Mitch deserves credit for this.....

[Terry Blue]

OK, I know some won't give him credit for anything, but with about a dozen or so BCS openings now, was Mitch the only one to release his coach early and get a head start on the search process? This could pay dividents because I think most if not all those mentioned in conjunction with our opening will get consideration for other jobs also.

[catmanjack]

To me he was about a year late in letting Joker go and if not for the emence fan pressure he would have kept him another year.
The UK fans are the ones that deserve the credit for showing Mitch that football does matter and having a bad product is not what they want to pay for.

[Terry Blue]

OK, there you go again. Tom Leach just mentioned same thing as I did

[catmanjack]

It was a good move but the move was forced.

Most everyone that deals with UK on a day to day basis or gets their checks from UK will not say anything out of the order what those comments should be expected.

[Terry Blue]

OK, Mitch was going to bring back Joker after a 2-10 season, LOL. These same people who "forced" Mitch to make the move are also "forcing" him to hire Petrino. Makes perfect sense, c'mon people get into reality

[Catonahottinroof]

The same AD is skilled and tactful with the media and fan relations, fundraising.....right...

Get into reality Terry. Regardless of who he hires he's damaged UK's brand to the fans. Nothing short of an SEC football title is going to fix the fissure he's created in the fan base.

He gets credit for spotting MacIntyre and hopefully inking him before The Cal Bears do.

[catmanjack]

I for one can't wait til he does hire his coach so we do not have to get into daily discussions about the AD anymore.
He is average in a lot of peoples eyes and great in others.
He probably is the best UK has had but look at Hagen and Newton not a lot to compare there both had UK on probation.
Mitch would never smell an AD job at any other SEC schools.

[LakeCat]

OK, I know some won't give him credit for anything, but with about a dozen or so BCS openings now, was Mitch the only one to release his coach early and get a head start on the search process? This could pay dividents because I think most if not all those mentioned in conjunction with our opening will get consideration for other jobs also.

TB you post something at least everday singing MB praises, then act hurt and disgusted when the overwhelming majority of posters differ with you. I have accumulated a fair number of UK die hard friends over the years and I can tell you not a single one of them will cry crocodile tears when MB is gone. I give him zero credit because he should have been let Joker go no later than the Arky game and better at the end of last year. Purdue and NCSTAte let their coaches go after the season, DESPITE BOTH COACHES GOING 7-5 and bowl bound. Please someone with cmputer skills start a poll on whether MB merits another year.

[KSRBEvans]

I like Tom but you're not going to get an objective view from him in this situation. He's a paid spokesman.

1. Mitch waited too long to pull the trigger. He should've done it after last season, or earlier in this season.

2. We have no way of knowing whether he "got a head start" or not. Unlike other ADs, he's not sharing any info on what the process is or who is involved in the decision-making, and we have no way of knowing whether he's conducting the search competently. We're left to speculate. And given the poor decisions he's made in the past on hiring coaches for the revenue programs, he should not be inviting speculation.

[jazyd]

Terry, he was forced into it by 50,000 fans now showing up for Vandy and by a coach being pitiful. Other coach's that have been fired over the last few days actually had either a winning record, break even record or had a chance to get there over the last few weeks. Joker had no chance to achieve any of that. Purdue fired a coach that has them going to a bowl game. Some AD's evidently feel their program deserves better than 6-6, Mictch would have been happy to bring back Joker and his words the last week pretty much prove it when he talks of Jokers class, the great foundation Joker has established....a losing record over 3 years that go worse each year including his last of 2 wins and none in conference, that kind of foundation I just fixed in my house t the tune of $18,000....and on and on about how great Joker is. Had attendance not fallen as badly as it had, Joker would still be the coach next year, only because it would be 'fair'

The fans spoke Terry, Mitch fired his best friend in order to hopefully for him to keep his job, but the only 'fan' who doesn't seem to understand it is you.

OK, Mitch was going to bring back Joker after a 2-10 season, LOL. These same people who "forced" Mitch to make the move are also "forcing" him to hire Petrino. Makes perfect sense, c'mon people get into reality

[Terry Blue]

You don't fire a UK alum after one or two years. I've posted this before but in all SEC football history only two coaches have been fired with less than 3 years on the job. Look at all these openings, don't think anyone has been in the job less than 2 years. You have to give a coach at least 3 years and whoeve we hire will be here a minimum of 3-4 years. As far as Mitch goes, I know very few people outside message board posters who don't think he's done a great job overall. Just mentioned to one the other day that many on these forums don't like him, his reply, "Are you crazy, we just won the NCAA championship"

[Thedonnie123]

OK, I know some won't give him credit for anything, but with about a dozen or so BCS openings now, was Mitch the only one to release his coach early and get a head start on the search process? This could pay dividents because I think most if not all those mentioned in conjunction with our opening will get consideration for other jobs also.

Trollolololololo.

[KSRBEvans]

Shame on me for getting sucked in.

