The Bobcat Nation

Any ideas why they're not hiring a permanent head coach this year? Is it because the pandemic isn't conducive to a coaching search and in person interviews? I feel like that can be worked around with phone interviews and Skype and whatnot, but I'm just curious to hear what you guys think

blueandgoldblitz wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 21, 2020 12:11 am

Any ideas why they're not hiring a permanent head coach this year? Is it because the pandemic isn't conducive to a coaching search and in person interviews? I feel like that can be worked around with phone interviews and Skype and whatnot, but I'm just curious to hear what you guys think

The Montana University System is currently under a hiring freeze due to the Coronavirus situation, so I don't think they had any choice but to hire an interim coach from within.

Makes it tough on recruiting! He’s got his work cut out for him. I’m sure the administration is aware of the challenges and won’t base his future candidacy on strictly wins and losses. They’re limiting their potential by focusing so much on Montana talent. There’s a big world out there unless his review is based on signing top Montana talent. It’s fair to say Shannon’s focus on just recruiting in Montana contributed to her downfall.

The radio voice for the lady griz is retiring.

https://406mtsports.com/college/big-sky ... 51a19.html

MSU01 wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 21, 2020 6:29 am

blueandgoldblitz wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 21, 2020 12:11 am

Any ideas why they're not hiring a permanent head coach this year? Is it because the pandemic isn't conducive to a coaching search and in person interviews? I feel like that can be worked around with phone interviews and Skype and whatnot, but I'm just curious to hear what you guys think

The Montana University System is currently under a hiring freeze due to the Coronavirus situation, so I don't think they had any choice but to hire an interim coach from within.

Can't believe I didn't know about that. Makes perfect sense then. Definitely not a great year to be looking for a new coach....

Bill Speltz article ...

https://406mtsports.com/college/big-sky ... 72538.html

imacat wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 22, 2020 4:05 pm

Bill Speltz article ...

https://406mtsports.com/college/big-sky ... 72538.html

Did I read that right? They have 6 returning players from this years roster, and two of them are Schweyens? They could end up with just 4 players if the Schweyens leave?

Cataholic wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 22, 2020 11:14 pm

imacat wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 22, 2020 4:05 pm

Bill Speltz article ...

https://406mtsports.com/college/big-sky ... 72538.html

Did I read that right? They have 6 returning players from this years roster, and two of them are Schweyens? They could end up with just 4 players if the Schweyens leave?

Just 4 returning players if the Schweyens leave. Plus the freshmen they have signed, which I think is four Montana girls. So they have at least 8-10 players.

Their online roster has not been updated, except for the coaching staff. And a very interesting side note — the menu box where the year of the roster to view can be chosen, has been cleared. No previous years’ rosters can be viewed, a definite impediment for recruits to tracking the major roster flux they’ve been experiencing. The Bobcats, by comparison, have rosters going back to 2009-2010 instantly available.

Bobcat4Ever wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 23, 2020 12:07 am

Cataholic wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 22, 2020 11:14 pm

imacat wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 22, 2020 4:05 pm

Bill Speltz article ...

https://406mtsports.com/college/big-sky ... 72538.html

Did I read that right? They have 6 returning players from this years roster, and two of them are Schweyens? They could end up with just 4 players if the Schweyens leave?

Just 4 returning players if the Schweyens leave. Plus the freshmen they have signed, which I think is four Montana girls. So they have at least 8-10 players.

Their online roster has not been updated, except for the coaching staff. And a very interesting side note — the menu box where the year of the roster to view can be chosen, has been cleared. No previous years’ rosters can be viewed, a definite impediment for recruits to tracking the major roster flux they’ve been experiencing. The Bobcats, by comparison, have rosters going back to 2009-2010 instantly available.

Wow. And their 4 incoming freshman did not have any other D1 offers. Hopefully they have not scheduled Carrol in the preseason next year. They might not win that contest.

For the first time since 1981 the Lady Griz have added a junior college transfer to their roster. Makes what Selvig was able to accomplish just a bit more legendary.

