search with people who are very involved and dedicated to the success of SMU Athletics.

Dooby wrote:The only article that said Jeff Jones was a candidate was factually inaccurate in a number of ways and reaked of pure speculation. I doubt Jeff Jones is even considered.

Actually, Chuck Cooperstein mentioned Jones on his show the other day, and Doug Gottlieb labeled him "the frontrunner" on ESPNNews Tuesday afternoon. Gottlieb might be way off, of course, but that was his take on the situation.

Peruna88 wrote:This committee has some excellent members who will definitely not be a rubber stamp. It will be a thorough search with people who are very involved and dedicated to the success of SMU Athletics.

Really? Who's on it?

Obviously, Jones has a history with Copeland and is a known entity to him. He certainly remembers him from his playing days when Virginia went to the final four. Because I have to work with a number of Virginia grads, the first words out of their mouths when I mentioned Jones was, better lock up your cheerleaders. Also his tenure at U Va. was less than distinguished, although he did land some top recruits. But he had probably the second best academic institution in the ACC and the ACC to wave in front of the recruits. His recruiting at American has been average. On the other hand his team is tied for first in the Patriot League has won four straight and certainly has a chance to go dancing, unlike us. He is a credible and safe choice, but may not be the best choice. Given Copeland's history, I suspect, they will look to coaches who will be safe choices. He has not been a risk taker. Bennett was a safe choice, Cavan was a safe choice.

My understanding at this time is that the search committee will include 2 basketball alums, 2 current basketball players, 2 faculty members, and 2 administrative staff members (such as perhaps the Provost and a Dean...or someone like that). There may be others, I'm not totally sure. The basketball alumns are supposedly strongly involved with supporting SMU athletics.