Should Gragg be put on an ultimatum?

[Purple Pile Driver]

Some folks felt Gragg lit a fire under CCC by giving him the very public “ultimatum” to make the tourney or pack his bags. CCC hired the wizard to shore up the defense and to some he changed his ways/habits for the better. The team won and CCC was spared the death sentence.

However, reading about our lack of depth and quandary we find ourselves in with the loss of Ty got me thinking of the flip side. The ultimatum made it very difficult to recruit. Our freshman class is the result of the difficulty. That class is currently One guy that plays and has struggled mightily with his game and confidence and 2 players that I couldn’t pick out of a line up of Maine South players. Now these players could blossom like Barney or even Big Matt and go from no playing time to strong contributors, but they are not helping us this year when we really need them. This is the year we have a generational talent at PG and had a legitimate shot to win a couple games in the tourney with any type of contribution from our depth players. They had one P6 ( or whatever the BBall term is for power conference) offer between them.

CCC is like most Coaches in a position that he has to rely on transfers to fill holes while the lightly recruited new players develop. In typical NU fashion, the administration makes it difficult to recruit transfers. Mullins is the rare undergraduate transfer. Mostly NU gets the graduate one and done transfer. Tough sledding.

Coach Braun is facing a similar situation in the future as this first class was dramatically impacted by the incredibly poor handling of the Hazing scandal. The school does him zero favors by being on the quarter system and a transfer process that is so rigid it reviews college players High School transcripts to determine admissions. Forget that they have successfully completed college work!

I think a case can be made that Gragg torpedoed the depth of the program with the ultimatum. CCC didn’t do it, Lowry didn’t do it, Jordan Clayton isn’t responsible. Maybe if NU doesn’t make the tourney, the ultimatum switches to Gragg? Of course, Gragg is Teflon to Schill as his human shield, and if he wasn’t canned for his handling of Baseball and even Volleyball he is likely safe at least until lawsuits are resolved.

Our Coaches and especially our players deserve better!

 

[Hungry Jack]

I would put him on a PIP: Personality Improvement Plan

 

[NJCat]

I would put him on a PIP: Personality Improvement Plan

Can't improve what you ain't got.

 

[CatManTrue]

Some folks felt Gragg lit a fire under CCC by giving him the very public “ultimatum” to make the tourney or pack his bags. CCC hired the wizard to shore up the defense and to some he changed his ways/habits for the better. The team won and CCC was spared the death sentence.

However, reading about our lack of depth and quandary we find ourselves in with the loss of Ty got me thinking of the flip side. The ultimatum made it very difficult to recruit. Our freshman class is the result of the difficulty. That class is currently One guy that plays and has struggled mightily with his game and confidence and 2 players that I couldn’t pick out of a line up of Maine South players. Now these players could blossom like Barney or even Big Matt and go from no playing time to strong contributors, but they are not helping us this year when we really need them. This is the year we have a generational talent at PG and had a legitimate shot to win a couple games in the tourney with any type of contribution from our depth players. They had one P6 ( or whatever the BBall term is for power conference) offer between them.

CCC is like most Coaches in a position that he has to rely on transfers to fill holes while the lightly recruited new players develop. In typical NU fashion, the administration makes it difficult to recruit transfers. Mullins is the rare undergraduate transfer. Mostly NU gets the graduate one and done transfer. Tough sledding.

Coach Braun is facing a similar situation in the future as this first class was dramatically impacted by the incredibly poor handling of the Hazing scandal. The school does him zero favors by being on the quarter system and a transfer process that is so rigid it reviews college players High School transcripts to determine admissions. Forget that they have successfully completed college work!

I think a case can be made that Gragg torpedoed the depth of the program with the ultimatum. CCC didn’t do it, Lowry didn’t do it, Jordan Clayton isn’t responsible. Maybe if NU doesn’t make the tourney, the ultimatum switches to Gragg? Of course, Gragg is Teflon to Schill as his human shield, and if he wasn’t canned for his handling of Baseball and even Volleyball he is likely safe at least until lawsuits are resolved.

Our Coaches and especially our players deserve better!

Interesting thought. However, without the ultimatum, would CCC have hired Lowery and improved the defense so dramatically?

I also wonder if we’d have landed more transfers with more NIL funds. I imagine it was quite expensive to retain Buie - and he’s worth every penny - but did that eat up most of our NIL pool of cash?

Anyway, the season isn’t over yet. Mullins showed flashes last night and we can still make the tourney to shock the world. Go Cats!

 

[gradeck]

Our freshman class is the result of the difficulty.

I think a case can be made that Gragg torpedoed the depth of the program with the ultimatum.

The primary issue with depth isn’t the freshmen (and two redshirts did not “torpedo” the team’s depth). The big issues are/were:

(1) Mullins. He had 19 minutes all season before last night.

(2) There are 3 players who only see one position. Collins’ teams at NU have commonly had two players at center that were mutually exclusive (eg. Olah/Kreisberg, Pardon/Benson, Nicholson/Verhoven). This year, there are 3: Nicholson, Preston, and Hunger.

 

[PURPLECAT88]

Interesting thought. However, without the ultimatum, would CCC have hired Lowery and improved the defense so dramatically?

I am 99% sure the answer to this is "Yes". The other option is that a potentially great assistant is available, and Collins doesn't hire him because he doesn't fear for his job. That just doesn't make any sense. "And lets just coast on this mediocre defense because I, a guy that Coach K chose to be his top assistant, am not really all that competitive or concerned with winning."

 

[Zootcat]

Interesting thought. However, without the ultimatum, would CCC have hired Lowery and improved the defense so dramatically?

