Steve Patterson

[doc longhorn]

That is not my understanding.

I have no real baseline data to refute you, but if the BMD's WERE, in fact involved in the hiring of Patterson, who and how many amongst them did a 180 degrees against Luck to hire Patterson? And, if it were the BMD's that decided to ride the Patterson horse, they sure did another 180 degrees, if they are mad at him now. They just can't have it both ways.

This kind of pollyanna-ish behavior is exactly why I hope the BMD's stay the hell out of UT affairs and allow the administrative authority figure to do his job. Right now it appears the inmates are running the asylum and why monumental decisions look like a cluster....!

 

[J.B. TexasEx]

Well you can certainly say that Patterson is his own man.
We all wanted the culture & entitlement issues to cease at Texas, we just didn't expect it to start with BMD's that hire Patterson. Neither did they.

I like Charlie Strong. However, the BMD's thought they set Patterson up to hit a grand slam and they feel like he bunted when the bases were loaded.

I know for a fact that there are some BMD's that are in favor of the hiring Charlie Strong. I have been told that having a black coach to rival Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin on the recruiting trail was a big topic of discussion for some.

Personally I'm intrigued by this hire. Strong was not my first, second or even third choice but, as long as Strong takes advantage of the salaries Texas will offer for the assistants on his staff and he brings in some heavy hitters on the recruiting trail, I don't see why Strong and Texas will not be successful.

Get ready for ESPN to beat the race issue to death on Monday night's BCS coverage. Both Strong and Sumlin will be on the set. "How does it feel to be the first African-American coaches at the two largest public universities in Texas?"

I don't care if Strong is black or white. He may not be our #1 choice, but he's a damn good football coach. Time to stop second-guessing and get behind him and the new staff.

\m/

 

[JMagana]

Well you can certainly say that Patterson is his own man.
We all wanted the culture & entitlement issues to cease at Texas, we just didn't expect it to start with BMD's that hire Patterson. Neither did they.

I like Charlie Strong. However, the BMD's thought they set Patterson up to hit a grand slam and they feel like he bunted when the bases were loaded.

I know for a fact that there are some BMD's that are in favor of the hiring Charlie Strong. I have been told that having a black coach to rival Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin on the recruiting trail was a big topic of discussion for some.

Personally I'm intrigued by this hire. Strong was not my first, second or even third choice but, as long as Strong takes advantage of the salaries Texas will offer for the assistants on his staff and he brings in some heavy hitters on the recruiting trail, I don't see why Strong and Texas will not be successful.

No one said the only reason they liked him is because of his race. Not sure how you came to that conclusion?

Because it's Texas and even though we live in 2014 race issues will always be important to some. It is what it is! Glad Texas is Texas and we will take on a "Blue Collar" mentally going forward.

 

[JMagana]

You have not got the slightest clue what you are talking about. The "BMDs" are not a monolith. A large group of them had the courage and determination to finally stand up and insist on long overdue changes in the UT head coach and AD. Were it not for them, UT would be still limping along in the pathetic mediocrity of MBTF. They are worthy of gratitude from every true UT fan. They trusted Patterson to do a thorough search and use their and UT's resources to hire the best available head coach for UT. They are EXACTLY right to be disappointed that Patterson passed on much better alternatives than Charlie Strong. These people are all successful professionals and they clearly they misjudged Patterson's temperament, competence and professionalism. Patterson proved himself to be unworthy of their respect and confidence. That is the reality no matter how much you want to rant to the contrary.

You have to break a couple of eggs to make an omelette? Just saying... change isn't always easy. The guy is Texas guy let time be the real judge of his actions.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

I have no real baseline data to refute you, but if the BMD's WERE, in fact involved in the hiring of Patterson, who and how many amongst them did a 180 degrees against Luck to hire Patterson? And, if it were the BMD's that decided to ride the Patterson horse, they sure did another 180 degrees, if they are mad at him now. They just can't have it both ways.This kind of pollyanna-ish behavior is exactly why I hope the BMD's stay the hell out of UT affairs and allow the administrative authority figure to do his job. Right now it appears the inmates are running the asylum and why monumental decisions look like a cluster....!

It's not always that simple, though you're right, it should be. These BMDs send a lot of dinero UT's way, doing it regularly and also answering the call in time of special need. They expect a little return on investment in the way of influence.

