Chip Alexander On The Coaching Search

General NCS Football Tom O'Brien69

RALEIGH – It began, Lee Fowler said, with a cell-phone call from Chuck Neinas a week ago today and then quickly escalated.Fowler, N.C. State’s athletics director, was looking to hire a football coach and was in Nashville, Tenn., interviewing Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow. Nienas, paid $35,000 to be NCSU’s headhunter, had some news he believed Fowler needed to hear.

Boston College’s Tom O’Brien was interested.

“It was done professionally and it was done quietly,” said Wendell Murphy, chairman of the NCSU board of trustees. “The consultant did the work, Lee kept it quiet and no one was tracking my airplane on the Internet,” Murphy quipped

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General NCS Football Tom O'Brien

69 Responses to Chip Alexander On The Coaching Search

  1. StateFans 12/11/2006 at 7:45 AM #

    Geojim1990,

    In response to your great comment (thanks for that).

    There are many other major differences between TOB and Herb and their treatment by the media — but one other MAJOR thing that you haven’t seen is Boston College’s AD trashing the Eagle fans and elevating their fans’ criticism of TOB to legitimacy.

    THAT is the difference. No Lee Fowler talking incessantly to the media about how great Herb is and how bad our fans are (for five years) and no public perception problem.

  2. justaguy 12/11/2006 at 7:59 AM #

    Interviewing more candidates does not produce better candidates. When you find a good fit, you act.

    MrPlywood’s post explains why consultants/agents/recruiters are becoming a necessity in finding coaches for D-1A programs. Fan interest and internet make coach searches publicly visible in a way that they were not even 5 years ago. Wendell Murphy’s comment about tracking his plane is an indication. The only way to keep the search from being public is to use intermediaries.

  3. Wolfpack4ever 12/11/2006 at 8:08 AM #

    StateFans Says: “THAT is the difference. No Lee Fowler talking incessantly to the media about how great Herb is and how bad our fans are (for five years) and no public perception problem.”

    Wow! I knew that Fowler had called out the lunatic fringe a time or two but I didn’t know he had talked incessantly for five years. The Chancellor, Wendell Murphy, Bobby Purcells, the BOT are real assholes for allowing the AD to talk incessantly,i.e., without interuption, about how bad the fans are.

    Until I read this inside information, I thought the only incessant talk was about how bad Fowler was. You guys have been asleep at the switch. I checked the archives and cannot find any reference to the incessant, i.e., without interuption, talk about how bad the fans are. I could find incessant talk about what a country hick Jed is, which by the way, given that NCSU is not a liberal arts school, insulting to most of the people have attended NCSU.

    Thanks again, StatFans, for this inside information.

  4. Packaholic1 12/11/2006 at 8:24 AM #

    Many coaches won’t interview unless they are the leading candidate or one of top two. It’s history now, get over it.

  5. choppack1 12/11/2006 at 8:25 AM #

    The knuckleheaded Ned strikes again:

    [quote]O’Brien is not unlike former basketball coach Herb Sendek, a disciplined man of low emotional wattage who delivered good, but not great, seasons.[/quote]

    Ned, and to all who compare O’Brien to Herb – let’s keep in mind one key difference – if not the key difference.

    O’Brien’s best was as good as BC has ever seen – he consistently reached that mark. Herb’s best was not as good as NC State as ever seen. To put it in a way that even Knucklehead Ned could understand. On a scale of one to 10 – if BC’s best results for coaches had been an 8 or 9, TOB consistenly hit the 8 mark. OTOH, where as NC State’s basketball had reached the 10 mark, Sendek never did better than a 7.

    The comparisons to Sendek show just how stupid and vindictive the local and national media are. A better comparison to TOB’s tenure at BC is Dick Sheridan. Now, ask State fans if they will take 10 years of Sheridan’s results.

  6. Rick 12/11/2006 at 8:36 AM #

    “THAT is the difference. No Lee Fowler talking incessantly to the media about how great Herb is and how bad our fans are (for five years) and no public perception problem.”

    That is the truth.
    The best thing about the past two hires is they seem to be driven be things other than their management. Lowe has his love for the school and O’Brien has his background with the Marines. They are going to need this motivation because LF is not going to demand excellence from them. If they do poorly he will simply support them and insult the fans.

