Searchbits V: Til Tuesday
STILL TRENDING HOWARD
We have a definite date for a Juwan Howard interview: Tuesday. The only other guy who had a definite interview date was Luke Yaklich, who was supposed to have one yesterday. We only found out about that because Yaklich interviewed at Texas and in the process of informing people about what's going on the Texas 24/7 mod said Yaklich's timeline was "interview for head job at Michigan, and then probably go to Texas."
It seems like LaVall Jordan is likely to interview as well, but both 24/7 and Rivals have mentioned Jordan's buyout as an issue. Those seem to be handy for coach retention. I prefer Howard to Jordan so I'm not too put out by that. The idea that Michigan would be put off by a buyout seems ludicrous. Maybe Jordan + buyout ranks below Howard + nothing, because that would give Michigan more ammo to retain assistants.
Providence's Ed Cooley and Texas's Shaka Smart remain the only other names being mentioned in any context. Both guys are on the fringes of the search, but Sam had an extensive update on Cooley this morning.
[After THE JUMP: more Howard]
HANDICAPPING THE TIMBERWOLVES JOB
The main remaining hurdle to Juwan Howard's availability is the Minnesota Timberwolves job, which he is one of four finalists for. It sounds like it'll be an upset it anyone other than current interim Ryan Saunders, though:
Even though Rosas is interviewing multiple people for the position, Saunders remains a strong candidate for the job.
Rosas will be in Chicago the next few days representing the Wolves at the draft lottery and combine, but a source said Rosas should make a decision on the head coaching position possibly by the end of the week or over the weekend.
Last week Rosas spent several hours over three days discussing the position with Saunders. Their discussions ranged from personnel to style of play, player development, building an assistant coaching staff and how to modernize the Wolves’ offense into an up-tempo efficient offense.
But their conversations haven’t just dealt with issues on the court. They have discussed the importance of communication, leadership and how best to succeed in the Minnesota market in collaboration with other aspects of the organization, the source said.
Saunders remains the favorite to get the job given the backing he has from the players in the locker room, owner Glen Taylor and much of the organization.
If the team and owner are in Saunders's corner and the new president of basketball operations, Rosas, is having extended conversations with him it's going to be near impossible for one interview to upset that apple cart. Aaand Woj:
Ryan Saunders and Minnesota are nearing agreement on a multi-year deal to make him the Timberwolves coach, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 20, 2019
STAN STANS FOR JUWAN
Stan Van Gundy is surveyed for his Howard opinion:
“Erik Spoelstra, all the people with the Heat, all the people who played there and are working there now, they speak really highly of him …his reputation was certainly one of being not only a really good player but a great professional who was a leader and led in the right direction."
Also, inevitably, other Fab Five members. Jimmy King:
"He's a great communicator,” King said. “He recruited me, Ray, Jalen and Chris and look what he's done. This would be 2.0, for a lack of a better term, for him to be able to recruit another prominent team and build a program." …
“High school, college and pro, he's the best guy. There are other guys out there but when it comes to relationships and the past here at the University of Michigan, Juwan Howard fits the bill.”
"And for those that don't know, he was always the adult in the room amongst us. You never saw Juwan Howard without a haircut, you've never seen him without a crease in his pants, you've never seen him undisciplined. And he was a technician out on the floor.”
That's a good point. Howard spent his first year in the NBA completing his degree, and after making nine digits in the league he immediately went to work for one of the most regimented regimes in the NBA. He seems to have the same sort of mentality that most coaches do. Most coaches were tryhards with brief playing careers, and while Howard was certainly not that for a big chunk of his NBA career when you're in the NBA for 19 years those last 6-10 are certainly tryhard time.
My guess on the NBA interviews is that the pros would be happy to see Juwan take the Michigan job and see how he fares as the head man. Once he proves his chops on scheme, game management, media relations, player relations, etc., they will feel a lot more comfortable about giving him the reins of a pro team. At this stage, I think we get Juwan and then hope for great success and a shot at keeping him past 3-4 years.
And lets say he does go to NBA 3 years from now...probably another "good" problem to have
Doing some reading on Howard, it sounds like he is the defensive specialist for the Heat. I know everyone is really caught up on keeping Yaklich (which seems reasonable) but I'm wondering if the better play if they do hire Howard would be to spend big on a college OC.
Strongly agree. Yak is a terrific coach but Juwan is Miami's defensive coordinator. The Heat have finished in the top-7 of the league during each of his four seasons running the defense. I would be comfortable letting Juwan do what he does best and have him spend the Yak Money on an OC.
Granted, I've never been a college athletic director, but I can't figure out why Warde needed to hire a search firm on this. It seems like that just delayed everything a week, and it might end up costing us a lot in recruiting.
