What A Great Guy: BC AD Defilippo Says He’ll Fire Jagodzinski If He Interviews w/ Jets (Updated 9am)

Future Opponents General NCS Football Tom O'Brien54

This probably will serve as a little insight as to why Tom O’Brien left Boston College for Raleigh:

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen is reporting that Jeff Jagodzinski will be fired as the coach at Boston College if he proceeds with his scheduled interview with the Jets on Monday. According to Mortensen:

“Despite the threat from athletic director Gene DeFilippo, Jagodzinski plans to do the interview with the Jets, the sources said. Those sources said that in the event Jagodzinski is fired, B.C. would promote offensive coordinator Steve Logan to head coach.”

One must suppose that this is part of the fun that comes along with the Boston College football program.  You may recall that Defilippo proclaimed a little over a year ago that

“[T]he fun is back in Boston College football. Tom did a wonderful job here, but nobody was having fun. The fun is back at Boston College.”

FanBlogs.com has the story with links here and describes Boston College as ‘going psycho ex-girlfriend’ on Jags. As the story develops you learn more and they take you to “Auburn crazy! Jerry Jones crazy!”.

According to the Boston Globe report linked at Fanblogs, Jags will likely not be back with the Eagles in 2009 — regardless of whether he interviews or not — because of the bad blood that has developed from BC’s position.
 The report states:

Unless something truly strange happens – and that can’t be ruled out given what’s already transpired – it would certainly seem unlikely for Jagodzinski to be back at BC even if he didn’t go through with the interview, given the level the confrontation has reached.

Fanblogs states the obvious when they say –

So… let me get this straight. Your head coach is 20-8 in three seasons, with two divisional championships… and you’re going to fire him… regardless?? OK… good luck with all that.

Then Fanblogs mentions our friend at EagleinAtlanta that doesn’t like SFN anymore because we would dare discuss things (from his blog) that reflect negatively on Boston College. I can only imagine how every site on the internet will be viewed by him after they discuss THIS STORY!

Let me just say this about potential replacements for Jags… who in their right mind is going to leap to go to BC after the administration has tried to blackmail their own head coach? I mean… this is some crazy sh*t. This is borderline Auburn crazy! We’re talking Jerry Jones crazy!

The only coaches who are going to seriously consider replacing Jagodzinksi are either died in the wool Boston College guys or those who are so desperate for a BCS head coaching job that they’re willing to take the risk, despite BC AD Gene DeFilippo’s crazy ex-girlfriend tendencies.

As a general rule, neither option is likely to work out in the long term, because the problem isn’t the coach. If BC wants to go psycho on somebody, they should start with Gene DeFilippo. He’s earned it.

Update 1/6: Past Tense?

The way that AD Defillipo phrases things is telling, IMO:

“I think Jeff Jagodzinski did a great job here,” said DeFilippo. “But I want a person who wants to be at Boston College and who wants to stay here a long, long time. I thought I had that person.”

Note that it is all in past tense — and it is no leap to come to the conclusion that it sounds like BC has moved on.

Future Opponents General NCS Football Tom O'Brien

54 Responses to What A Great Guy: BC AD Defilippo Says He’ll Fire Jagodzinski If He Interviews w/ Jets (Updated 9am)

  1. VaWolf82 01/05/2009 at 9:08 AM #

    those who are so desperate for a BCS head coaching job that they’re willing to take the risk

    There is a huge pool of candidates that would fit into this category. Some are good….alot are not.

    We’ve all worked with job-hoppers and have seen them in all level of sports. This is the type of coach that BC will end up with as long as they keep this AD.

  2. Cardiac95 01/05/2009 at 9:08 AM #

    Two thoughts…

    -TOB has a polar opposite in his current AD, compared to that guy.

    -As I recall, AD relationship issues were the exact reason Logan left ECU. Why on earth would we assume he would jump at this opportunity?

  3. BJD95 01/05/2009 at 9:11 AM #

    I’m glad somebody has a worse AD than NC State.

    Boston College football is on track to become the Duke of the Atlantic Division.

