BK stays at ND

[PraetorianND]

Originally Posted by Ironman8
Jake Brown ‏@Jake_Brown

Friend just texted me that #NotreDame AD Jack Swarbrick and DC Bob Diaco are having lunch near campus. To be a fly on the wall...

What restaurant? Is it a really public place like in Jerry McGuire? Or is it something more low key where they can talk about the relationship issues? Come on man! MORE INFO!!!!

Also, what did they order? I bet Diaco just ordered 4 chicken breasts and water (no lemon).

 

[chicago51]

Jake Brown ‏@Jake_Brown

That could mean couple different things.

Could be having lunch to discuss a Diaco raise and multi year deal as DC due to results of an agreement leveraged by BK.

OR

It could be BK is leaving and Jack and Diaco are talking about what the heck to do when that happens.

Not to mention it could be they are just having lunch.

 

[IrishLion]

Was going to post the tweet about Swarbick/Diaco meeting for lunch, but got beat. I don't know why I even sign on to try haha.

However, it could mean nothing, it could mean everything.

Maybe they're talking about the assistant $ and some recruiting things while BK is out of town.

Maybe they're talking about BK being gone to the NFL and seeing if Diaco is ready to be the leader.

 

[arrowryan]

Jake Brown ‏@Jake_Brown

Where you at JimmyMac!!??

 

[wizards8507]

"Sour"

Forget the kid's name from a couple years back that all he did besides play football was smoke weed and have sex and tweeted about it...think it might have been one of Urban's...but he always said "sour" and when I read your post that is what popped in my head

Along those lines, Michigan State had a running back maybe four years ago who went to Sparty after being declared academically ineligble for THE Ohio State University.

Oof.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Will he though? He'll want the raise, for sure, but he's jumped from team to team pretty quickly in the past and he's also expressed at least some interest in the NFL. He doesn't seem like an "I'll be here for 10 years if you'll have me" kind of guy.

That's how coaching works. It's tournament style advancement; you either move up or get fired most of the time. There are a few destination jobs where you can stay put and enjoy a higher quality of life (ND being one of them), which is a big reason BK would be a fool to leave. There are no such jobs in the NFL.

Also, like you said, actually getting offered the Eagles job is somewhere around a 10% chance so to me that takes away credibility from this being a particularly effective bargaining chip. "I have a job offer from the Eagles" would make ND open up the checkbook but "Me and eight other guys talked to the Eagles on the phone" doesn't seem like it would put much fire under anyone's buns.

I assume it would be more along the lines of, "I'm getting NFL interest. I'll start seriously interviewing if I don't get X, Y, and Z." Not quite as effective, but still good enough.

 

[Domina Nostra]

Was going to post the tweet about Swarbick/Diaco meeting for lunch, but got beat. I don't know why I even sign on to try haha.

However, it could mean nothing, it could mean everything.

Maybe they're talking about the assistant $ and some recruiting things while BK is out of town.

Maybe they're talking about BK being gone to the NFL and seeing if Diaco is ready to be the leader.

The positive is that if it were bad news, he probably would not be doing it out in public. Perhaps ironing out how the defense staff should split the additional cash?

 

[Emcee77]

When there was smoke about DGB committing elsewhere people got really crazy and angry. Others told them they were being ridiculous and that there was nothing to worry about. I was one of those people. Ever since he committed to Houston I promised that I would never question anyone who got nervous about "bad" news no matter how many insiders or experts told them not to worry. People cope with things differently. I don't think they need to be characterized as throwing nutties or anything like that. Just my 2 cents

Interesting comparison. The key is just to be logical and adjust your level of agitation to a) what you know, b) how strong your inferences are based on what you know, and c) what is just rumor/conjecture/speculation or based on it. I think there were worrying signs with DGb, and I agree people were willfully blind to them. But that doesn't mean you need to be overly credulous of bad news either. Just see what the links in the chain of logic are and test each one. Usually when you do that, you realize that you don't really know anything yet, and you find it hard to get worked up. That's how I tend to approach rumors of bad news.

 

[yankeeND]

I love the standards that ND has set in place but as a fan I look at it this way, if you are an athlete and aren't the greatest student all we ask is once here you go to class and are passing. I truly believe once here the kid can be molded into a great student to go along with his great talent. I do however think that you go case by case and don't just admit any and everyone with no intentions of fulfilling their commitments in the classroom. I also think that this will in turn be a more 3 and out student that is comming in just looking to jump to the pros. I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing.

 

[HawaiianIrish]

Haha! Now that is the kind of post that makes me nervous!

OH damn!!!!

Jack: Bob nice hair

DIACO: Thanks boss

Jack: So you interesting in becoming the next head coach at Notre Dame??