I also wonder if we’d have landed more transfers with more NIL funds. I imagine it was quite expensive to retain Buie - and he’s worth every penny - but did that eat up most of our NIL pool of cash?

Anyway, the season isn’t over yet. Mullins showed flashes last night and we can still make the tourney to shock the world. Go Cats!

This is actually an argument in favor if the action proposed by the OP.

 

[CatManTrue]

I am 99% sure the answer to this is "Yes". The other option is that a potentially great assistant is available, and Collins doesn't hire him because he doesn't fear for his job. That just doesn't make any sense. "And lets just coast on this mediocre defense because I, a guy that Coach K chose to be his top assistant, am not really all that competitive or concerned with winning."

I didn’t follow Lowery’s hiring too closely at the time.

Was he on the free market and open to any opportunity? Or did CCC actively recruit him away from Kansas State?

 

[CatManTrue]

This is actually an argument in favor if the action proposed by the OP.

The Truth is that the OP, like most posters, simply wants Gragg gone.

I’m unclear what the ultimatum would be. How much time does he have to improve upon what key areas or metrics?

The stadium is on target. I doubt the major donors or trustees care about much else from him at this point.

 

[NUCat320]

The Lowery hiring remains very strange in process. Lowery had taken a job at Southeast Missouri State (?) after Weber retired at K-State, and then Lowery was hired at NU in May or June or July. I think this was timed with the Brian James title change (though it appears no change in gameday role). Obviously a good hiring, just a curious process.

The relative weakness of the current freshman class *of course* has to do with the ultimatum. But a head coach who had had double-digit losing streaks in each of the previous 3 seasons probably (definitely) had a much bigger impact.

NU has a good recruit lined up for next year, but he was again recruited primarily off of all of those losing seasons. (I think NU only got real involved last summer, as he was blowing up. So it was good timing for a late-riser.)


Anyway, Gragg gets lots of ultimatums here. They’re just pointless.

 

[NUCat320]

For what it’s worth, OP, Mullins performance last night is actually how depth works.

Mullins hasn’t been needed, and, now that he is, he played well. Would he have benefited from a few more two-minute spurts? Maybe? But it’s not like Clayton is more prepared because he’s gotten those minutes. Preparation happens in practice.

Langborg was a home run in the transfer market. Preston has been a flop, but he’s a backup center and the other backup center is better.

Mullins just might be a second home run on the transfer market.

NU will make the tournament after losing on the road to Rutgers, just like Wisconsin will make the tournament after losing on the road to Rutgers.

Given the modern transfer market, the most important thing for Gragg to do with hoops is a) ensure the strength of TrueNU, and b) make it possible to consistently recruit undergrad transfers. A) is a big part of why NU will have a new all-time leading scorer within the week. Maybe Mullins is a sign that B) is also happening.

Again, depth is *not* an 11-man rotation. Depth is having a replacement ready to step up when one of your top 8 can’t go.

Geez Mullins was great. He and Mart will likely get the bulk of Berry’s minutes the rest of the way.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

The Truth is that the OP, like most posters, simply wants Gragg gone.

I’m unclear what the ultimatum would be. How much time does he have to improve upon what key areas or metrics?

The stadium is on target. I doubt the major donors or trustees care about much else from him at this point.

You think donors don’t care about wins and advancing the program? I believe they do. This wasn’t intended to debate the merits of Gragg or whether he should stay in his position. I believe 90% of this board would favor his dismissal now. I questioned his hire from the start and he believe it or not is far worse than I could have even imagined.

The point was to express my opinion that the public flogging was I’ll advised and I believe it definitely effected a recruiting class. A class that should be providing something. I believe Gragg would have fired CCC if he was effective in raising the buyout funds. Instead he does a CYA to make sure he isn’t the one being blamed for retaining CCC. He is plain bad.

 

[CatManTrue]

You think donors don’t care about wins and advancing the program? I believe they do. This wasn’t intended to debate the merits of Gragg or whether he should stay in his position. I believe 90% of this board would favor his dismissal now. I questioned his hire from the start and he believe it or not is far worse than I could have even imagined.

The point was to express my opinion that the public flogging was I’ll advised and I believe it definitely effected a recruiting class. A class that should be providing something. I believe Gragg would have fired CCC if he was effective in raising the buyout funds. Instead he does a CYA to make sure he isn’t the one being blamed for retaining CCC. He is plain bad.

Pressure turns coal into diamonds.

I and many other posters were glad that CCC was given an ultimatum at the time as our program wasn’t quite getting there.

Gragg has his faults, but setting higher expectations for improvement at NU’s other revenue sport - which have been met! - is not one of them.

I’m curious how our NIL totals compare to other P5 or Big Ten team’s. That will likely be the most important driver of recruiting success in the near future.

 

[NUChicago]

You think donors don’t care about wins and advancing the program? I believe they do. This wasn’t intended to debate the merits of Gragg or whether he should stay in his position. I believe 90% of this board would favor his dismissal now. I questioned his hire from the start and he believe it or not is far worse than I could have even imagined.

The point was to express my opinion that the public flogging was I’ll advised and I believe it definitely effected a recruiting class. A class that should be providing something. I believe Gragg would have fired CCC if he was effective in raising the buyout funds. Instead he does a CYA to make sure he isn’t the one being blamed for retaining CCC. He is plain bad.

He actually does more harm than good, so the decision is easy.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Pressure turns coal into diamonds.

I and many other posters were glad that CCC was given an ultimatum at the time as our program wasn’t quite getting there.

Gragg has his faults, but setting higher expectations for improvement at NU’s other revenue sport - which have been met! - is not one of them.

I’m curious how our NIL totals compare to other P5 or Big Ten team’s. That will likely be the most important driver of recruiting success in the near future.