Bobcat4Ever wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 26, 2020 3:49 am

For the first time since 1981 the Lady Griz have added a junior college transfer to their roster. Makes what Selvig was able to accomplish just a bit more legendary.

That's crazy, especially at this level...

Fan support for Schweyen ...

https://406mtsports.com/college/big-sky ... 3b364.html

Over at Egriz, it seems to be a really polarizing topic that has torn apart the Athletics department. This following post from Brint Wahlberg was probably the most informative and really summarized the situation well. IHere is his post which encompasses 11 different points:


I'm "in" this group on facebook but not because I support the cause, more because I'm fascinated by the discussions.

As has been frequently pointed out here, her record on/off the court when it comes to games won/lost wasn't good. Her record with players actually graduating was even worse. Her record against the cats and in the tourney over 4 years was abysmal. That just doesn't cut it, especially for a program that honestly has the most lofty expectations in the conference.

The discussion on this page tends to circle around a group of topics.

1. Shannon is a Lady Griz legend with the most prestigious playing record of any female athlete in UM history.

2. Shannon is a wonderful friend and a great person to be around.

3. Shannon and Brian are great parents and long-time staples of the University of Montana.

I don't personally don't know the Schweyen's but I'd assume based on the flood of responses in there that they've built up a great group of supporters and these comments and discussions are all valid and make sense. However it doesn't have much at all to do with what's been happening with the team and her dismissal.

Then there's the following topics:

4. Transfers happen all the time and the new transfer portal is the root cause of all these issues as kids these days are more fickle and their parents are even more awful to deal with as they all demand the perfect treatment. A former LG player in one video posted in there said that players transferring were "immoral" but it seemed like at the time she was speaking more off the top of her head, I don't necessarily think she believes every player that has left the team is without morals.

5. The wave of injuries that hit the team the first few years should have been considered more heavily in this process and how is it Shannon's fault that she had to endure with 3 years of roster-devastating levels of injuries.

6. Kent Haslam entered into discussions with her to give her 2 more years but then pulled the rug out from under her later.

7. They also found posts and shared screen shots of a few posters on FB complaining about Shannon's job as a coach and discussed what the relevance of said people were to the program and if boosters were too influential to Kent in his decision making.

8. Shared articles and discussions, even from Shannon's husband, about the treatment of women as head coaches in college athletics.

9. Some very vocal anti-Haslam talk spurred by many, including previously fired soccer coach Mark Plakorus.

Obviously these are the main points of debate where the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Some good arguments, some not so good. The discussions around these points can be widely debated, this group generally leans to one side of these topics. A few have hopped in to provide counter-points but they generally get blasted off the face of the earth for doing so.

And then there's the really entertaining stuff:

10. A gofundme of $5000, loosely defined to be used to simply run ads in the paper, with lots of "likes" and "loves" but just $850 raised ($500 from one person) and so far what appears to be none from most of the really vocal people in there.

11. A wild array of discussions ranging from suggestion that she should be the next coach for Notre Dame, that she should immediately take Kent's job, that she should be the UM president, that everyone should cut off all funding to athletics and end/ruin the entire athletic department, or that everyone should hop on FB live events for campus recruitment that President Bodnar is hosting and demand her rehiring (group organizers nixed the last idea).

It's... quite a perspective to look at the whole thing.

OMG!
Lots of drama in Griz land!
I’m sure she’s a great person and obviously a great former player for the Griz! In fact ok to say she was the best player in Lady Griz history!
Bottom line is she didn’t perform as the head coach of their program. Selfishly, would’ve been great to have her back and to continue to sweep them every year. She’s not a great coach and had her chance to lead the program, but didn’t get it done. Her players didn’t want to be there and the culture was toxic. If she really loved her school and the program, she would accept the fact that her results didn’t meet expectations and wish the program well! I think the AD made the right move. If her ego would allow it, she should apply for the assistant position that just opened up at Montana State...... observe the Bobcat way of doing things and then take what she learns to her next opportunity. They say if you can’t beat them, join them! Unfortunately, her comments about the Athletic leadership at UM almost makes the chance of anyone hiring her In the future impossible. Sounds like her next move won’t be on a court, but in a courtroom.