DIACO: Do you even lift Bro???

 

[Booslum31]

Jake Brown ‏@Jake_Brown

Good to know someboy is talking to somebody! I think that this is a good thing that Swarbrick and Diaco are thought to be having lunch together.

 

[chicago51]

If an extension along with raises for assistants is announced today, this thread is going to look really odd sitting in the archives in a couple years. People absolutely threw nutties about this, racking up literally thousands of posts in a couple of days, about what looks to ultimately be a pretty run-of-the-mill contract negotiation with no apparent impact on the football program.

It has been crazy on here thats for sure.

Upset the establish order and everything becomes chaos.

 

[jimmymac]

Where you at JimmyMac!!??

Haha we don't go back til Sunday.

 

[FearTheBeard]

OH damn!!!!

Jack: Bob nice hair

DIACO: Thanks boss

Jack: So you interesting in becoming the next head coach at Notre Dame??

DIACO: You lift Bro???

Diaco is the man and the jokes on here about him are hilarious but what's up with the "Do you lift bro?" I never understood where that came from

 

[gkIrish]

Interesting comparison. The key is just to be logical and adjust your level of agitation to what you know, how strong your inferences are based on what you know, and what is just rumor/conjecture/speculation. I think there were worrying signs with DGb, and I agree people were willfully blind to them. But that doesn't mean you need to be overly credulous of bad news either. Just see what the links in the chain of logic are and test each one. Usually when you do that, you realize that you don't really know anything yet, and you find it hard to get worked up. That's how I tend to approach rumors of bad news.

Good points. I do think there are worrying signs here too, though. Personally I don't think Kelly is going anywhere (this year) but I think people have every right to question all of this and be as worried as they want to be. And heck, when he is our coach next year everyone can make fun of themselves and breathe a sigh of relief. I just don't think anyone needs to be called out for freaking out.

 

[Domina Nostra]

OH damn!!!!

Jack: Bob nice hair

DIACO: Thanks boss

Jack: So you interesting in becoming the next head coach at Notre Dame??

DIACO: You lift Bro???

More like:

Jack: So you interesting in becoming the next head coach at Notre Dame??

DIACO: At No-tra Dame?[/QUOTE]

Jack: Yeah, here. Notre Dame.

DIACO: I assumed as much but its essential in our endeavours not to presume the obvoius.

Jack: Is it now? Well, what do you think?

DIACO: I think thoughts about competing in those tasks before me. I think about what it will take so that I can look in the mirror at the end of the day with compassion and honor. I think about loving my players, myself, my university.

Jack: Hmmm, have you seen Chuck around?

 

[ThePiombino]

Diaco is the man and the jokes on here about him are hilarious but what's up with the "Do you lift bro?" I never understood where that came from

It's a reference to when he went to visit AA at school. Since it involves AA, I don't care to get any deeper. I'm sure someone else will.

 

[IrishLax]

Will he though? He'll want the raise, for sure, but he's jumped from team to team pretty quickly in the past and he's also expressed at least some interest in the NFL. He doesn't seem like an "I'll be here for 10 years if you'll have me" kind of guy.

Doesn't mater. In coaching, you always want guaranteed money and years. It really has nothing to do with desires/intentions... it's a volatile business, and if someone is offering top tier money for a bunch of years you take it. If you get fired, you still get paid and can look elsewhere. And it gives you long term leverage... if you're sitting in year #2 of a 10 year deal and they're on the hook for $40mil more you can go into your boss's office and say "I WANT XYZ!" and they have to listen because they still owe you $40mil. If you're in year #2 of a 2 year deal they can tell you to go screw yourself.

If you really don't think you want to stay, then you have a reduced buyout clause for leaving for another job such that another team is willing to pay it (i.e. the team poaching you only pays $2mil of your $5mil a year). That's pretty typical.

Also, like you said, actually getting offered the Eagles job is somewhere around a 10% chance so to me that takes away credibility from this being a particularly effective bargaining chip. "I have a job offer from the Eagles" would make ND open up the checkbook but "Me and eight other guys talked to the Eagles on the phone" doesn't seem like it would put much fire under anyone's buns.

Oh, absolutely. It's far less potent than having a big *** offer in hand, but it's wayyyyy better than no leverage at all. Saying "look, I'm willing to entertain offers from NFL teams and they have interest in me as evidenced by this interview and I've had other teams contact me too... but I'd really like to stay here." + having a "reported" second interview setup after his vacation to add a sense of urgency is a FAR better position to be in than "so I had a really good season... out of the goodness of your heart can I have a raise? Oh, and a raise for my assistants? And these changes?"