It wasn’t the ultimatum. It was the public nature of the ultimatum that cut the staff legs out from under them when recruiting. That was my point. He is a master technician in making things more difficult for those revenue sports and athletes.

 

[Yeswecat]

If I might state one of the most unpopular views on this Board, I believe Derrick Gragg is not getting the credit he deserves or at least does not deserve the derision he is getting and is unfairly blamed for things that may not be his fault. His role in the firing of perhaps NU's most popular football coach is bound to make him unpopular with some, if not many, people. let's not forget he was hired during very trying times, his predecessor, Mike Polisky, served a very short time, something like 10 days? before he was forced to resign primarily as the result of being named in a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by a NU cheerleader. (Was the very popular Jim Philiips really unaware of the pending lawsuit before he left town? The suit is still active to the best of my knowledge.) NU was blamed at the time for being insensitive in hiring Policy yet seemingly not given credit for hiring someone with a social justice background in Dr. Gragg.

His first hire, the Baseball Coach, Jim Foster, was in fact, a disaster. Perhaps only as a result of a change he was forced to make, Ben Greenspan was hired, an excellent choice and a good reason to be excited about the future of Northwestern Baseball. If Dr. Gragg is going to be criticized for the first hire, perhaps he could be given some credit for the second. I don't know what part he may have played in the success of the Football team this season, but he could have been instrumental to some extent in helping David Braun succeed.

I think it important then, to reflect on the tenure of what I believe was one of Northwetern's most successful and yet unpopular Athletic Director's, Rick Taylor. I didn't attach it but I would refer anyone who's interested to the Daily Northwestern's scathing, don't let the door hit you on the way out, May 20, 2003, article on Rick Taylor's retirement. Referring to him as distant, cold and unpersonable, while begrudgingly giving him credit for the athletic facilities upgrades at the time, I think it fair to say the article in hindsight was at a minimum, unnecessarily harsh to the man and his accomplishments. Now, almost 21 years later, at least 3 of his hires are still around, Claire Pollard, Woman's tennis, Kate Drohan, softball, and oh yeah, Kelly Amonte Hiller, LaCrosse. He also hired Randy Walker, and Tim Lenahan, men's soccer. So I think in retrospect, he did okay. I also remember Rick Taylor being loudly booed at halftime of a Northwestern home football game. (To be fair, I think he referred to Northwestern as Notre Dame, okay that was a pretty bad gaffe, but still, sound familiar?)

So my point is this, Dr. Gragg should be given a chance to do the job he was hired to do as he sees fit. Perhaps he has done more behind the scenes than I at least know. But I do not believe that he is being treated fairly by many up to this point and I would like that to change.

Have at me.

 

[NUChicago]

If I might state one of the most unpopular views on this Board, I believe Derrick Gragg is not getting the credit he deserves or at least does not deserve the derision he is getting and is unfairly blamed for things that may not be his fault. His role in the firing of perhaps NU's most popular football coach is bound to make him unpopular with some, if not many, people. let's not forget he was hired during very trying times, his predecessor, Mike Polisky, served a very short time, something like 10 days? before he was forced to resign primarily as the result of being named in a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by a NU cheerleader. (Was the very popular Jim Philiips really unaware of the pending lawsuit before he left town? The suit is still active to the best of my knowledge.) NU was blamed at the time for being insensitive in hiring Policy yet seemingly not given credit for hiring someone with a social justice background in Dr. Gragg.

His first hire, the Baseball Coach, Jim Foster, was in fact, a disaster. Perhaps only as a result of a change he was forced to make, Ben Greenspan was hired, an excellent choice and a good reason to be excited about the future of Northwestern Baseball. If Dr. Gragg is going to be criticized for the first hire, perhaps he could be given some credit for the second. I don't know what part he may have played in the success of the Football team this season, but he could have been instrumental to some extent in helping David Braun succeed.

I think it important then, to reflect on the tenure of what I believe was one of Northwetern's most successful and yet unpopular Athletic Director's, Rick Taylor. I didn't attach it but I would refer anyone who's interested to the Daily Northwestern's scathing, don't let the door hit you on the way out, May 20, 2003, article on Rick Taylor's retirement. Referring to him as distant, cold and unpersonable, while begrudgingly giving him credit for the athletic facilities upgrades at the time, I think it fair to say the article in hindsight was at a minimum, unnecessarily harsh to the man and his accomplishments. Now, almost 21 years later, at least 3 of his hires are still around, Claire Pollard, Woman's tennis, Kate Drohan, softball, and oh yeah, Kelly Amonte Hiller, LaCrosse. He also hired Randy Walker, and Tim Lenahan, men's soccer. So I think in retrospect, he did okay. I also remember Rick Taylor being loudly booed at halftime of a Northwestern home football game. (To be fair, I think he referred to Northwestern as Notre Dame, okay that was a pretty bad gaffe, but still, sound familiar?)

So my point is this, Dr. Gragg should be given a chance to do the job he was hired to do as he sees fit. Perhaps he has done more behind the scenes than I at least know. But I do not believe that he is being treated fairly by many up to this point and I would like that to change.

Have at me.

The fact that you said Rick Taylor was a good AD, really ruins your whole argument for me. Tell me what Gargg has done to further the athletic program other than decisions that were easily made for him (Braun and Collins).