We're not hiring a Director of Finance or a golf coach. We're hiring a men's basketball coach. He knows who the candidates are. He knows who we'd want to target. You'd think Warde would have had a list of candidates in his back pocket since last year.
We really needed a search firm to tell us that Juwan Howard, LaVall Jordan and Luke Yaklich would be candidates?
I know that search firms are valuable and necessary for some hires, but this one seems like just a huge waste of time.
Is this question serious? There have been COUNTLESS instances of hiring somebody for a coach and later finding out their background that was not suitable and had to rescind the job and/or have them resign in the first year.
A through background check is a given for such a public position.
I didn't say we shouldn't do a thorough background check. I said we didn't need to hire a search firm to tell us who the good candidates might be.
The reason for hiring a search firm is not just to figure out who the candidates are, it is mostly to vet the candidate to see if they are right fit for your firm. A thorough background review is the majority of that process.
The search firm was also responsible for vetting candidates. Also why wouldn’t you want to consider all potential options? While Howard would be a good get, there are other more experienced head coaches with good track records. A search firm can help you figure out who the options are and which of them are willing to leave for a new job opening.
It sounds like you have no idea what a search firm actually does, while you are railing against us hiring a search firm.
I have always assumed it has as much to do with vetting the candidates as finding them. It allows a third party to find out who is interested-- which, if done well, might save you from looking like you keep getting turned down.
I have always assumed these places examine each candidate as well, and it offers an external verification against your internal background check.
I have worked for a search firm that did have some AD as clients. Not only they do background check, but also they are the place potential candidates or their agents call to say they are interested. Some use the search firm to keep their interest confidential -- at least for a while. Also, we would check the financial constraints (e.g., buyouts and coach's contract with a shoe company, etc.) of potential candidates. Not every AD has the resources to do these things.
100% agree with this take. A search firm does one hell of a lot more than simply "search" for viable candidates with basketball coaching skills. As Massblue states, that might actually be the least valuable service they perform in the process.
Did you work for a search firm or for the UConn athletic department or both? I'm getting confused despite you mentioning your work experience in every thread.
I love what I continue to read about Howard. I'm still hesitant about the lack of actual recruiting experience. I can be patient with the coaching for a year or two. The recruiting has to pick up immediately or the roster will collapse faster than Coach B left.
Juwan is easily the most personable and down-to-earth athlete I've ever met. His personality, his NBA pedigree, and the fact that he's young enough to step out on the court and take recruits to school are all things that should be huge hits on the recruiting trail. I have no doubt he will be a fantastic recruiter, the only question is how good he'd be at evaluating talent.
All important qualities but so is a willingness to give up family time to get on a plane or get in the car and travel throughout the year. Watching HS games and schmoozing coaches and 15, 16, and 17 year olds. NBA season more of a grind but the overall coaching position may be tougher in college.
Juwan Howard always looked like a team Dad. Like, you kinda expected him to be taking 350 photos on his iPhone each game.
I am excited for Howard to come here. The more I read about the guy, I think he would kill it as a coach in the pros or College.
Amiee Mann for Team Mom!!
(Til Tuesday reference for the kids on the blog)
I wasn't too big on Howard at first. To go from a short career as a pro assistant to head coach at Michigan is a massive leap. Of course Jalen is going to stump for him, so I take some of that with a grain of salt, but Jalen is also a really bright guy and the "adult in the room" quote speaks volumes. Howard seems like a very low floor-high ceiling guy. I'm coming around on the idea of swinging for the fences with a guy who could be here 25 years if it works out.
It seems like LaVall Jordan is likely to interview as well, but both 24/7 and Rivals have mentioned Jordan's buyout as an issue. Those seem to be handy for coach retention. I prefer Howard to Jordan so I'm not too put out by that. The idea that Michigan would be put off by a buyout seems ludicrous.
Subtle shots at Warde here.
I mean, they weren't really subtle. I think they were actually the point. But ok...
(Still haven't seen anyone confirm that Beilein didn't have a buyout given his timeline, a disagree a bit that Michigan being put off by a buyout as crazy; if Jordan has a $10 mill buyout, they basically adds $2 million per year to a 5 year contract, and there is a significant difference in paying Jordan $4 million and $6 million).
exactly. if jordan has a $10mm buyout, i wouldn't consider him. it would be different if he took butler to the sweet 16 the past two years. get howard. period. then pay yak enough to stay, assuming JH wants him. i would think he would.
and if JH leaves in a couple years, yak would be a legit successor...or maybe even jordan by then.
Does Saddi get any love on this board? He was the lead assistant, and the remarkable job he did of developing Mo & Teske can’t go understated. Furthermore the job he did in bringing along Castleton to be a viable option by the end of the season was impressive too! Yak is damn good at what he does but Saddi shouldn’t be slept on.
