Burke a candidate at Siena

[HoyaAlbany]

One of the local stations had a story last night that Rob Burke is one of the 5 finalists for the Siena head coaching job, together with Herrion, former coach at East Carolina; an assistant at Goergia Tech (who I believe was an assistant for hewitt when he was up here); Fran Fraschilla, former ST. John's and New Mexico coach; and a local Div. II coach who has had more than 400 wins.

[SirSaxa]

WOW!

This is one of those "one hand/other hand" issues.

On the one hand, it is great to see our asst. coaches being recognized and in demand! I don't recall this kind of story about Mike Riley, Craig Esherick et al.

On the other hand, we are just getting started and I would hate to see T3 lose key members of his staff so soon.

But I guess on balance, we should be supporting Burke. IF he gets the opportunity for his own team -- largely as a result of his work for us -- well, wish him the best. Another plus would be the reputations of GU and T3. We become an attractive teaching and proving ground for young coaches who want to build their own careers.

So good luck Rob!

[jahidihoya]

Another negative is that it may mean we would try to schedule Siena! Ugh...

[the_way]

SirSaxa said:

WOW!

On the one hand, it is great to see our asst. coaches being recognized and in demand! I don't recall this kind of story about Mike Riley, Craig Esherick et al.

Actually Esherick did have coaching offers, but he turned them down. I think Esh was content on being JT2's assistant for life because he was that loyal to JT2 and vice versa. Esh was quoted in the Washington Post saying "Coach Thompson always told me, you will always have job,as long as I am the coach".

[FOTP]

OK...I'll bite. Just curious where he had offers from? I understand the be a loyal assistant and you'll get the keys someday theory. My guess is that's what happened here and he never really pursued things because he had a good gig.

I just never remember schools associated with "going after him and offering a job".


Don't jump on me...just curious who these were.

[jerseyhoya34]

I just want to chime in and offer my congratulations to Coach Burke. While he may not get the job, it is a testament to his abilities and cache that he is being considered for this job, especially when one considers that our program was somewhat under the radar this year.

This is also a testament to JT3 in an indirect way to the extent that his hirings have been validated by independent observers as quality moves.

Nonetheless, we should recognize that we probably will lose assistants somewhere along the line to head coaching jobs. That is most anyone's goal in this business. It happens to good programs, and we'll have any number of attractive candidates to replace an assistant who moves on.

[angus]

the_way said:

Actually Esherick did have coaching offers, but he turned them down. I think Esh was content on being JT2's assistant for life because he was that loyal to JT2 and vice versa. Esh was quoted in the Washington Post saying "Coach Thompson always told me, you will always have job,as long as I am the coach".

__________________________
I don't recall any coaching offers Esh received. I did a google search for any mention of Esherick having a coaching offer while JT II was coach and came up empty. Please support your statement or quit making stuff up.

[DFW HOYA]

angus said:

I don't recall any coaching offers Esh received. I did a google search for any mention of Esherick having a coaching offer while JT II was coach and came up empty. Please support your statement or quit making stuff up.

Esherick's situation was probably a lot like his predecessor in that when schools investigate candidates, they talk to a lot of people to test the waters first before announcing finalists.

If you're doing a Google search, you would find only one college ever linked to John Thompson as a target, that being Oklahoma in 1980. Does that mean he was never, ever contacted by any other schools? No. It means that as schools ask around for candidates, those that are not looking to move to a new city or those that are perceived as staying put are often considered, but never announced as a candidate.

I think this is part of Esherick's strategy about putting his name out there for these far out of town jobs--even if he doesn't plan to be in Las Cruces, NM or Tulsa next year, it removes a preconception that it's not worth calling him because he'll never leave DC. Maybe he will, maybe he won't, but in college coaching some degree of mobility is considered a plus. (Mike Riley, if he chose to get back into coaching, probably has the same issue to deal with, too.)

[KHoyaNYC]

DFW said:

Esherick's situation was probably a lot like his predecessor in that when schools investigate candidates, they talk to a lot of people to test the waters first before announcing finalists.

If you're doing a Google search, you would find only one college ever linked to John Thompson as a target, that being Oklahoma in 1980. Does that mean he was never, ever contacted by any other schools? No. It means that as schools ask around for candidates, those that are not looking to move to a new city or those that are perceived as staying put are often considered, but never announced as a candidate.

I think this is part of Esherick's strategy about putting his name out there for these far out of town jobs--even if he doesn't plan to be in Las Cruces, NM or Tulsa next year, it removes a preconception that it's not worth calling him because he'll never leave DC. Maybe he will, maybe he won't, but in college coaching some degree of mobility is considered a plus. (Mike Riley, if he chose to get back into coaching, probably has the same issue to deal with, too.)

I think that's right. Esherick is getting his name back in the mix and showing schools that he will travel if the right opportunity comes knocking on his door.

Only problem is there aren't too many people knocking yet.....but that might change.

[FOTP]

No one said people didn't come around looking to see if Esherick would have some interest. I think the only point was the very specific intenation that Esherick was offered jobs and declined them.

I'm just curious who offered him. Offers usually don't go unreported. Just curious is all.

I'm not trying to start anything up.