 

[curdog]

If I might state one of the most unpopular views on this Board, I believe Derrick Gragg is not getting the credit he deserves or at least does not deserve the derision he is getting and is unfairly blamed for things that may not be his fault. His role in the firing of perhaps NU's most popular football coach is bound to make him unpopular with some, if not many, people. let's not forget he was hired during very trying times, his predecessor, Mike Polisky, served a very short time, something like 10 days? before he was forced to resign primarily as the result of being named in a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by a NU cheerleader. (Was the very popular Jim Philiips really unaware of the pending lawsuit before he left town? The suit is still active to the best of my knowledge.) NU was blamed at the time for being insensitive in hiring Policy yet seemingly not given credit for hiring someone with a social justice background in Dr. Gragg.

His first hire, the Baseball Coach, Jim Foster, was in fact, a disaster. Perhaps only as a result of a change he was forced to make, Ben Greenspan was hired, an excellent choice and a good reason to be excited about the future of Northwestern Baseball. If Dr. Gragg is going to be criticized for the first hire, perhaps he could be given some credit for the second. I don't know what part he may have played in the success of the Football team this season, but he could have been instrumental to some extent in helping David Braun succeed.

I think it important then, to reflect on the tenure of what I believe was one of Northwetern's most successful and yet unpopular Athletic Director's, Rick Taylor. I didn't attach it but I would refer anyone who's interested to the Daily Northwestern's scathing, don't let the door hit you on the way out, May 20, 2003, article on Rick Taylor's retirement. Referring to him as distant, cold and unpersonable, while begrudgingly giving him credit for the athletic facilities upgrades at the time, I think it fair to say the article in hindsight was at a minimum, unnecessarily harsh to the man and his accomplishments. Now, almost 21 years later, at least 3 of his hires are still around, Claire Pollard, Woman's tennis, Kate Drohan, softball, and oh yeah, Kelly Amonte Hiller, LaCrosse. He also hired Randy Walker, and Tim Lenahan, men's soccer. So I think in retrospect, he did okay. I also remember Rick Taylor being loudly booed at halftime of a Northwestern home football game. (To be fair, I think he referred to Northwestern as Notre Dame, okay that was a pretty bad gaffe, but still, sound familiar?)

So my point is this, Dr. Gragg should be given a chance to do the job he was hired to do as he sees fit. Perhaps he has done more behind the scenes than I at least know. But I do not believe that he is being treated fairly by many up to this point and I would like that to change.

Have at me.

So many places to go here but in the interest of time I’ll focus on most egregious:

-Taylor hired a total scumbag in Kevin O’Neill and paid him more than what Gary Barnett was making. Taylor was a huge reason Barnett left

-Gragg is completely unqualified for the job
Of AD. Foster was a terrible hire (a player died under his watch at a previous job) who had 2 assistants quit rather than continue working with him. The assistants and several players went to Gragg to explain how terrible foster was. Crickets.

There is a lot more but I think when the lawsuits are settled, he will be asked to leave.

 

[Yeswecat]

Well, I did say that what I wrote wasn't going to be popular. As to the comment saying that Rick Taylor was a bad AD because he hired Kevin O'Neil, who by the way was a very popular choice at the time, ignores the people Taylor did hire that were, and are!, extremely successful. I'll go farther. I believe Rick Taylor was never given proper credit for his role in the success of the 1995 Rose Bowl team. The year before, 1994, NU was 3 -7=1 and had lost their last four games convincingly. In the midst of all that, Taylor, as I recall, gave Barnett a contract extension at a time when there was little or no optimism in the football program and during what seemed to many, to me at least, an endless string of losing seasons. It is possible that the vote of confidence in Barnett was the shot in the arm the team needed, helped give them confidence in their coaches, and helped propel the summer season of preparation that led up to the opening Notre Dame win and the 1995 Rose Bowl season. How many other athletic directors would have done what Taylor did at the time he did it? My point though is there is often more going on in the athletic halls than most fans may not know about.

I for one am tired of all the Gragg, and for that matter Schill, bashing. It's time to move on. Again, I understand that there are many people that disagree with me on that point but I wanted my opinion to be heard.

 

[curdog]

Well, I did say that what I wrote wasn't going to be popular. As to the comment saying that Rick Taylor was a bad AD because he hired Kevin O'Neil, who by the way was a very popular choice at the time, ignores the people Taylor did hire that were, and are!, extremely successful. I'll go farther. I believe Rick Taylor was never given proper credit for his role in the success of the 1995 Rose Bowl team. The year before, 1994, NU was 3 -7=1 and had lost their last four games convincingly. In the midst of all that, Taylor, as I recall, gave Barnett a contract extension in the midst of what seemed to many, to me at least, an endless string of losing seasons. It is possible that the vote of confidence in Barnett was the shot in the arm the team needed, helped give them confidence in their coaches, and helped propel the summer season of preparation that led up to the opening Notre Dame win and the 1995 Rose Bowl season. My point though is there is often more going on in the athletic halls than most fans may not know about.

I for one am tired of all the Gragg, and for that matter Schill, bashing. It's time to move on. Again, I understand that there are many people that disagree with me on that point but I wanted my opinion to be heard.

How the hell can people move on when Fitz is suing the achool and players are suing Fitz.

And no one give a shit if you hire a great softball Coach if you screw up the bball and football hires.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

The fact that you said Rick Taylor was a good AD, really ruins your whole argument for me. Tell me what Gargg has done to further the athletic program other than decisions that were easily made for him (Braun and Collins).

He would have fired Collins if he could have.

 

[NUChicago]

Well, I did say that what I wrote wasn't going to be popular. As to the comment saying that Rick Taylor was a bad AD because he hired Kevin O'Neil, who by the way was a very popular choice at the time, ignores the people Taylor did hire that were, and are!, extremely successful. I'll go farther. I believe Rick Taylor was never given proper credit for his role in the success of the 1995 Rose Bowl team. The year before, 1994, NU was 3 -7=1 and had lost their last four games convincingly. In the midst of all that, Taylor, as I recall, gave Barnett a contract extension in the midst of what seemed to many, to me at least, an endless string of losing seasons. It is possible that the vote of confidence in Barnett was the shot in the arm the team needed, helped give them confidence in their coaches, and helped propel the summer season of preparation that led up to the opening Notre Dame win and the 1995 Rose Bowl season. My point though is there is often more going on in the athletic halls than most fans may not know about.

