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Petrino is interim

717s7e

Well-known member
According to last night's Missoula 10 p.m. news, Haslam has decided to go with Mike Petrino, presumably on an interim basis although that wasn't clear.

I don't know a lot about Petrino, except that he was a very successful high school coach in Oregon, is Eric Hays' son-in-law, and always seemed to be a class act both in practice and in games. He would always come over and greet me even though I am a nobody fan.

Not having any idea what went on with the program to cause what must have been disruption, I can only assume that he was a calming force.

I thought that this was the perfect time to do a national search. Recruiting is done, most coaches have been hired around the country, there is no hurry, etc.

But now Haslam will have all of the same pressures in making the decision next year that could have been made now.
 
It is not a perfect time to do a national search, recruiting for a lot programs is not done because March and April are always key months for final official visits and to seal the deal with recruits-hence why the spring signing date is in April. Plus the transfer portal is in full flex from March until the end of May. Because of the pandemic recruiting has slowed way down as has the “coaching turn-style” . College coaching changes are way down from previous years because post-season play was cut-short. A lot of coaches who were on the hot seat like Tinkle for example, were in some ways saved by the pandemic. OSU won their first game in the PAC-12 tourney, but the tourney was cancelled after that game. It wouldn’t be fair to can him without him being able to have a fair chance to save his job by getting his team to the NCAA or NIT tourney etc. A lot of coaches were in that situation. Haslam still might do a National search, but it is going to be really difficult. 1. The university is shut down. 2. Most of players are gone. 3 You can’t really do in-person interviews and fly people in. It’s a serious health risk right now to fly etc. Both hoopdirt.com websites cover coaching changes at all college levels and is a good source to gauge the number of coaching changes year by year. This year is way down compared to other years for obvious reasons.
 
Good points Sugar Bear - thanks for the thoughtful discussion and corrections.

My bias is that I hate temporary/interim anything unless one has no choice. I didn't like Don Read as an interim AD nor did I like Mick Delaney as an interim coach.

I prefer certainly and permanence. I think it is at least somewhat unfair to the team to go through another year of uncertainty like the year they just went through.

If there aren't many jobs open, that would give us an advantage this year. If nothing else, it is a great time to buy cheap airline tickets.

My point on the recruiting was that our recruiting is done, however, am I wrong on that? Do we now have one open?

I would have whined less if Kent had named Petrino as the permanent coach.

Oh well, now we can watch for:
1. Do we have another scholarship open?
2. Who will Petrino bring in as an assistant for the year?
 
717s7e said:
Good points Sugar Bear - thanks for the thoughtful discussion and corrections.

My bias is that I hate temporary/interim anything unless one has no choice. I didn't like Don Read as an interim AD nor did I like Mick Delaney as an interim coach.

I prefer certainly and permanence. I think it is at least somewhat unfair to the team to go through another year of uncertainty like the year they just went through.

If there aren't many jobs open, that would give us an advantage this year. If nothing else, it is a great time to buy cheap airline tickets.

My point on the recruiting was that our recruiting is done, however, am I wrong on that? Do we now have one open?

I would have whined less if Kent had named Petrino as the permanent coach.

Oh well, now we can watch for:
1. Do we have another scholarship open?
2. Who will Petrino bring in as an assistant for the year?

1. With all the defections, and maybe more to come, it's hard to keep track of open scholarships. But, yes, by my count, we have 3 openings. Because of the Fatkin, Harrington and Frolich departures.
2. I have heard they are hoping to bring back Jace Henderson for another year. Whether that be as full-time assistant or another stint as grad assistant, I do not know.
 
Again, Shannon's contract runs into the summer, I think end of July. UM couldn't afford to pay 2 head coaches, I assume.
 
PlayerRep said:
Again, Shannon's contract runs into the summer, I think end of July. UM couldn't afford to pay 2 head coaches, I assume.

They will more than likely work out a buyout of her remaining contract etc. Typically those contracts have buyouts in them pending a non-renewal and so forth. A new head coach’s contract wouldn’t go into affect until July 1 anyways and if they did hire someone new before July 1 they would pay them an advance or pay them through a different fund within the athletic department. A the U’s financial managers or accountants could certainly answer that question the best, but typically that is how some athletic departments handle these situations to make sure they are following in this case state budget mandates.
 
Maroon and Silver - Wow, that is great news that there may be 3 scholarships open. It will be interesting to see if the remaining coaches can upgrade the recruiting level now that they are in charge.
 
717s7e said:
Good points Sugar Bear - thanks for the thoughtful discussion and corrections.

My bias is that I hate temporary/interim anything unless one has no choice. I didn't like Don Read as an interim AD nor did I like Mick Delaney as an interim coach.

I prefer certainly and permanence. I think it is at least somewhat unfair to the team to go through another year of uncertainty like the year they just went through.

If there aren't many jobs open, that would give us an advantage this year. If nothing else, it is a great time to buy cheap airline tickets.