And honestly sometimes going so far as to get an offer in hand is dangerous brinkmanship if you don't actually want to leave... if you say "give me XYZ or else!" and they tell you to go pound salt... you basically have to take the offer.

 

[chicago51]

For those point out how Kelly as switched jobs very quickly. I would like to point out he did stay at GVS for 13 years. So the man is capable of sticking around at a place for a while as well.

 

[wizards8507]

Doesn't mater. In coaching, you always want guaranteed money and years. It really has nothing to do with desires/intentions... it's a volatile business, and if someone is offering top tier money for a bunch of years you take it. If you get fired, you still get paid and can look elsewhere. And it gives you long term leverage... if you're sitting in year #2 of a 10 year deal and they're on the hook for $40mil more you can go into your boss's office and say "I WANT XYZ!" and they have to listen because they still owe you $40mil. If you're in year #2 of a 2 year deal they can tell you to go screw yourself.

If you really don't think you want to stay, then you have a reduced buyout clause for leaving for another job such that another team is willing to pay it (i.e. the team poaching you only pays $2mil of your $5mil a year). That's pretty typical.



Oh, absolutely. It's far less potent than having a big *** offer in hand, but it's wayyyyy better than no leverage at all. Saying "look, I'm willing to entertain offers from NFL teams and they have interest in me as evidenced by this interview and I've had other teams contact me too... but I'd really like to stay here." + having a "reported" second interview setup after his vacation to add a sense of urgency is a FAR better position to be in than "so I had a really good season... out of the goodness of your heart can I have a raise? Oh, and a raise for my assistants? And these changes?"

And honestly sometimes going so far as to get an offer in hand is dangerous brinkmanship if you don't actually want to leave... if you say "give me XYZ or else!" and they tell you to go pound salt... you basically have to take the offer.

But if the BoT is as set in their ways as it seems, I really don't see a made up interview as anything that's going to pursuade them even a little bit. I'm also sure that there are some egos behind closed doors that won't take kindly to what they percieve as being taken for fools.

Another thing that doesn't jive... BK's agent is said to be the one to have leaked this story, yes? Well BK's agent wants his client to make tons of money and get a big fat paycheck, but what does BK's agent care about assistant coaches' salaries and/or whether ND builds a video board that blocks out Touchdown Jesus?

 

[FLDomer]

For those point out how Kelly as switched jobs very quickly. I would like to point out he did stay at GVS for 13 years. So the man is capable of sticking around at a place for a while as well.

You don't job hop at the D2 level and it takes longer to get recognized by larger schools at that level.

 

[Domina Nostra]

Well BK's agent wants his client to make tons of money and get a big fat paycheck, but what does BK's agent care about assistant coaches' salaries and/or whether ND builds a video board that blocks out Touchdown Jesus?

First off, he works for BK. He is paid to get him what he wants in the negotiation. Second, BK doesn't want to watch the Jumbotron, he thinks its part of building a dominant program. Winning inevitably means more money for everyone, raises, bonuses, endorsments, etc.

You don't job hop at the D2 level and it takes longer to get recognized by larger schools at that level.

And you don't compare ND with UC, E. Michigan, or GVS, even if--in your despair--you have convinced yourself otherwise.

Saban is 100% mercenary. He is staying at Alabama because it is the best gig for him. You think UC could ever have given him a similar set-up? A few colleges can offer something comparable to the NFL, but not many.

 

[wizards8507]

First off, he works for BK. He is paid to get him what he wants in the negotiation. Second, BK doesn't want to watch the Jumbotron, he thinks its part of building a dominant program. Winning inevitably means more money for everyone.

So does letting Nike design stupid friggin' uniforms for you every week.

Or joining a conference.

Or lining the stadium with ads.

Or renaming the stadium "1st Source Bank Stadium at Notre Dame".

See what I mean?

 

[Whiskeyjack]

But if the BoT is as set in their ways as it seems, I really don't see a made up interview as anything that's going to pursuade them even a little bit. I'm also sure that there are some egos behind closed doors that won't take kindly to what they percieve as being taken for fools.

As mentioned previously, this manufactured crisis may have been as much about generating a sense of urgency as gaining leverage. The BoT at ND is extremely conservative, and may have been willing to make small concessions going forward if BK continued being successful. Now, BK and Swarbrick may be able to wrest a significant amount of control over the program from them all at once.

Another thing that doesn't jive... BK's agent is said to be the one to have leaked this story, yes? Well BK's agent wants his client to make tons of money and get a big fat paycheck, but what does BK's agent care about assistant coaches' salaries and/or whether ND builds a video board that blocks out Touchdown Jesus?