Ilikecats wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 27, 2020 10:24 pm

OMG!
Lots of drama in Griz land!
I’m sure she’s a great person and obviously a great former player for the Griz! In fact ok to say she was the best player in Lady Griz history!
Bottom line is she didn’t perform as the head coach of their program. Selfishly, would’ve been great to have her back and to continue to sweep them every year. She’s not a great coach and had her chance to lead the program, but didn’t get it done. Her players didn’t want to be there and the culture was toxic. If she really loved her school and the program, she would accept the fact that her results didn’t meet expectations and wish the program well! I think the AD made the right move. If her ego would allow it, she should apply for the assistant position that just opened up at Montana State...... observe the Bobcat way of doing things and then take what she learns to her next opportunity. They say if you can’t beat them, join them! Unfortunately, her comments about the Athletic leadership at UM almost makes the chance of anyone hiring her In the future impossible. Sounds like her next move won’t be on a court, but in a courtroom.

You won’t believe this, but she is actually rumored to be hired to run the Women’s Leadership Institute at UM! She gets terminated for not being an effective leader, then is hired to run the leadership institute.

I found Brint Wahlberg’s summary to be very interesting. A few points that I keep thinking about:

1. When Haslam changed his mind in the three-week interval between allegedly talking about an extension and the termination, that about-face had nothing to do with the W/L record. That was a known at both ends of the timeframe. Something else (he gives hints about the roster) totally changed his mind.

2. Haslam references the high player turnover rate and says “Well, anyone can find that on the Internet.” Maybe so, but UM isn’t going to make it easy. They’ve removed all previous rosters from the official team website. I remember looking at them not long ago.

3. The injuries in the first two years are constantly brought up as an excuse for losing, but they may hint at a reason for the termination instead. When an absolute boatload of injuries are followed by a bunch of defections, including two players turning down an additional year of eligibility, it must raise questions about the levels of physicality of strength and conditioning and practices. Over-worked bodies get injured. (Anyone remember Tracey Sheehan’s termination at MSU?)

4. Clearly something has really broken between the coach/coaches and the team. The performance was not there, but there were perhaps no firm expectations so that was not the trigger. Something else turned up (player exit interviews?) in that three week window. Shannon is burning bridges. I think we’ll see this in court. (Anyone remember Robin Potera’s termination at MSU?)

It’s truly a shame, but the longer this goes on it just poisons the water further down the stream.

Shannon wasn't fired/terminated, she was told she would not be getting a new contract when the current one expired. It may end up in court, but I don't think um has much risk.

rivercat wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 28, 2020 7:28 am

Shannon wasn't fired/terminated, she was told she would not be getting a new contract when the current one expired. It may end up in court, but I don't think um has much risk.

I think the fact that this was a decision to not offer a new contract rather than a mid-contract firing would play a major role here in terms of the legal options for Shannon. There seems to be a lot of talk about this supposed statement from Haslam after the season ended that he was going to give her another two years, but I have no basis to speculate on what the legal implications of that could be, if there are any.

Either way, this is reminding me more and more of the situation with MSU and Robin Potera, which ended up in a lawsuit that took six years after her termination to come to a conclusion. It's a mess and getting messier with each day - even if there's no legal action taken, there certainly appear to have been many bridges burned and a lot of angry people out there.

Disclaimer: I do not follow um athletics closely. I am observing this process from an outsider perspective.

That said, it would be hard to see how Kent Haslam could have handled the public relations aspect of this situation any poorer. In making any controversial decision it is important to get out in front and control the narrative. Instead, the news was broken by Schweyen. Haslam remained silent for three weeks.

It is also important to recognize the accomplishments of the fired coach and to publicly thank her for the work she put in. Haslam did not do this. In the zoom conference, where he officially broke the news, it took reporter prompting to get Haslam to say anything positive about Schweyen.

He had ample opportunity to prepare an opening statement that may have begun a healing process but chose not to do so. I know if I was a Schweyen fan, the news conference would have done nothing but inflame my anger.