I for one am tired of all the Gragg, and for that matter Schill, bashing. It's time to move on. Again, I understand that there are many people that disagree with me on that point but I wanted my opinion to be heard.

It's your opinion, and that is totally cool. But you are 150% wrong and we have the worst leadership in the BIG. If this is you Derrick, do your job.

 

[Yeswecat]

How the hell can people move on when Fitz is suing the achool and players are suing Fitz.

And no one give a shit if you hire a great softball Coach if you screw up the bball and football hires.

I'm really hoping you don't mean that. The woman's tennis, softball, and LaCrosse players, families and friends, care of course a lot about their coaches, as I believe all Northwestern Athletes do. They all deserve a lot of credit, revenue sport or not, for the time and effort they put in at a school that also has rigorous academic requirements. All NU athletesl share a bond in that respect.

 

[CatJones]

Ben Greenspan was hired, an excellent choice and a good reason to be excited about the future of Northwestern Baseball.

Well, he has only coached one game. It may be a bit early to call him an excellent choice. He is undefeated though...

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

If I might state one of the most unpopular views on this Board, I believe Derrick Gragg is not getting the credit he deserves or at least does not deserve the derision he is getting and is unfairly blamed for things that may not be his fault. His role in the firing of perhaps NU's most popular football coach is bound to make him unpopular with some, if not many, people. let's not forget he was hired during very trying times, his predecessor, Mike Polisky, served a very short time, something like 10 days? before he was forced to resign primarily as the result of being named in a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by a NU cheerleader. (Was the very popular Jim Philiips really unaware of the pending lawsuit before he left town? The suit is still active to the best of my knowledge.) NU was blamed at the time for being insensitive in hiring Policy yet seemingly not given credit for hiring someone with a social justice background in Dr. Gragg.

His first hire, the Baseball Coach, Jim Foster, was in fact, a disaster. Perhaps only as a result of a change he was forced to make, Ben Greenspan was hired, an excellent choice and a good reason to be excited about the future of Northwestern Baseball. If Dr. Gragg is going to be criticized for the first hire, perhaps he could be given some credit for the second. I don't know what part he may have played in the success of the Football team this season, but he could have been instrumental to some extent in helping David Braun succeed.

I think it important then, to reflect on the tenure of what I believe was one of Northwetern's most successful and yet unpopular Athletic Director's, Rick Taylor. I didn't attach it but I would refer anyone who's interested to the Daily Northwestern's scathing, don't let the door hit you on the way out, May 20, 2003, article on Rick Taylor's retirement. Referring to him as distant, cold and unpersonable, while begrudgingly giving him credit for the athletic facilities upgrades at the time, I think it fair to say the article in hindsight was at a minimum, unnecessarily harsh to the man and his accomplishments. Now, almost 21 years later, at least 3 of his hires are still around, Claire Pollard, Woman's tennis, Kate Drohan, softball, and oh yeah, Kelly Amonte Hiller, LaCrosse. He also hired Randy Walker, and Tim Lenahan, men's soccer. So I think in retrospect, he did okay. I also remember Rick Taylor being loudly booed at halftime of a Northwestern home football game. (To be fair, I think he referred to Northwestern as Notre Dame, okay that was a pretty bad gaffe, but still, sound familiar?)

So my point is this, Dr. Gragg should be given a chance to do the job he was hired to do as he sees fit. Perhaps he has done more behind the scenes than I at least know. But I do not believe that he is being treated fairly by many up to this point and I would like that to change.

Have at me.

Rick Taylor ran Gary Barnett out of town and hired Kevin O’Neill. Taylor was a steaming pile of garbage. Not to mention he was also a total asshat.

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

Well, he has only coached one game. It may be a bit early to call him an excellent choice. He is undefeated though...

After the previous baseball hiring debacle, do you really believe Gragg had any involvement in hiring Greenspan? The answer is fairly obvious.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Well, I did say that what I wrote wasn't going to be popular. As to the comment saying that Rick Taylor was a bad AD because he hired Kevin O'Neil, who by the way was a very popular choice at the time, ignores the people Taylor did hire that were, and are!, extremely successful. I'll go farther. I believe Rick Taylor was never given proper credit for his role in the success of the 1995 Rose Bowl team. The year before, 1994, NU was 3 -7=1 and had lost their last four games convincingly. In the midst of all that, Taylor, as I recall, gave Barnett a contract extension in the midst of what seemed to many, to me at least, an endless string of losing seasons. It is possible that the vote of confidence in Barnett was the shot in the arm the team needed, helped give them confidence in their coaches, and helped propel the summer season of preparation that led up to the opening Notre Dame win and the 1995 Rose Bowl season. My point though is there is often more going on in the athletic halls than most fans may not know about.

I for one am tired of all the Gragg, and for that matter Schill, bashing. It's time to move on. Again, I understand that there are many people that disagree with me on that point but I wanted my opinion to be heard.

I respect that you took a stance that you believe in understanding that it won’t be popular with many. I have to say I am on the other side of the spectrum. I can tell you I felt this hire never should have been made and there were an abundance of red flags that Morty or whoever signed off in the hire should have seen. I don’t blame Gragg for the way the Hazing scandal played out, that’s on Schill, who is equally incompetent.

