At what point does this fall on Barta?
- Thread starter iahawk20
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ShadasRevenge
Well-Known Member
It doesn't.
PeoriaHWKI
Well-Known Member
football program looks good
Interesting considering he is the man that hired him. I really need to get into your mindset where accountability appears to be non existent. Maybe it is the large corporation and management side of me, but if I hire an employee that fails miserably it certainly falls on me if I fail to act appropriately and not address the situation.
tubahawk
Well-Known Member
Have to disagree (surprise, surprise
)I don't find any fault with the original decision to hire Lickliter. It wasn't an overwhelming breath of excitement, but I think the rationale was solid and coach’s credentials were worthy.
I like the philosophy (I don't mean the system) Lickliter brought with him. I think Lickliter (much like the football philosophy) has the right idea to recruit (for the most part) middle of the road D1 talent and make the sum greater than the parts. It was a very realistic (and on the football side) proven strategy for Iowa.
I do think this is on Barta starting next year. After the defections at the end of last season we knew this season was going to be rough. After living it out, it was rougher than I expected it to be.
After a season like this any AD is going to assess the situation and decide what is best way to get this program back to a "successful" level. Given the history of Lickliter's tenure, at this point, I think the burden of proof is on Lickliter to show Barta this team will be improved next season. I don't think this team has progressed enough to earn Lickliter the benefit of the doubt.
By keeping the status quo, Barta is essence saying Lickliter has convinced him things will turn around next year. If it doesn't this is on Barta. If things do turn around Barta also get credit for being the genius that saw what many of us fans didn't see. Either way if Lickliter is here next year, for me it's on Barta.
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DesMoinesHawki
Well-Known Member
If Barta continues to look the other way and ignore the elephant in the corner of the room, then this does go beyond Lick and people will start looking at Barta ... This problem is not going away .. Lick is not going to succeed at Iowa ... The odds are against him ... Barta can't ignore the fans ... The fans will be around much longer than either Barta or Lick ...
FreddyBrown
Moderator
In the real world outside of Iowa City, athletic directors do get axed for making bad hires in major sports and not being able to fix it.
In Iowa City of the 21st century, I'm not sure they do. If we had a wartime consiglieri at the helm, Barta might follow Lick out the door within a year.
If the hemmorhaging of fan support, income and program standing (though that reservoir is pretty much dry already) is allowed to continue for seven years, I don't know that there will be anyone left to notice what becomes of Barta.
In Iowa City of the 21st century, I'm not sure they do. If we had a wartime consiglieri at the helm, Barta might follow Lick out the door within a year.
If the hemmorhaging of fan support, income and program standing (though that reservoir is pretty much dry already) is allowed to continue for seven years, I don't know that there will be anyone left to notice what becomes of Barta.
Spot on.
ShadasRevenge
Well-Known Member
So you're saying Barta shouldn't/doesn't deserve an opportunity to fix the problem if Lickliter doesn't work out?
ShadasRevenge
Well-Known Member
If Lickliter doesn't work out, Barta will have the opportunity to hire another coach, and that second hire better work out.
Outside of Peterson getting the ax at Nebraska, I can't recall an AD getting fired because he made a bad hire.
Of course it falls on you, but I'd be willing to be that you're not going to get the ax because you made a bad personnel decision.
tubahawk
Well-Known Member
I think the rub is more, when does the problem get fixed? If Barta waits 7 years (assuming the program stays at it's current level), he didn't fix anything, it resolved itself.
I would not want to be in Barta's shoes at the end of this year. He's got a tough call ahead of him.
ShadasRevenge
Well-Known Member
Why does everyone here assume that those two things are a given? The "problem" won't get "fixed" until the end of next year at the earliest.
tweeterhawk
Well-Known Member
It's already on Barta. He has a decision to make. The longer he procrastinates, the worse it becomes for him.
He's compounding his first mistake with a second.
The W's and L's are not the issue, it seems to me (although they're certainly important and reflective of the program.) I think the bigger issue is the numbers -- the lack of fan support night in and night out, the big drop in concession sales, the total lethargy that is being shown to the MBB.