My point on the recruiting was that our recruiting is done, however, am I wrong on that? Do we now have one open?

I would have whined less if Kent had named Petrino as the permanent coach.

Oh well, now we can watch for:
1. Do we have another scholarship open?
2. Who will Petrino bring in as an assistant for the year?

How did you like Don Holtz(sp) as interim head coach of the griz basketball team back in late 90s? After his 1 year as interim head coach the interim was removed. That is what I think will happen if Petrino is made interim head coach now. Next year he becomes just Head Coach
 
Lot of good observations on this thread, in particular. As a die-hard Montana supporter, I agree most with Sugar Bear 16. But I guess I'm admitting that the recent player transfers are a public sign of issues that Kent Haslam simply could no longer leave unaddressed. Mr Haslam has done an outstanding job in recent years of handling tough issues here at UM (football, volleyball and soccer in particular), so I believe he's acting in the best interests of UM Sports and the WBB program.

Interim coaches are usually named when a program is in danger of imminent collapse (as were the situations regarding last year's Northern Arizona and Idaho men's basketball programs). For Haslam to move so suddenly, and drastically, seems like a tacit acknowledgement of a canoe on the brink of capsizing. It might explain why Haslam believes an insider will provide quick stability.

I'd never met Mike Petrino before he came to Montana. But he's the kind of guy who -- if you're standing near courtside after a game -- will walk up to you, hand extended, introduce himself and thank you for supporting Montana women's basketball. Which he did with me. He is an unabashed, enthusiastic, positive ambassador for Montana women's basketball. And he literally thanks me for supporting WBB every time he sees me. He cares about this program.

Here's a brief Mike Petrino portfolio: After coaching at various high schools throughout Montana, Petrino moved to Portland in the early 2000s and took a teaching and coaching position at Central Catholic High, a member of the Oregon 6A (highest category/largest schools) conference. He spent 10 years at the school, the final five as the head coach of the boys’ basketball team. The Rams went 97-37 under Petrino, won five Mt. Hood Conference titles and twice placed third at the Oregon Class 6A state tournament. Nine of his athletes would go on to play college basketball. Petrino started coaching Division I women’s basketball in 2011-12, when he was hired at Wyoming. He would spend four years on Joe Legerski’s staff. The Cowgirls twice won 20 or more games and advanced to the 2013 WNIT. He was on Linda Lappe’s staff at Colorado in 2015-16.

I've spoken to Mike, post-game, many times over the past four years. Though I don't really know him beyond those greetings, or beyond saying Hi to him at a Griz softball game, I consider him a solid choice to provide stability to a program going through some tough times. If he was offered, and accepts the challenge, I wish him the best.
 
Sugar Bear 16 said:
PlayerRep said:
Again, Shannon's contract runs into the summer, I think end of July. UM couldn't afford to pay 2 head coaches, I assume.

They will more than likely work out a buyout of her remaining contract etc. Typically those contracts have buyouts in them pending a non-renewal and so forth. A new head coach’s contract wouldn’t go into affect until July 1 anyways and if they did hire someone new before July 1 they would pay them an advance or pay them through a different fund within the athletic department. A the U’s financial managers or accountants could certainly answer that question the best, but typically that is how some athletic departments handle these situations to make sure they are following in this case state budget mandates.

Doubt UM will buy her out. The contracts don't contain buyout provisions for stuff like this.

Hasn't it been reported that Petrino would be the interim though next season, or did I dream that?
 
PlayerRep said:
Sugar Bear 16 said:
PlayerRep said:
Again, Shannon's contract runs into the summer, I think end of July. UM couldn't afford to pay 2 head coaches, I assume.

They will more than likely work out a buyout of her remaining contract etc. Typically those contracts have buyouts in them pending a non-renewal and so forth. A new head coach’s contract wouldn’t go into affect until July 1 anyways and if they did hire someone new before July 1 they would pay them an advance or pay them through a different fund within the athletic department. A the U’s financial managers or accountants could certainly answer that question the best, but typically that is how some athletic departments handle these situations to make sure they are following in this case state budget mandates.

Doubt UM will buy her out. The contracts don't contain buyout provisions for stuff like this.

Hasn't it been reported that Petrino would be the interim though next season, or did I dream that?

It has been report Petrino will be interim coach until end of next year, but not officially announced by UM. But then, I haven't seen an official announcement about Shannon as there is nothing about all this on gogriz.com.
 
grizzlyjournal said:
Lot of good observations on this thread, in particular. As a die-hard Montana supporter, I agree most with Sugar Bear 16. But I guess I'm admitting that the recent player transfers are a public sign of issues that Kent Haslam simply could no longer leave unaddressed. Mr Haslam has done an outstanding job in recent years of handling tough issues here at UM (football, volleyball and soccer in particular), so I believe he's acting in the best interests of UM Sports and the WBB program.