  7. justaguy 12/11/2006 at 8:56 AM #

    Compared to ASU, Fowler & Co. did a great job.

    “Arizona State is expected to announce the hiring of Dennis Erickson today.”

    ASU gets Erickson (4-8 at Idaho this year) to go with Herb. I can’t see Erickson, improving a 7-5 team all that much.

  8. PackBacker001 12/11/2006 at 9:06 AM #

    Are you always such a smart-ass, 4Ever? I hope you give a better impression in person…

  9. 94MEGrad 12/11/2006 at 9:12 AM #

    Wolfpack4ever,
    If this site causes you as much grief and heartache as it apparantly does, why do you continue to come here?

  10. redfred2 12/11/2006 at 10:26 AM #

    geojim1990

    “The only difference that I can see is that when TOB decided to leave BC he didn’t whine about some BC fans making his life difficult.”

    The least successful programs in the country do not allow it, PERIOD. Whining about your own fan base just isn’t done at other universities. But in Raleigh though, the whining starts at the very top, and is then passed on down to the coaches, the media, until eventually everyone else gets into the act.

    That process originates in administration. They are the decision makers and they make the hires. The folks in Raleigh are great at taking people who aren’t whiners when they arrive in Raleigh, and converting them. The administration readily turns it focus onto anything that is out of their control and make IT the source for all of NCSU’s problems. It simply relieves the adminstration of any real responsibilty and allows them to continue doing a pitiful of managing a great university.

    If there’s an eight ball to hide behind out there, NCSU’s adminstrator’s want to know about it. It could be their newest and greatest excuse, not to do their jobs.

  11. packpigskinfan23 12/11/2006 at 10:48 AM #

    “ASU gets Erickson (4-8 at Idaho this year) to go with Herb.”

    this cant be true!?!?! I didnt understand why they fired their coach to begin with!! he seemed to be doing pretty good for himself. Its hard to beat USC… I guess its the record against UCLA and Cal that got him, huh?

    any one want Chow back as OCoord?!

  12. Sam92 12/11/2006 at 11:07 AM #

    credit where credit is due — Lee Fowler did a good job with the head coaching search.

    professional, discreet, quick hire of a proven, good coach.

  13. Wolfpack4ever 12/11/2006 at 11:20 AM #

    94MEGrad Says: “Wolfpack4ever,
    If this site causes you as much grief and heartache as it apparantly does, why do you continue to come here?”

    Oh, but I love this site. Where else can I go to see so much said about so little — the lunatic fringe and LF mentioning Herb being concerned about his family’s security?

  14. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 12/11/2006 at 11:31 AM #

    “Nienas, paid $35,000 to be NCSU’s headhunter”

    Not bad.

  15. justaguy 12/11/2006 at 11:32 AM #

    “Where else can I go to see so much said about so little — the lunatic fringe and LF mentioning Herb being concerned about his family’s security?”

    As for Herb, that was from Lee himself via the Richmond Times-Dispatch. As for the lunatic fringe, look in the mirror.

  16. PackBacker001 12/11/2006 at 11:35 AM #

    Your hostility is awe-inspiring, 4Ever.

  17. Wolfpack4ever 12/11/2006 at 12:19 PM #

    PackBacker001 Says: “Are you always such a smart-ass, 4Ever? I hope you give a better impression in person…”

    PackBacker001, at my age giving an impression is the last consideration I have. 😉

    Thank you. My comments are somewhat smart-assed I admit. Keep the assessments coming… and

    GO PACK!

  18. joe 12/11/2006 at 12:28 PM #

    Dennis Erickson has a very good track record as a college coach including 2 National titles at Miami. He also took Oregon State to the Fiesta bowl after they had 28 losing seasons in a row.

  19. PackBacker001 12/11/2006 at 12:47 PM #

    “GO PACK!”

    We agree on that much, 4Ever. It’s not the sarcasm but the hostility that separates you from the crowd here. I respect your right to post whatever you like, though.

  20. redfred2 12/11/2006 at 1:38 PM #

    4ever, shouldn’t you be following up on what Amato is doing right now? Or did your burning desire aside to stand up for a coach, who could absolutely do no wrong, get flung aside, over the course of the last few weeks?