I honestly can’t think of a single accomplishment he can or should take credit for since he came here. Zero. In a strange way you could argue he helped the football team achieve success this season by galvanizing them with his “tone deaf” comments, zoom meetings, overall lack of communication or perceived lack of caring created a mission for the team. It’s a fact, many players and their family's are far from Gragg fans. He stumbled into Braun. Basketball? Would have fired CC if he could have. Baseball, totally embarrassing hiring process and forgive me for waiting in the success of the new hire before I celebrate. Volleyball hire took forever and IMO is underwhelming. Wrestling and Women’s basketball have completely tanked. Woman’s Lacrosse and Field Hockey were Natty contenders long before Gragg got here.

So with due respect to your opinion, please provide any example of Gragg making the NU experience better for player,students Or even fans. Honestly asking because I want hope.

 

[No Chores]

I respect that you took a stance that you believe in understanding that it won’t be popular with many. I have to say I am on the other side of the spectrum. I can tell you I felt this hire never should have been made and there were an abundance of red flags that Morty or whoever signed off in the hire should have seen. I don’t blame Gragg for the way the Hazing scandal played out, that’s on Schill, who is equally incompetent.

I honestly can’t think of a single accomplishment he can or should take credit for since he came here. Zero. In a strange way you could argue he helped the football team achieve success this season by galvanizing them with his “tone deaf” comments, zoom meetings, overall lack of communication or perceived lack of caring created a mission for the team. It’s a fact, many players and their family's are far from Gragg fans. He stumbled into Braun. Basketball? Would have fired CC if he could have. Baseball, totally embarrassing hiring process and forgive me for waiting in the success of the new hire before I celebrate. Volleyball hire took forever and IMO is underwhelming. Wrestling and Women’s basketball have completely tanked. Woman’s Lacrosse and Field Hockey were Natty contenders long before Gragg got here.

So with due respect to your opinion, please provide any example of Gragg making the NU experience better for player,students Or even fans. Honestly asking because I want hope.

All correct in my view.

 

[IGNORE2]

Some folks felt Gragg lit a fire under CCC by giving him the very public “ultimatum” to make the tourney or pack his bags. CCC hired the wizard to shore up the defense and to some he changed his ways/habits for the better. The team won and CCC was spared the death sentence.

However, reading about our lack of depth and quandary we find ourselves in with the loss of Ty got me thinking of the flip side. The ultimatum made it very difficult to recruit. Our freshman class is the result of the difficulty. That class is currently One guy that plays and has struggled mightily with his game and confidence and 2 players that I couldn’t pick out of a line up of Maine South players. Now these players could blossom like Barney or even Big Matt and go from no playing time to strong contributors, but they are not helping us this year when we really need them. This is the year we have a generational talent at PG and had a legitimate shot to win a couple games in the tourney with any type of contribution from our depth players. They had one P6 ( or whatever the BBall term is for power conference) offer between them.

CCC is like most Coaches in a position that he has to rely on transfers to fill holes while the lightly recruited new players develop. In typical NU fashion, the administration makes it difficult to recruit transfers. Mullins is the rare undergraduate transfer. Mostly NU gets the graduate one and done transfer. Tough sledding.

Coach Braun is facing a similar situation in the future as this first class was dramatically impacted by the incredibly poor handling of the Hazing scandal. The school does him zero favors by being on the quarter system and a transfer process that is so rigid it reviews college players High School transcripts to determine admissions. Forget that they have successfully completed college work!

I think a case can be made that Gragg torpedoed the depth of the program with the ultimatum. CCC didn’t do it, Lowry didn’t do it, Jordan Clayton isn’t responsible. Maybe if NU doesn’t make the tourney, the ultimatum switches to Gragg? Of course, Gragg is Teflon to Schill as his human shield, and if he wasn’t canned for his handling of Baseball and even Volleyball he is likely safe at least until lawsuits are resolved.

Our Coaches and especially our players deserve better!

Where are Barkley and Straus? Where has Mullins been? We have plenty of schollie players.

Rather an ultimatum to B1G to fix the ref problem and treat Boo better or NU athletics will begin a PR campaign on the matter that might embarass some people.

 

[IGNORE2]

It wasn’t the ultimatum. It was the public nature of the ultimatum that cut the staff legs out from under them when recruiting. That was my point. He is a master technician in making things more difficult for those revenue sports and athletes.

Bunch of losing seasons probably doesn’t help recruiting either.

 

[IGNORE2]

The fact that you said Rick Taylor was a good AD, really ruins your whole argument for me. Tell me what Gargg has done to further the athletic program other than decisions that were easily made for him (Braun and Collins).

Taylor was an ass. Met him, had dealings with him, arrogant prick.

 

[IGNORE2]

Well, I did say that what I wrote wasn't going to be popular. As to the comment saying that Rick Taylor was a bad AD because he hired Kevin O'Neil, who by the way was a very popular choice at the time, ignores the people Taylor did hire that were, and are!, extremely successful. I'll go farther. I believe Rick Taylor was never given proper credit for his role in the success of the 1995 Rose Bowl team. The year before, 1994, NU was 3 -7=1 and had lost their last four games convincingly. In the midst of all that, Taylor, as I recall, gave Barnett a contract extension in the midst of what seemed to many, to me at least, an endless string of losing seasons. It is possible that the vote of confidence in Barnett was the shot in the arm the team needed, helped give them confidence in their coaches, and helped propel the summer season of preparation that led up to the opening Notre Dame win and the 1995 Rose Bowl season. My point though is there is often more going on in the athletic halls than most fans may not know about.

I for one am tired of all the Gragg, and for that matter Schill, bashing. It's time to move on. Again, I understand that there are many people that disagree with me on that point but I wanted my opinion to be heard.