  4. Jeff 01/05/2009 at 9:12 AM #

    Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch!

  5. Alpha Wolf 01/05/2009 at 9:15 AM #

    A lot of folks are saying here and there that Jags is also a Grade A ace-ho. Maybe the two deserve each other.

    Logan won’t be able to recruit well to BC, I think.

  6. StateFans 01/05/2009 at 9:34 AM #

    ^ Remember when Jags first got there that there was some turmoil with the staff and some unkind exchanges/rifts developed.

    TOB tried to bring his defensive guys along with him to Raleigh but they chose to stay. I wonder what they are thinking now?

  7. Alpha Wolf 01/05/2009 at 9:40 AM #

    ^ That’s a good question, and would TOB fire Archer to get Spaz back?

    This potentially could impact our program.

  8. choppack1 01/05/2009 at 9:42 AM #

    He brought most of his staff I think. I think Spaziani and maybe one other coach stayed. TOB brought in Archer and McCollum. Both of those have done pretty well – but so did BC’s D this year.

    Willis is definitely a holdover – and our DL has been pretty dang solid so far.

    SFN: Willis came along…but, most of the other defensive staff stayed. We brought in (at least) McCullom, Archer & Mike Reid from the outside. So, that is three.

  9. old13 01/05/2009 at 9:46 AM #

    “TOB has a polar opposite in his current AD, compared to that guy.”

    Maybe in style. But the battle for most inept is extremely close IMO (except isn’t BC athletics significantly higher on the Director’s Cup rating than NCSU?)

    Alpha, guess I really don’t see TOB trying to get Spaz. This would put the D another three years behind in scheme development and recruiting. Plus Spaz would probably turn over the D staff creating turmoil on that side of the ball. I think that TOB prefers the stability of keeping Archer as he’s done a good job (IMO) and has a good team of assistants.

  10. burnbarn 01/05/2009 at 10:02 AM #

    Logan has always said he was not interested in a head coaching gig again. Also, I doubt he would be interested in the job after his very close friend just got canned. Jags is the only reason Logan took the OC job.

  11. Jeff 01/05/2009 at 10:25 AM #

    ^ I thought it was the other way around. That Logan would only coach as an assistant for big bucks (got $400K at BC!) and otherwise would only take a head job. (Which is why he has been out of the game for so long – selectivity when nobody else wants him).

  12. choppack1 01/05/2009 at 10:29 AM #

    SFN – good point on the defensive staff.

    I don’t see TOB letting any of our current staff go. Those guys made the best decision for them at the time and well, loyalty is conditional – and when they turned down TOB – he understood – but it also means that unless there’s an opening, there’s no place for them. I wouldn’t worry too much Spaz though – he’ll find work.

  13. whitefang 01/05/2009 at 10:36 AM #

    This gives us a little more insight as to how TOB fell into our lap.
    Their AD has got be a raving lunatic. What in the heck have you got to gain by drawing that line in the sand? Nothing, but you have everything to lose. Dirty laundry like this should never be aired in public. I suspect Defilippo will soon be interviewing for a job.

  14. RickJ 01/05/2009 at 10:39 AM #

    I believe Logan also milked ECU for every penny they owed him by not taking another job. Didn’t he work a season or two for NFL Europe for $1.00 so ECU would have to continue his full payments?

    SFN: That is the general story. He was so pissed that he basically worked for free so that ECU had to come out of pocket with their full obligation to him as opposed to just paying the difference between what they owed and what his new employer was paying.

  15. highstick 01/05/2009 at 10:45 AM #

    Gee whiz guys, at least their AD has the gonads to threaten to fire someone! Our’s doesn’t!

  16. Gene 01/05/2009 at 11:16 AM #

    The BC fanbase, with regards to football, are raving lunatics.

    They think they should be in the national title hunt every year, from what I read when TOB left, and anything less is cause for dismissal.

    I’m not surprised their AD is a raving lunatic either.

    ***********************

    Though I must admit having Logan in as a handy replacement and being willing to promote him shows some attention to detail our AD lacks.