In the case today, you had a UT president with little time remaining and while BMDs, who are always there, view this situation as one they need to help manipulate and assist the university in ways the university cannot, legally. The assumption by the BMDs in this case was that the stated goal was made clear to Patterson, trust was placed in that understanding, and Patterson was told to go make it happen. Things worked out much differently than the BMDs had expected. Results were quite different than the marching orders.

This is not a defense, merely how I understand it. McPhaul can probably offer more.

 

[pringlelake]

BMDs need to support the University and get out of the way of the Athletic Director. Total bull sh** talking about bunting with bases loaded. The more I see of Patterson, the more I like him.

 

[mamoka]

Steve Patterson was hired because he was, and is, good at what he does. What he does well is analyze talent based on the criteria expected and needed for the task he was hired to do. The criteria, expected by the University of Texas and grossly needed as well, was to find a head coach that ingrained hardness and toughness in his players, who coached the same way, that had a proven winning record, a solid resume, was and is respected among his peers, and who did not and would not "play" to rich alumni. Charlie Strong met that criteria and was hired accordingly. The color of his skin made no difference. Coach Strong is an outstanding hire and Steve Patterson did his job as he should have done so. I support both and I would hope all true Longhorns do the same.

 

[Hoekem]

I realize that Texas "should" be above hiring 3rd or 4th choice types, but it's a reality with timing and such (Mack and Powers really nut punched us all). Also the fact that the power players bicker and fight like a bunch of spoiled little children. Texas could have done a lot worse in a new HC. Change is what we demanded and as we all know, "be careful what you ask for". I believe it will surprise many how well this will work out.

Texas Strong Baby!!!! Who's with me?

Who said he was a 3rd/4th guy we wanted? That's nothing more than speculation, how do we know he wasn't 1st?

 

[hornonthe40]

How do BMDs hire athletic directors? The BMDs and their entitlement issues is what drove away the bigger candidates imo. No professional wants to work for an unprofessional company. I personally think Patterson is going to be one hell of an AD and Strong will get a great staff together and breath new life into this program.

 

[doc longhorn]

It's not always that simple, though you're right, it should be. These BMDs send a lot of dinero UT's way, doing it regularly and also answering the call in time of special need. They expect a little return on investment in the way of influence.
In the case today, you had a UT president with little time remaining and while BMDs, who are always there, view this situation as one they need to help manipulate and assist the university in ways the university cannot, legally. The assumption by the BMDs in this case was that the stated goal was made clear to Patterson, trust was placed in that understanding, and Patterson was told to go make it happen. Things worked out much differently than the BMDs had expected. Results were quite different than the marching orders.

This is not a defense, merely how I understand it. McPhaul can probably offer more.

I understand how the system works - the money brokers buy position and privilege within the company. It's BS, but that's how it works.

In the case of Patterson, however, I can only surmise it was a fractured bunch of self entitled money brokers that were trying to jockey for position. Actually, I can more than surmise, and you know the reason why - he hates this as well.

What I think has happened is there was a partial consensus of BMD's regarding Oliver Luck (the young bucks were uncomfortable with his pandering to the old guard). When Patterson showed a willingness to be ruthless in changing the culture of Bellmont, the younger BMD's were intrigued.

There were enough of them to override the remaining, entrenched BMD's and win the internal AD war.

I do believe that Patterson has had continuous pressure to succumb to the power brokers wishes, but he was hard headed enough to do it his way and Strong was his way. I'm sure this has mortally pissed off a few of the BMD's and a couple of regents as well. And this could very well be the death knell of Patterson in the future.

But I believe we have a couple of bad asses in place now and I will be very interested in seeing how this plays out.

The BMD's may have out smarted themselves.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

I understand how the system works - the money brokers buy position and privilege within the company. It's BS, but that's how it works.In the case of Patterson, however, I can only surmise it was a fractured bunch of self entitled money brokers that were trying to jockey for position. Actually, I can more than surmise, and you know the reason why - he hates this as well.

What I think has happened is there was a partial consensus of BMD's regarding Oliver Luck (the young bucks were uncomfortable with his pandering to the old guard). When Patterson showed a willingness to be ruthless in changing the culture of Bellmont, the younger BMD's were intrigued.

There were enough of them to override the remaining, entrenched BMD's and win the internal AD war.

I do believe that Patterson has had continuous pressure to succumb to the power brokers wishes, but he was hard headed enough to do it his way and Strong was his way. I'm sure this has mortally pissed off a few of the BMD's and a couple of regents as well. And this could very well be the death knell of Patterson in the future.

But I believe we have a couple of bad asses in place now and I will be very interested in seeing how this plays out.

The BMD's may have out smarted themselves.