[catmanjack]

Was Mitch the coach. And that was a straight up comment about basketball.
What does winning a national championship have to do with an AD being good or bad.
There are average to bad coaches that win championships see Auburn.

You don't fire a UK alum after one or two years. I've posted this before but in all SEC football history only two coaches have been fired with less than 3 years on the job. Look at all these openings, don't think anyone has been in the job less than 2 years. You have to give a coach at least 3 years and whoeve we hire will be here a minimum of 3-4 years. As far as Mitch goes, I know very few people outside message board posters who don't think he's done a great job overall. Just mentioned to one the other day that many on these forums don't like him, his reply, "Are you crazy, we just won the NCAA championship"

[Terminus]

I assumed from the thread title I'd see that MB had finally managed to find his a$$ with both hands, but apparently that was not the case. ;-)

[BarristerCat]

Trollolololololo.

Exactly. Terry is a troll. He posts something pro-Barnhart in a way that leaves it wide open for attack, and then replies to legitimate posts attacking his position with snide put-downs and other holier-than-thou drivel. Then when he gets called to the carpet on that he tries to play the role of the wounded poster who was personally attacked for merely posting an unpopular opinion. Lather, rinse, repeat.

[jazyd]

Then Terry, I say you don't know many people.

You only give coach's a min of 3 years if they take on a bad program, Joker took on a good winning bowl going program and managed in 3 years to destroy it to the point he won 2 games, one being against Samford. 19,000 butts in the seats for a SEC game. Destroyed by Vandy two years in a row. Beaten by WKU at home. Shut out twice this year.

Anyone who thinks MB has done a good or great job as an AD in the SEC is a paid employee of some kind or an idiot.

You don't fire a UK alum after one or two years. I've posted this before but in all SEC football history only two coaches have been fired with less than 3 years on the job. Look at all these openings, don't think anyone has been in the job less than 2 years. You have to give a coach at least 3 years and whoeve we hire will be here a minimum of 3-4 years. As far as Mitch goes, I know very few people outside message board posters who don't think he's done a great job overall. Just mentioned to one the other day that many on these forums don't like him, his reply, "Are you crazy, we just won the NCAA championship"

[anderwt]

Your loyalty to Jared Carter, Joker Phillips and Mitch is kind of getting tiresome....there is a guy by the Name of jim26 who basically ran me off of CI cause of his annoying post and blatant topic baiting...

Terry you would be doing this board a big service by posting no more on MB..

Thanks

[dan_bgblue]

I've posted this before but in all SEC football history only two coaches have been fired with less than 3 years on the job.

Most ADs in the SEC do a pretty good job hiring coaches which means the generally are on the job more than 2 or 3 years.. What does that have to do with what has happened at UK?

[BigBlueBrock]

I can't believe the mods let you get away with such obvious bait posting.

[Doc]

Mitch has done some things that he should get positive credit for such as the Mitchell hire for women's basketball, the advancement of some "other" sports like tennis, etc... but getting rid of Joker with 2 games left isn't of one them. Its negated by the fact he hired him.

[CitizenBBN]

I like Tom but you're not going to get an objective view from him in this situation. He's a paid spokesman.

1. Mitch waited too long to pull the trigger. He should've done it after last season, or earlier in this season.

2. We have no way of knowing whether he "got a head start" or not. Unlike other ADs, he's not sharing any info on what the process is or who is involved in the decision-making, and we have no way of knowing whether he's conducting the search competently. We're left to speculate. And given the poor decisions he's made in the past on hiring coaches for the revenue programs, he should not be inviting speculation.

+1

[CitizenBBN]

I can't believe the mods let you get away with such obvious bait posting.

Probably needs to be discussed, but for my part it's so transparent I don't know if it's so much baiting or wiffle balls.

[Catfan73]

I for one can't wait til he does hire his coach so we do not have to get into daily discussions about the AD anymore.
He is average in a lot of peoples eyes and great in others.
He probably is the best UK has had but look at Hagen and Newton not a lot to compare there both had UK on probation.
Mitch would never smell an AD job at any other SEC schools.

So they'll hire his assistants but they would never hire Mitch himself?

[suncat05]

It'll be a good hire if the new football coach succeeds. It'll be business as usual if the next Kentucky football coach does not succeed. I am not going to place any bets either way, but if something within the UKAA, the UK admin, and the UK AD does not change, then we'll be doing all of this again in 3 or 4 years. JMHO. Yours may differ.

[Badinage]

No way UK could have fired Joker after last season. It would have been a PR nightmare, made hiring the next guy more difficult than it already is, and would have been a bigger payout. Mitch handled the firing of Joker a fine manner. Firing Joker after last season would have been ridiculous. Shame on me for getting sucked into the Mitch-Bash.

[Badinage]

And, good for Mitch for not "sharing." As if the fans or media could help the hiring process. That is another hard to fathom belief circulating among the masses. Head shaking.

[SalsaKat]

What Doc said. Mitch deserves credit for a lot of great things. Firing Joker early is not one of them.