  17. Wulfpack 01/05/2009 at 11:22 AM #

    I’m not saying the BC isn’t a raving lunatic, but at least you know wehre the guy stands. It seems there is already some bad blood between Jags and the guy anyways, so it may be good riddance in his mind. When TOB left and appointed Jags, it;s very likely there was a discussion between he and the AD given Jags’ extensive NFL background and contacts with the league i.e. is this job a stepping stone for you? It appears it is and that it was.

  18. Alpha Wolf 01/05/2009 at 11:38 AM #

    There was bad blood between Defilippo and TOB.
    Now there is bad blood between Defilippo and Jagodzinsnki.

    Do the math and get the common denominator here.

    BC is doing nothing but hurting itself by having its second public falling out between a head football coach and their AD in the last three years. No matter who is right, the school comes out the loser. This is especially true when one looks at the fact that TOB is widely respected nationally and that Jags has taken them to two ACCT games in two years. Defilippo cannot win in that PR climate whether or not he is right.

  19. wufpup76 01/05/2009 at 11:53 AM #

    “The fun is BACK at Boston College!!!”

    “What? YOU are going to interview for another job??? HOW DARE YOU!!! IT IS TOO MUCH FUN TO LEAVE HERE!!! As if the NFL wants your crappy coaching style anyway.”

    “You’re f*****g FIRED!!! Get the H*ll outta here! First the marine, now YOU!! Boston College is the most amazing place to work in the UNIVERSE – mostly because of me, I AM FUN PERSONIFIED. Nobody does this to Gene DeFilippo … NOBODY.”

  20. SuperStuff 01/05/2009 at 11:57 AM #

    I find it interesting that they don’t show some loyalty by offering the job to Spaziani first instead of Logan. Geez this guy kept some continuity in your program at least have the decency to offer Spaz the job.

  21. LKNpackfan 01/05/2009 at 12:06 PM #

    From Mike Giardi’s sports blog,
    there’s a clause in Jags contract that said he could not leave for an NFL job until completing three seasons with the school.”

    If that’s true, then I can’t fault the AD for enforcing the contract, although I do fault him for handling the situation poorly.

  22. Sam92 01/05/2009 at 12:14 PM #

    i also saw on another blog the no interviews until after three seasons clause.

    if it’s true, then BC would be within their rights to fire jags for taking the interviews, but it brings up a point that one learns pretty early in a legal career – just because you’re entitled to do something under a contract doesn’t mean you can do it without consequences

    basically, this would be a contract provision that looks great on paper but makes the school look pretty crappy for enforcing

    on the other hand, i see the school’s point – part of their deal with jags seems to be that he would stay for at least 3 seasons and if he’s going to break the deal, maybe he doesn’t deserve a whole lot of sympathy

  23. wufpup76 01/05/2009 at 12:23 PM #

    ^Just now saw the “3 year” contract stipulation as well … As you say, BC and DeFilippo are within their rights but the situation has been botched

    Not sure how many people will remember the contract side of it, only that it quickly turned into a PR nightmare … I’m not really sure how you go about enforcing a clause such as that anyway. I would guess the majority of head coaches out there would jump at at least the interview process for an NFL head job

  24. LKNpackfan 01/05/2009 at 12:37 PM #

    …and in what insane-o world is jagz > mangini? Not that he’s likely to get the job, but how, with his whopping two years of HC experience and mostly riding TOB’s wake of success, is he going to hypnotize Favre into not throwing 37 INTs a game?

    SFN – They’ve got a new stadium and seats to sell and therefore needed to appease the fanbase who always wants a new coach. Also had to do something in light of the end-of-season conclusion that getting rid of Pennington for Favre was a mistake.

    Re:SFN – I guess you do have to consider it’s NY, but he did have them within 1 game of a tough division, despite #4.

  25. Trout 01/05/2009 at 12:37 PM #

    “there’s a clause in Jags contract that said he could not leave for an NFL job until completing three seasons with the school.””

    Leaving and interviewing are 2 different things though.

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