Interim coaches are usually named when a program is in danger of imminent collapse (as were the situations regarding last year's Northern Arizona and Idaho men's basketball programs). For Haslam to move so suddenly, and drastically, seems like a tacit acknowledgement of a canoe on the brink of capsizing. It might explain why Haslam believes an insider will provide quick stability.

I'd never met Mike Petrino before he came to Montana. But he's the kind of guy who -- if you're standing near courtside after a game -- will walk up to you, hand extended, introduce himself and thank you for supporting Montana women's basketball. Which he did with me. He is an unabashed, enthusiastic, positive ambassador for Montana women's basketball. And he literally thanks me for supporting WBB every time he sees me. He cares about this program.

Here's a brief Mike Petrino portfolio: After coaching at various high schools throughout Montana, Petrino moved to Portland in the early 2000s and took a teaching and coaching position at Central Catholic High, a member of the Oregon 6A (highest category/largest schools) conference. He spent 10 years at the school, the final five as the head coach of the boys’ basketball team. The Rams went 97-37 under Petrino, won five Mt. Hood Conference titles and twice placed third at the Oregon Class 6A state tournament. Nine of his athletes would go on to play college basketball. Petrino started coaching Division I women’s basketball in 2011-12, when he was hired at Wyoming. He would spend four years on Joe Legerski’s staff. The Cowgirls twice won 20 or more games and advanced to the 2013 WNIT. He was on Linda Lappe’s staff at Colorado in 2015-16.

I've spoken to Mike, post-game, many times over the past four years. Though I don't really know him beyond those greetings, or beyond saying Hi to him at a Griz softball game, I consider him a solid choice to provide stability to a program going through some tough times. If he was offered, and accepts the challenge, I wish him the best.

Good Post, Glen. Bottom line, Shannon didn't get it done. Mike is now the Coach. Time to support him. Let's move on. Go Lady Griz!
 
grizzlyjournal said:
Lot of good observations on this thread, in particular. As a die-hard Montana supporter, I agree most with Sugar Bear 16. But I guess I'm admitting that the recent player transfers are a public sign of issues that Kent Haslam simply could no longer leave unaddressed. Mr Haslam has done an outstanding job in recent years of handling tough issues here at UM (football, volleyball and soccer in particular), so I believe he's acting in the best interests of UM Sports and the WBB program.

Interim coaches are usually named when a program is in danger of imminent collapse (as were the situations regarding last year's Northern Arizona and Idaho men's basketball programs). For Haslam to move so suddenly, and drastically, seems like a tacit acknowledgement of a canoe on the brink of capsizing. It might explain why Haslam believes an insider will provide quick stability.

I'd never met Mike Petrino before he came to Montana. But he's the kind of guy who -- if you're standing near courtside after a game -- will walk up to you, hand extended, introduce himself and thank you for supporting Montana women's basketball. Which he did with me. He is an unabashed, enthusiastic, positive ambassador for Montana women's basketball. And he literally thanks me for supporting WBB every time he sees me. He cares about this program.

Here's a brief Mike Petrino portfolio: After coaching at various high schools throughout Montana, Petrino moved to Portland in the early 2000s and took a teaching and coaching position at Central Catholic High, a member of the Oregon 6A (highest category/largest schools) conference. He spent 10 years at the school, the final five as the head coach of the boys’ basketball team. The Rams went 97-37 under Petrino, won five Mt. Hood Conference titles and twice placed third at the Oregon Class 6A state tournament. Nine of his athletes would go on to play college basketball. Petrino started coaching Division I women’s basketball in 2011-12, when he was hired at Wyoming. He would spend four years on Joe Legerski’s staff. The Cowgirls twice won 20 or more games and advanced to the 2013 WNIT. He was on Linda Lappe’s staff at Colorado in 2015-16.

I've spoken to Mike, post-game, many times over the past four years. Though I don't really know him beyond those greetings, or beyond saying Hi to him at a Griz softball game, I consider him a solid choice to provide stability to a program going through some tough times. If he was offered, and accepts the challenge, I wish him the best.

And who is to say he won't do a great job! Sounds like he Loves the Program & also sounds like he may be the kind of guy we may want permanently - but being that Petrino is in the blood it can't hurt that his Uncle won a title in high school basketball!
 
717s7e said:
Maroon and Silver - Wow, that is great news that there may be 3 scholarships open. It will be interesting to see if the remaining coaches can upgrade the recruiting level now that they are in charge.

I wouldn't hold my breath for any impact player signings for next season.
 
Sometimes the answers are right in front of you.

https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/2011/07/canzano_central_catholic_coach.html
 
citay said:
Sometimes the answers are right in front of you.

https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/2011/07/canzano_central_catholic_coach.html

This an enlightening article, thanks for the post. Sheds light Petrino's character balanced with coaching skills.
 
I think Petrino will be terrific. Nice opportunity for him. He's a super nice and friendly guy. I'm good with this decision.
 
Mike will do a great job with what he has left for players. He also will work with his assistants and value their input to make a better team. His toughest job will be parents. Specifically the Schweyen parents. Assuming the two girls are coming back.
 
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