And I, for one, applaud your effort to voice an unpopular opinion, agree with your right to voice while completely disagreeing with you but in a civil fashion. Good luck with that from the rest of the clown crew around here.

 

[IGNORE2]

How the hell can people move on when Fitz is suing the achool and players are suing Fitz.

And no one give a shit if you hire a great softball Coach if you screw up the bball and football hires.

He did hire both Barnett and Walker.

 

[Yeswecat]

I respect that you took a stance that you believe in understanding that it won’t be popular with many. I have to say I am on the other side of the spectrum. I can tell you I felt this hire never should have been made and there were an abundance of red flags that Morty or whoever signed off in the hire should have seen. I don’t blame Gragg for the way the Hazing scandal played out, that’s on Schill, who is equally incompetent.

I honestly can’t think of a single accomplishment he can or should take credit for since he came here. Zero. In a strange way you could argue he helped the football team achieve success this season by galvanizing them with his “tone deaf” comments, zoom meetings, overall lack of communication or perceived lack of caring created a mission for the team. It’s a fact, many players and their family's are far from Gragg fans. He stumbled into Braun. Basketball? Would have fired CC if he could have. Baseball, totally embarrassing hiring process and forgive me for waiting in the success of the new hire before I celebrate. Volleyball hire took forever and IMO is underwhelming. Wrestling and Women’s basketball have completely tanked. Woman’s Lacrosse and Field Hockey were Natty contenders long before Gragg got here.

So with due respect to your opinion, please provide any example of Gragg making the NU experience better for player,students Or even fans. Honestly asking because I want hope.

I appreciate your thoughtful observations. I don't have much to add to what I have already said. Mathew Shelton's article on the hiring of David Braun is encouraging. Please understand I want Northwestern to win as much as you do and in all sports. I would just like us, maybe just me, to give Derrick Gragg a chance to succeed. Time will tell.

 

[NUChicago]

I appreciate your thoughtful observations. I don't have much to add to what I have already said. Mathew Shelton's article on the hiring of David Braun gives me some encouragement. Please understand I want Northwestern to win as much as you do and in all sports. I would just like us, maybe just me, to give Derrick Gragg a chance to do the job. Time will tell.

I hope that time is short. He has shown no aptitude to be a P5 AD.

 

[CatManTrue]

It wasn’t the ultimatum. It was the public nature of the ultimatum that cut the staff legs out from under them when recruiting. That was my point. He is a master technician in making things more difficult for those revenue sports and athletes.

I guess I’m still unclear on what ultimatum you’re saying Gragg should be given.

The football program just had a miraculous season despite all odds and the basketball program is still in the hunt for March Madness. The non-revenue sports, in aggregate, appear to be doing well (even though the wrestling team fell off a cliff partially due to Michigan’s NIL).

What ultimatum should Gragg be given? What objective measures should he be expected to improve upon?

“Become more popular with our internet fanbase in the next 12 months or you’re fired?” Doesn’t seem quite fair as an ultimatum to me.

 

[CatManTrue]

I hope that time is short. He has shown no aptitude to be a P5 AD.

As much as our fans on here dislike him and even with the embarrassment around the baseball program: Gragg has actually had a lot of success as an AD in key areas (stadium construction, hiring and retaining Braun, and CCC’s turnaround).

Based on Schill being booed and Gragg not at that recent event, the silent majority of our fanbase might even like him.

Personally, I think that our athletic fortunes have risen primarily due to key donors following the 1995 Rose Bowl season, and also thanks to the incredible amount of funds from the B1G contracts.

Taylor, Murphy, Phillips, Gragg… it may not matter who’s running the AD while the B1G money’s rolling in.

Money talks, BS walks.

 

[Eurocat]

As to the comment saying that Rick Taylor was a bad AD because he hired Kevin O'Neil, who by the way was a very popular choice at the time, ignores the people Taylor did hire that were, and are!, extremely successful.

All I can say is that I was (am) friends with a professor at Tennessee - and one who unlike many academics is really into sports - and he and I were on a work related (not college sports) call and at the end maybe 100 hours after we made the hire, and when it was time to talk about "so how are you doing, what else is going on" he giggled and said "thanks for taking Kevin O'Neil off our hands". For goodness sake he flopped at basketball powerhouses, most notably Arizona, USC and he completely failed in the NBA.

I dunno if you subscribe to The Athletic (everyone who loves sports should) -

We the North excerpt: The ugly history of Raptors coaches

In his new book, Doug Smith sets aside a chapter to honour the early years, and the characters who shaped, the Toronto Raptors.

theathletic.com

O’Neill was a hard-working guy but also very controlling. He made every play call, and because of his old-school approach, he wanted to win games with scores in the 70s and 80s. He went against the direction of the modern game and wanted his team to grind out victories. You could see it in his personality. He was a “crash and burn” guy right from the start. He lasted only one season in Toronto. The team went 33–49, but he left behind some memorable moments. One night in San Francisco, the Raptors had won in overtime against Golden State and pushed their record to 25–25. It appeared they had a chance to make the playoffs, but Jalen Rose broke his hand that night and all hope went out the window. Frustrated, O’Neill broke a lamp in his hotel room.

A month later, The Globe and Mail broke the story, in a piece that also talked about his lifestyle and how he loved having a few drinks too many on a lot of nights. We woke up the next day to go to a shootaround in New York, and you can imagine the number of media members circling the scene at Madison Square Garden. To his credit, O’Neill answered every question and took all responsibility. He looked at a group of reporters, including me at one point, and said, “Look, I’ve only been drunk on the road one time this season and that was with you, Doug.” He was referring to the night before a game in Seattle when we hung out and had a few too many drinks at the Metropolitan. I felt like three inches tall when he said that, but he was right. There were a lot of beers involved that evening.

