Miller: Iowa's PR Decisions Raise Questions

By my count, the only things Iowa has left to make the program look bad this year is, a steroids scandal and a pay for play scandal (which Iowa wouldn't get away with because they're not in the SEC)...and the way it seems to be going lately, my guess is we'll hear about them shortly after spring ball...say...mid June???
 
I think a bigger deal is being made out of this then needs to be. This can be used against iowa for recruiting. it may cause a few parents to pull their kids from iowa, and may cause a few to decommit. I think if announcers like the m and m boys on kxno don't lay off iowa and all their negative garbage they are spewing, they alone will hurt iowa recruting.

geez people it is almost signing day, can we lay off the negative stuff long enough to get these guys signed?
 
When (and why) did long time Director of Football operations Bill Dervich leave that position?
 
I think a bigger deal is being made out of this then needs to be. This can be used against iowa for recruiting. it may cause a few parents to pull their kids from iowa, and may cause a few to decommit. I think if announcers like the m and m boys on kxno don't lay off iowa and all their negative garbage they are spewing, they alone will hurt iowa recruting.

geez people it is almost signing day, can we lay off the negative stuff long enough to get these guys signed?

I do too, Joe. I mean, c'mon, we're just talking about 13 young men who had kidney issues bad enough to warrant hospitalization.....what's the big deal?!?! Obviously the more pressing issue is that we get a kick-a$$ recruiting class and hope that all this negativity doesn't ruin that!! :rolleyes:
 
I am disappointed in Jon's criticism of the news conf today. I fully support KF not being there. He needs to out on the recruting trail, no doubt putting out fires with them after this all broke yesterday. We have been told since this broke that these guys will be fine, and recover. If i was KF, if i heard that i would not have come back quickly either. But i would have made myself availabel e to parents players and recruits to answer any of their concerns via my cell phone. I think he did if we are to believe mr pologi. Not sure if i got the spelling right. He said he talked to hm 4-5 times, as well as doyle and and his position coaches. They being at the news conf only satifies the fans and the media, who are looking for anything to jump down iowa right over. I bet the parents are okay. lets ask them.
 
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When (and why) did long time Director of Football operations Bill Dervich leave that position?

When? 3 minutes before the press conference.

Why? Because they spent 2 minutes trying to talk him into staying, before the press conference...
 
I do too, Joe. I mean, c'mon, we're just talking about 13 young men who had kidney issues bad enough to warrant hospitalization.....what's the big deal?!?! Obviously the more pressing issue is that we get a kick-a$$ recruiting class and hope that all this negativity doesn't ruin that!! :rolleyes:

their kidneys are all working, and they are all going to recover. if anything else had been reported i would be on board with all the naysayers. BTW, i went thru a simlair thing with my wife last week in hawaii, and after being hospitalized for 3 days she responded well to treatment, and is now home. I guess this is why i feel the way i do.after talkimng to doctors, i never felt my wife was in any serious danger. it happens all the time. you just never here much about it unless it affects you or a loved one.
 
What can a doctor really say without being sued or losing his license? If you are expecting some detailed explanation stating who this happened to or how this happened then you aren't going to get it.
I think the frustration of this is that its just the culmination of fans getting tired of hearing about the most bizarre offseason in a long, long time. First Cheechjk and Chonginson, to the defection of Baby Daddy, to the questions of Norm and his health, and now this.
 
Thank you Jon. This is a measured and honest response that addreses an ongoing issue with the athletic department. They really do seem to be tone deaf when it comes to PR issues. This is not to say they did anything terribly wrong beyond PR. But the PR is bad.

As soon as the presser started I had a sinking feeling. If you weren't going to bring in the big guns, it would have probably been best just to do a Dr.'s statement and say the team was looking into the matter and they would do a presser when they had more answers.
 
By my count, the only things Iowa has left to make the program look bad this year is, a steroids scandal and a pay for play scandal (which Iowa wouldn't get away with because they're not in the SEC)...and the way it seems to be going lately, my guess is we'll hear about them shortly after spring ball...say...mid June???

Maybe a Heidi Fliess type sex for hire scandal thing to break out over summer school just before fall practices start. It keeps the real sports reporters and competing coaches off the scent of how strong [no pun meant] our team is really going to be this fall, so we can surprise everyone on the actual football field.

their kidneys are all working, and they are all going to recover. if anything else had been reported i would be on board with all the naysayers. BTW, i went thru a simlair thing with my wife last week in hawaii, and after being hospitalized for 3 days she responded well to treatment, and is now home. I guess this is why i feel the way i do.after talkimng to doctors, i never felt my wife was in any serious danger. it happens all the time. you just never here much about it unless it affects you or a loved one.

I understand exactly what you're saying. My father went through this very similarly last summer. The hospital said beyond the initial diagnosis, with him then being under supervised treatment, that he would essentially be fine, but that they had to monitor his kidneys for several days. It seemed odd at the time that they were keeping him there that long just to observe, so I guess sometimes these situations can go bad, but generally not. He was sore for a few weeks after that though (dreaded catheter/ and age). So here's to hoping that your wife is doing much better with each passing day.

Jon- I'm glad that others are glad that you questioned the poor handling of the press conference; I'm also personally glad that you did question it, because they should have waited until one of our figureheads was present. Either way, media got there PC, and possibly the same answers they would have received if held tomorrow. I truly do not think that a recruit or parent would change their verbal commitment based on this, and I don't think that those uncommitted will weigh into it that heavily. In those cases, we may never know.
 
Very well written summary of the situation by Jon Miller.

Absolutely no excuse to hold a press conference without Kirk Ferentz being there. He is the face of Iowa football, and when 13 players end up being hospitalized (whether it was a fluke or not), he needs to be at a press conference to calm things down.
 
Jon, was it Dennis Dodd or Gregg Doyel who wrote the scathing column? The Dodd piece I'm seeing is pretty straightforward about off-season workouts generally, not focusing on Iowa. Although perhaps I missed something else.
 
Thank you Jon. This is a measured and honest response that addreses an ongoing issue with the athletic department. They really do seem to be tone deaf when it comes to PR issues. This is not to say they did anything terribly wrong beyond PR. But the PR is bad.

As soon as the presser started I had a sinking feeling. If you weren't going to bring in the big guns, it would have probably been best just to do a Dr.'s statement and say the team was looking into the matter and they would do a presser when they had more answers.

spot on
 
As someone who has been thru Rhabdo myself the treatment is the most boring thing you can experience. Drinking and peeing and getting your pee tested and measured each time. Having been through it myself and with my son I can tell you that Coach F coming home would have been nothing but a PR move. He cares little about PR and neither do I.

I think this all goes along with the sensationalist media that has taken over journalism. If PR concerns are the biggest issue here color me unconcerned. PR flows and ebbs. hacks like Doyel and Perrault love these things and then next week they will find something else to freak out on.
 
I can tell you that Coach F coming home would have been nothing but a PR move. He cares little about PR and neither do I

Perception is reality.

Yes, Ferentz needed to be there because it's ALL ABOUT the PR at this point. And Iowa has failed in that regard.
 

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