    On to the present…

    Many have noted that TOB was severely limited in many areas while at BC. Many of the things that now, will NOT be at issue with his new job in Raleigh. I don’t believe I’ve seen a single post where anyone said that BC’s own administration was one of the major limiting factors for success in his old job there. That one aspect may be a little different in Raleigh.

    Based on the resources that TOB will now have at his disposal, we should soon be able to determine which is the real handicap to a coach’s goals.

    I will admit though, one bright spot came by way of an immediate public INTRODUCTION of TOB. One that was actually initiated by NC State’s own administration, AND, while it still meant something!!! Just goes to show that every once in a while that even with folks like the bumbling buffoons in Raleigh, if two similar events occur closely enough together in time to jog their most recent memories, they do actually have some capacity to learn from their own idiotic mistakes.

    I’ve said this before in regards to Sidney Lowe, and now add Tom O’Brian, but those two just need to coach, and teach young men like they already know how. Both Lowe and OBrien need to keep safe distances from the NCSU administration. Those folks inhabiting the offices there in Raleigh, have a way of changing even the most focused and determined individuals, into bumbling, excuse making buffoons, just like themselves.

  21. class of 74 12/11/2006 at 1:47 PM #

    94MEGRAD:
    4ever comes here as a part of his rehabilitation program at D. Dix. He is permanently loonie and should be avoided at all costs.

  22. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 12/11/2006 at 2:13 PM #

    “Lee kept it quiet”

    In other words we kept Lee from screwing up.

  23. 94MEGrad 12/11/2006 at 2:27 PM #

    Class of 74,

    4ever does bring up some good points. It’s good to look at things from another perspective. However, when he begins to complain about the site and its content, one must ask why he visits a site he apparantly does not enjoy.

    As some have already stated, we can all agree on one thing……..GO PACK!!

  24. justaguy 12/12/2006 at 12:53 AM #

    ESPN Insider has a year-end wrap up of ACC foorball (Dec. 11). It’s a pretty fair characterization of the season — not too hard to do — but once again national media is slamming wolfpack fans. I won’t quote because it’s pay-for material, but the author, Jorge Milian of The Palm Beach Post, thinks wolfpack fans are not excited about O’Brien because they were hoping to land Cowher or Chow. Now O’Brien will have to prove himself to state fans.

    I don’t think Milian’s charcterization is fair. Cowher was more of a dream than a hope and ruled himself out early on in the process. Chow was one of a number of potential coaches who were highly regarded for the job. If Chow had been given the nod, the Paul Johnson backers would not have been all that pleased with a no-head-coach-experience coach. Pack fans will not be sitting on their hands until O’Brien wins 8 games at state next year. O’Brien knows that. He saw it when the pack beat his eagles this year in Carter-Finley, and he’s counting on that level of enthusiasm in coming here. I can’t help but think it’s one of the things that drew his interest in the job.

  25. Wolfpack4ever 12/12/2006 at 5:59 AM #

    94MEGrad Says: “However, when he begins to complain about the site and its content, one must ask why he visits a site he apparently does not enjoy.”

    The attempts to categorize my comments as ‘complaints about the site’ have no basis. As I have stated before I love the SITE. What a great opportunity for State fans to come to read about and express their thoughts about Wolfpack athletics in general and basketball and football in particular. I admire many of the site administrator’s and poster’s knowledge of the game. I even enjoy the at times friendly banter between redfred2 and myself. I try not engage when it becomes personal but even then I sense that what is said is said and meant in context of that unique way guys have of cracking on one another. But and this is a big but, if debunking some comment and posts is to be interpreted as cpmplaint, then nearly all of us are guilty.

    I admit I haven’t quite got a feel for the unwritten rules of posting on SFN. I haven’t even got a feel for the written rules. In the archives is a statement to the effect that personal attacks will not be tolerated. I own up to complaining about this standard being applied inconsistently at best. Site rules put forth early on says, and please don’t hold me to the exact wording, ‘leave off the “I agree’s” and “me too’s”‘ or yoiur posts will be censored. If I recall correctly, name calling was a no-no as well.

    If holding the site to it’s own standards is complaint, I assert we need more, not less complaint if this site is to maintain relevance.

    Regarding what I and many others have to say about Fowler’s handling of the TOB search and hire, “The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.”

    As some have already stated, we can all agree on one thing……..GO PACK!!

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