He has to address that now. It's not enough to wait to see what next year brings. We already have a pretty good sense of what next year's going to look like.
If he doesn't step up, he should be the first one out the door, followed by Todd Lickliter.
He's compounding his first mistake with a second.
The W's and L's are not the issue, it seems to me (although they're certainly important and reflective of the program.) I think the bigger issue is the numbers -- the lack of fan support night in and night out, the big drop in concession sales, the total lethargy that is being shown to the MBB.
He has to address that now. It's not enough to wait to see what next year brings. We already have a pretty good sense of what next year's going to look like.
If he doesn't step up, he should be the first one out the door, followed by Todd Lickliter.
hawkeye12345
Well-Known Member
Why do people equate Gary Barta and the football program when discussing hiring / firing of Lick? Gary Barta DID NOT hire Ferentz.
I am sure that Barta gets one mulligan,if he handles it properly from here on out.
If we have another non-winning season next year, he has to be decisive and ruthless. And he has to have a Plan B all ready to roll.
His approach to hiring Lick was flawed,imo. Going with a search firm for a huge hire like this just looks like a way to spread the blame or cover his butt...if lick flames out,he has to identify a dynamic choice and pursue them like the OK AD did with Bob Stoops.
If he dawdles, and retains lick beyond reason, and the spiral continues, his job needs to be at stake. I doubt he will go that route tho...AD's whole job is testing the booster/fans tempature,and if he ignores it for too long...not smart.
But, hiring an AD is not easy so I think he gets this one mulligan.
If we have another non-winning season next year, he has to be decisive and ruthless. And he has to have a Plan B all ready to roll.
His approach to hiring Lick was flawed,imo. Going with a search firm for a huge hire like this just looks like a way to spread the blame or cover his butt...if lick flames out,he has to identify a dynamic choice and pursue them like the OK AD did with Bob Stoops.
If he dawdles, and retains lick beyond reason, and the spiral continues, his job needs to be at stake. I doubt he will go that route tho...AD's whole job is testing the booster/fans tempature,and if he ignores it for too long...not smart.
But, hiring an AD is not easy so I think he gets this one mulligan.
1977Hawkeye
Well-Known Member
Good point. It's not rocket science to come in and support the existing coach who has given us one of the most successful decades of Hawkeye football that we've ever seen. I guess that's one thing Bob Bowlsby ended up getting right, whether it was by accident or if he knew what he was doing when he hired Kirk Ferentz instead of Bob Stoops.
In my opinion, this situation is already "on" Barta. He hired Lickliter and gave him the 7-year contract. This is his hire. If when you say "when is this on Barta" you mean, when will he lose his job over it, then I'm not so sure. I would think he could possibly get himself in hot water eventually if the attendance issues continue for another couple of years and he does not make a change, but I have no idea who decides Barta's fate and what that person or people are thinking about the whole deal. At present, I would make a guess that Barta's job is not in jeopardy, but who knows.
talkinhawks
Well-Known Member
I still think Lickliter can be a successful coach but he needs help recruiting. I am not that close to the program so I could be wrong, but I never hear anything good recruiting wise about any of his assistants. Never. Even over at ISU they have one assistant who has ties in the Chicago area and helped bring in Chris Colvin and has been working on Chasson Randle.
I think Barta needs to request Lickliter make some changes to his staff. I'm not sure contract wise if that is a possibility, but I think that's what needs to be done.
The best thing Alford ever did was bring in Craig Neal and that is still working out very well for him.
Iowa has a pretty good class next year coming in, but if you think about it, they are all guys who wanted to play for Iowa "no matter what". These weren't kids that had to be recruited hard by the coaching staff. It was more of a show up and make an offer and they will accept it type of deal.
I think Barta needs to request Lickliter make some changes to his staff. I'm not sure contract wise if that is a possibility, but I think that's what needs to be done.
The best thing Alford ever did was bring in Craig Neal and that is still working out very well for him.
Iowa has a pretty good class next year coming in, but if you think about it, they are all guys who wanted to play for Iowa "no matter what". These weren't kids that had to be recruited hard by the coaching staff. It was more of a show up and make an offer and they will accept it type of deal.