Do you think Saban's agent is happy? BK wants to build here what Saban has built at 'Bama. If he's successful, Trace Armstrong makes bank; probably a lot more than he would bouncing back and forth between the NFL and CFB over the next decade.

 

[IrishLax]

But if the BoT is as set in their ways as it seems, I really don't see a made up interview as anything that's going to pursuade them even a little bit. I'm also sure that there are some egos behind closed doors that won't take kindly to what they percieve as being taken for fools.

Another thing that doesn't jive... BK's agent is said to be the one to have leaked this story, yes? Well BK's agent wants his client to make tons of money and get a big fat paycheck, but what does BK's agent care about assistant coaches' salaries and/or whether ND builds a video board that blocks out Touchdown Jesus?

For lots of reasons. One thing you hear repeatedly from guys who've worked at ND recently is that they don't pay assistants enough to retain them. Staff turnover makes the head coach's job / winning MUCH harder. That's why BK would care. Do you think he wants to lose Diaco to USC if USC will pay him 2x or 3x as much as he was paid at ND? Monte Kiffin literally made that much more money than Diaco. Same thing applies to guys like Alford.... Tosh is making $500k a year at WASHINGTON just because he recruits well. A HC is only as good as his staff.

For other things you listed (i.e. programmatic changes unrelated to $$) Kelly's agent work for Kelly and if he wants these things then the agent will push for them. It's really that simple. Who knows what Kelly actually wants? I don't. And we'll probably never find out.

I think it's important to realize that agents simply reflect the interests of his client. There is no independent agenda here for said agent and he only works directly in his client's best interest (and you better believe every move he makes has BK's approval... or if it doesn't, he's probably going to be fired). So if BK cares about these things then the agent cares about these things. That's his job.

 

[wizards8507]

I think it's important to realize that agents simply reflect the interests of his client. There is no independent agenda here for said agent and he only works directly in his client's best interest (and you better believe every move he makes has BK's approval... or if it doesn't, he's probably going to be fired). So if BK cares about these things then the agent cares about these things. That's his job.

C'mon. That's a bit naive. Sure that's how it's supposed to work but an agent is just out to get paid like everyone else.

The agent's motivation would be to get something signed for as big a number as possible, presuming he's paid on some sort of commission basis.

His secondary (maybe primary) motivation will be to attract new clients who will sign their own big contracts making the agent even more. The agent will get the most publicity (and therefore the most new clients) if he brings BK an NFL contract with slightly less publicity if he lands Kelly a fat ND contract. Nobody is going to hire him if his selling point is that he convinced ND to let BK build a new weight room.

 

[DANsanity15]

Should we be happy Diaco and Swarbrick are at lunch or?....

 

[IrishLax]

C'mon. That's a bit naive. Sure that's how it's supposed to work but an agent is just out to get paid like everyone else.

..............

Seriously? Yes, the agent cares the most (just like a car salesman or real estate broker or anyone who works on commission) about getting paid. Duh. That's his endgame.

AT THE SAME TIME, if you don't work in your client's best interest with regard to basically everything YOU GET FIRED. Agent's do SO much more than just negotiate contracts to make $$. Go read any article/book on Drew Rosenhaus and his day-to-day (or really any agent).

Agents spend the majority of their time doing all kinds of stuff completely unrelared to where the money actually comes from... all kinds of irrelevant stuff from scoring drugs to walking dogs to getting basketball tickets for their client's cousin. In this case, all of the aforementioned conditions in the previous post are DIRECTLY related to BK's ability to succeed as the coach at ND. If he says "I want XYZ in the contract" or "I want all of my assistants getting paid top dollar" then his agent will go to war for those conditions. Why? Because if he fails to deliver HE WILL GET FIRED. It's really not a complex concept.

 

[IrishLion]

Should we be happy Diaco and Swarbrick are at lunch or?....

Quiet, the men are having a debate.

 

[Irish Houstonian]

C'mon. That's a bit naive. Sure that's how it's supposed to work but an agent is just out to get paid like everyone else.

The agent's motivation would be to get something signed for as big a number as possible, presuming he's paid on some sort of commission basis.

His secondary (maybe primary) motivation will be to attract new clients who will sign their own big contracts making the agent even more. The agent will get the most publicity (and therefore the most new clients) if he brings BK an NFL contract with slightly less publicity if he lands Kelly a fat ND contract. Nobody is going to hire him if his selling point is that he convinced ND to let BK build a new weight room.

Agents rep clients' interests, whatever they may be. The ones that don't aren't agents for very long, and certainly don't get high profile clientele.

Everyone likes money, but to say the agent will overrule Kelly's wishes -- or can even steer the discussion away from what the parties want -- is way too cynical and unrealistic.