I also think Esherick is doing the absolute right thing. He needs to get into a room with ADs and get used to interviewing for a job. Not sure if he's interviewed for one in a long, long time.

[kghoya]

the_way said:

Actually Esherick did have coaching offers, but he turned them down. I think Esh was content on being JT2's assistant for life because he was that loyal to JT2 and vice versa. Esh was quoted in the Washington Post saying "Coach Thompson always told me, you will always have job,as long as I am the coach".

"coaching offers" is pretty vague...does that mean high major division 1 colleges? does it mean high school? id be very interested and shocked to see you provide names

thanks and have a nice day

[angus]

DFW said:

Esherick's situation was probably a lot like his predecessor in that when schools investigate candidates, they talk to a lot of people to test the waters first before announcing finalists.

If you're doing a Google search, you would find only one college ever linked to John Thompson as a target, that being Oklahoma in 1980. Does that mean he was never, ever contacted by any other schools? No. It means that as schools ask around for candidates, those that are not looking to move to a new city or those that are perceived as staying put are often considered, but never announced as a candidate.

I think this is part of Esherick's strategy about putting his name out there for these far out of town jobs--even if he doesn't plan to be in Las Cruces, NM or Tulsa next year, it removes a preconception that it's not worth calling him because he'll never leave DC. Maybe he will, maybe he won't, but in college coaching some degree of mobility is considered a plus. (Mike Riley, if he chose to get back into coaching, probably has the same issue to deal with, too.)

________________
You missed my point. the_way stated as fact that Esherick "had coaching offers" while he assisted JT II. Offering opinions that something might have happened is one thing. But stating unequivocally that something did happen, when you cannot support such a statement, is irresponsible.

As you have stated many times, this is not a rumor board. That should apply to "positive, pro-Esh" unsupported rumors as much as it should to "negative, anti-Esh" unsupported rumors. In my view, both such categories violate your rule, but only the latter receive censure.

[the_way]

angus said:

________________
You missed my point. the_way stated as fact that Esherick "had coaching offers" while he assisted JT II. Offering opinions that something might have happened is one thing. But stating unequivocally that something did happen, when you cannot support such a statement, is irresponsible.

As you have stated many times, this is not a rumor board. That should apply to "positive, pro-Esh" unsupported rumors as much as it should to "negative, anti-Esh" unsupported rumors.

Just so you can stop with the madness, this was from an article in the Washington Post back in 1999 where Esh made these statements about being offered head coaching jobs and the Thompson quote. Please stop, the madness is so annoying. Tattle-telling is so 3rd grade.

[angus]

the_way said:

Just so you can stop with the madness, this was from an article in the Washington Post back in 1999 where Esh made these statements about being offered head coaching jobs and the Thompson quote. Please stop, the madness is so annoying. Tattle-telling is so 3rd grade.

___________________________

Deleted -- cheap shot

[DanMcQ]

Just for the record, we "censure" unsubstantiated rumors that have to do with current players and coaching staff (and other GU staff).

Despite the not-so-veiled allegations some put forth, there is no particular agenda here on the Admin's or moderators' part other than supporting the program.

[the_way]

angus said:

___________________________

Deleted -- cheap shot

Couldn't find the article, eh? Did you actually LOOK, or do you have some type of agenda? I think the latter is the case.

[Deleted]

the_way said:

Couldn't find the article, eh? Did you actually LOOK, or do you have some type of agenda? I think the latter is the case.

Yawn. Let it go, boys. Fact is, Esh was here forever, and he's gone now. I think it's a great sign that there's interest in Burke. That's a huge positive on a lot of levels.

I can say this: I don't ever remember hearing that Esh or Riley or Simms were ever in the running for jobs when Pops was around, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. I can't prove it one way or the other. But the fact is, all three were here for a VERY long time, in the same jobs. Coaching stinks. Invariably, you pick up and move every couple of years, you can be fired on a whim, and it's tough on families. Maybe they enjoyed the stability and liked DC.

I'm just stunned that the_way got into a Editeding match with someone....

[alleninxis]

is that D II coach, my golden knights own Brian Beaury?

[hoyarooter]

the_way said:

Couldn't find the article, eh? Did you actually LOOK, or do you have some type of agenda? I think the latter is the case.

Hmm, it appears that Angus at least had the graciousness to acknowledge and delete HIS cheap shot.

[angus]

hoyarooter said:

Hmm, it appears that Angus at least had the graciousness to acknowledge and delete HIS cheap shot.

_____________________________
Yeah, bad day, I acted inappropriately, and "yawn" is correct. The thread was about Coach Burke, not Esh, so mea culpa. In any event, props to Coach Burke for the Siena interest. I sure hope we can keep him, but if not, I am confident that JT III will replace him effectively.

As for agendas, I have none against Esh. My only "agenda" here was ferreting out unsubstantiated statements offered as fact (I know, pretty bad habit to get into on a message board) Mr. the _way, you apparently have substantiation, so my criticism and cheap shot were off base. Try as I did, however, I never located the article you referenced. I will read it if you want to IM it to me, but please accept my apology in the interim.

As for Esh, I actually defended him into March of his final year, up until he talked about the "99%ers" and being at GU for 30 years. Esh is probably best suited now for an academics-first institution on the East Coast, but wherever he lands I wish him success.