Excellent post.

All Strong has to do is win. Everything else, BMDs included, takes care of itself after that. It solves a lot of problems.

Honestly though, this is the way it is at most major universities and to a small extent at smaller universities. My uncle was the first coach to hire Grant Teaff to a coaching staff and now has his name on the athletic complex, and he's dealt with that stuff from the 1950s through his retirement in the 80s.

 

[mesoHorny]

Well you can certainly say that Patterson is his own man.
We all wanted the culture & entitlement issues to cease at Texas, we just didn't expect it to start with BMD's that hire Patterson. Neither did they.

I like Charlie Strong. However, the BMD's thought they set Patterson up to hit a grand slam and they feel like he bunted when the bases were loaded.

I know for a fact that there are some BMD's that are in favor of the hiring Charlie Strong. I have been told that having a black coach to rival Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin on the recruiting trail was a big topic of discussion for some.

Personally I'm intrigued by this hire. Strong was not my first, second or even third choice but, as long as Strong takes advantage of the salaries Texas will offer for the assistants on his staff and he brings in some heavy hitters on the recruiting trail, I don't see why Strong and Texas will not be successful.

Interesting that many of the people who so support Augie Garrido didn't like Patterson bunting with the bases loaded.

 

[doc longhorn]

Excellent post.
All Strong has to do is win. Everything else, BMDs included, takes care of itself after that. It solves a lot of problems.

Honestly though, this is the way it is at most major universities and to a small extent at smaller universities. My uncle was the first coach to hire Grant Teaff to a coaching staff and now has his name on the athletic complex, and he's dealt with that stuff from the 1950s through his retirement in the 80s.

LOL - yeah, remember I grew up in Austin and played tackle football, in my front yard, with the neighborhood hoodlums and Alan Shivers,Jr. My dad worked in the state comptrollers office, so I was more than familiar with the machinations of politics - including UT. It's also why I knew how much power Lyndon Johnson and lady bird had. She was solely responsible for Austin not getting TV for 5 years after everyone else had it. She owned KVET and was against TV (for a reason no one knew) and had Lyndon block it for years. Something he threatened to the FCC we assumed.

But, I digress. I sorely wish we had gotten Saban, but the more I hear about Strong, the better I like him. And I have admitted, I knew nothing about him before.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

Interesting that many of the people who so support Augie Garrido didn't like Patterson bunting with the bases loaded.

Armadillo Slim to appear in 5, 4 3 2

 

[Sirhornsalot]

LOL - yeah, remember I grew up in Austin and played tackle football, in my front yard, with the neighborhood hoodlums and Alan Shivers,Jr. My dad worked in the state comptrollers office, so I was more than familiar with the machinations of politics - including UT. It's also why I knew how much power Lyndon Johnson and lady bird had. She was solely responsible for Austin not getting TV for 5 years after everyone else had it. She owned KVET and was against TV (for a reason no one knew) and had Lyndon block it for years. Something he threatened to the FCC we assumed.But, I digress. I sorely wish we had gotten Saban, but the more I hear about Strong, the better I like him. And I have admitted, I knew nothing about him before.

Agree, Saban broke my heart. But I've warmed up to Strong and am ready to move forward. It will be interesting as we'll get to see a 3-week window of recruiting that Strong and his new team are going to take on. I think we'll know soon what kind of recruiter we've got.

 

[Bandit]

I have purposely stayed away for hrs and hrs while I assimilated all this. First, I was all on in Saban and had my own contacts, in addition to the contacts on this board, that led me to believe that Saban was a real possibility. It didn't work out. It was tough. I freely admit it. But now we move on.

I have taken the day to learn about Strong. I have to admit my admiration for him grows with every article I can get my hands on. I am completely willing to give him time to change the culture and restore order in my universe. One that is tinted burnt orange. I really look forward to the staff he will build. I greatly look forward to the days remaining till signing day, then Spring practice, the Spring game, summer workouts, etc. I am also looking forward to him eliminating the entitled attitude within the program. I am fully expecting a glorious breath of fresh air.

Lastly, I have some inkling of what went on in the coach searches and there were mistakes made on many fronts. That is behind us now. Patterson can now move forward and hopefully fix the athletic department as it should be. Accountability has to be at the forefront of everything he does.

In summary, it's been a roller coaster and a gut punch all in one. I am now ready to embrace the hiring of Coach Strong. Thanks to this site for a wonderful ride and to a few special posters, thanks for your guidance and insight. It was greatly appreciated.