O’Neill was a train wreck waiting to happen. After the Raptors played their final game of the season in Milwaukee, we were all scheduled to fly home. O’Neill asked me what time my flight was. I told him I would land around eleven in the morning back in Toronto. “You’re going to want to move that up,” he said. “My press conference is something you want to be at.”

He wasn’t wrong. At his end-of-season presser, O’Neill blasted the organization and questioned their commitment to winning. Later that day, he was fired. And you want to know how crazy O’Neill could be? That night, long after we’d all filed our stories, we were in the old Harbour Sports Grille, a drinking establishment right by the arena that was the local for all the beat writers. We were in the bar and assistant Jay Triano—who O’Neill always thought was some kind of front-office plant even though that was the furthest thing from the truth—was in the dining room with his family, wife and three kids. Then O’Neill, along with a couple of his other staff members who’d obviously been out for a few to mark the end of his tenure, tried to get into the place to get at Triano, and only the forceful words of the joint’s owner stopped a really ugly incident from happening.

End excerpt -

Rick Taylor most definitely did not do "due diligence" when it can to the KO hiring. His lifestyle was no secret ask our own board poster Evanston Cat to tell you about his escapades at Marks II Lounge on Howard Street, he is a witness. Some of the stories would be considered funny if they were not so sad.

 

[UpsetAlert]

Interesting thought. However, without the ultimatum, would CCC have hired Lowery and improved the defense so dramatically?

I also wonder if we’d have landed more transfers with more NIL funds. I imagine it was quite expensive to retain Buie - and he’s worth every penny - but did that eat up most of our NIL pool of cash?

Anyway, the season isn’t over yet. Mullins showed flashes last night and we can still make the tourney to shock the world. Go Cats!

This is so dumb

 

[Yeswecat]

All I can say is that I was (am) friends with a professor at Tennessee - and one who unlike many academics is really into sports - and he and I were on a work related (not college sports) call and at the end maybe 100 hours after we made the hire, and when it was time to talk about "so how are you doing, what else is going on" he giggled and said "thanks for taking Kevin O'Neil off our hands". For goodness sake he flopped at basketball powerhouses, most notably Arizona, USC and he completely failed in the NBA.

I dunno if you subscribe to The Athletic (everyone who loves sports should) -

We the North excerpt: The ugly history of Raptors coaches

In his new book, Doug Smith sets aside a chapter to honour the early years, and the characters who shaped, the Toronto Raptors.

theathletic.com

O’Neill was a hard-working guy but also very controlling. He made every play call, and because of his old-school approach, he wanted to win games with scores in the 70s and 80s. He went against the direction of the modern game and wanted his team to grind out victories. You could see it in his personality. He was a “crash and burn” guy right from the start. He lasted only one season in Toronto. The team went 33–49, but he left behind some memorable moments. One night in San Francisco, the Raptors had won in overtime against Golden State and pushed their record to 25–25. It appeared they had a chance to make the playoffs, but Jalen Rose broke his hand that night and all hope went out the window. Frustrated, O’Neill broke a lamp in his hotel room.

A month later, The Globe and Mail broke the story, in a piece that also talked about his lifestyle and how he loved having a few drinks too many on a lot of nights. We woke up the next day to go to a shootaround in New York, and you can imagine the number of media members circling the scene at Madison Square Garden. To his credit, O’Neill answered every question and took all responsibility. He looked at a group of reporters, including me at one point, and said, “Look, I’ve only been drunk on the road one time this season and that was with you, Doug.” He was referring to the night before a game in Seattle when we hung out and had a few too many drinks at the Metropolitan. I felt like three inches tall when he said that, but he was right. There were a lot of beers involved that evening.

O’Neill was a train wreck waiting to happen. After the Raptors played their final game of the season in Milwaukee, we were all scheduled to fly home. O’Neill asked me what time my flight was. I told him I would land around eleven in the morning back in Toronto. “You’re going to want to move that up,” he said. “My press conference is something you want to be at.”

He wasn’t wrong. At his end-of-season presser, O’Neill blasted the organization and questioned their commitment to winning. Later that day, he was fired. And you want to know how crazy O’Neill could be? That night, long after we’d all filed our stories, we were in the old Harbour Sports Grille, a drinking establishment right by the arena that was the local for all the beat writers. We were in the bar and assistant Jay Triano—who O’Neill always thought was some kind of front-office plant even though that was the furthest thing from the truth—was in the dining room with his family, wife and three kids. Then O’Neill, along with a couple of his other staff members who’d obviously been out for a few to mark the end of his tenure, tried to get into the place to get at Triano, and only the forceful words of the joint’s owner stopped a really ugly incident from happening.

End excerpt -

Rick Taylor most definitely did not do "due diligence" when it can to the KO hiring. His lifestyle was no secret ask our own board poster Evanston Cat to tell you about his escapades at Marks II Lounge on Howard Street, he is a witness. Some of the stories would be considered funny if they were not so sad.

You're correct! I said he was a popular choice not a good one. He was a popular hire because he was a "big name." I don't have your stories (although they are very interesting, sadly) but I agree with what you said. Our young son attended his summer Basketball camp at Northwestern for two years The first year he had fun. The second year O'Neil was openly and shockingly rude to some of the young kids. I remember thinking that O'Neil's focus then seemed to be primarily on his drinking buddies. I don't recall for sure but I think that O'Neil may have resigned that September not too long before the season started, leaving NU in an awkward position because of the timing. I believe that is when Bill Carmody stepped in to take the job.