You must not be looking that hard then.
ANN ARBOR -- John Beilein's newly extended contract with Michigan follows the athletic department's new model of buyouts.
Like Jim Harbaugh's contract for leading U-M football, no buyout exists if Beilein leaves the program before the end of his restructured six-year, $20.2 million contract.
On the flipside, should Michigan terminate Beilein over the next three years, it will pay a steep cost.
U-M announced Beilein's new deal -- a two-year contract extension through the 2020-21 season, along with a pay raise from $2.45 million annually to $3.37 million -- on Nov. 4. The contract was obtained Friday afternoon by MLive Media Group via the Freedom of Information Act.
Probably looking harder than you. That's his old contract. His bump last year was from $3.37 to $3.8.
And still no buyout if he leaves Michigan, which is the whole point of this discussion.
The new contract replaces a two-year extension Beilein signed in October 2015, one that was set to last through the 2020-21 season and pay him $3.37 million per season.
As noted, Beilein's salary and retirement contribution remain unchanged, while the buyout amount remains relatively low. If Michigan chooses to terminate Beilein without cause during the 2018-19 season, it will be required to pay him $3 million.
That amount drops to $2 million during the 2019-20 season, $1.5 million during the 2020-21 season, $1 million during the 2021-22 season and $500,000 during the 2022-23 season.
However, if Beilein decides to leave Michigan and gives "reasonable advance written notice," he will not owe the school anything.
I'm not going to split hairs on the definition of "reasonable advance written notice". Neither of us will find it so who cares, but there's a possibility that advance notice wouldn't have been met which implies there are buyout numbers in the contract.
So yes, he had a buyout. Maybe it didn't trigger (not sure how), or maybe it's being forgiven (that'd be dumb), but your bolded section ensures it was in there.
No, it wasn't. Unless you're claiming UM's "new model of buyouts" was all of a sudden scrapped for, uh, yeah I'm still waiting. Don't be ridiculous.
John Beilein's newly extended contract with Michigan follows the athletic department's new model of buyouts.
Like Jim Harbaugh's contract for leading U-M football, no buyout exists if Beilein leaves the program before the end of his restructured six-year, $20.2 million contract.
I just pointed out that you're looking at the wrong contract. Then you do it again, without a link, just so you can throw a bunch of bullshit against the wall and hope people buy it. If you were half as smart as you are determined to be an asshole, you probably wouldn't be so hated around here.
That was 2015. Warde Manuel didn't make that contract. Jim Hackett did. So this isn't a Manuel thing, it's a Michigan thing - started by your boy Hackett.
https://www.mlive.com/wolverines/2015/11/john_beilein_contract_extensio.html
And I'm the one being ridiculous.
What if Beilein said I'm only signing an extension with no buy out? Should Warde have fired him? Not signed an extension?
Exactly. In many fewer words.
Would not signing him to an extensions have changed anything?
Nope. The extension and raise without the buyout was perhaps justifiable as a reward for past services, but had no retentive purpose. Without a penalty if he left early, Beilein was a free agent even after he signed the contract. It just meant Michigan would have to pay him more if they fired him. It was like a perpetual one-sided opt out.
So you think beilein would have forgone a $1.1 million bump in pay and a contract extension because he didn't want a buyout? The depths people are going to defend this blunder are unreal.
It was $400k actually, and if that allowed him the flexibility to go get a 5-year NBA contract, then yeah. I think he would've passed on the extension.
$3.37 in '18-'19 + Cleveland year 1 salary
vs.
$3.8 in '18-'19 and $3.8 in '19-'20 + unlikely NBA opportunities for a 66 year old with a giant buyout who wants to coach in the NBA.
The depths people will go to blast Michigan sports are unreal.
The shots are unwarranted.
LaVall Jordan has done nothing as a head coach, but he was a hot name...who was able to go back to his alma mater. He needed Butler more than it needed him. Outside of Michigan, that was a DREAM opportunity for him.
Meanwhile, Butler needed to secure a young coach with an extremely high ceiling and limitless potential.
Miss me with that bullshit of Beilein not having a huge buyout. Jordan (and Smart's) situations are PERFECT for a buy-out. And if either came to Michigan...I would think that would also be a situation were we could put in a nice sized buy-out.
Jordan would be jumping from Butler to the B1G. Smart would be pretty much holding on to the last glimmer of shine to the hype around him from the VCU days. Neither is in a position to tell Michigan "no."
You know who WAS in a position to tell Michigan, no? John Fucking Beilein!!
...I'll ask Brian and anyone who agrees with him. Were you ready to let Beilein walk at the first opportunity because he wasn't going to sign a contract with a huge buyout? Hindsight is 20/20...it makes sense to say "no" to the buyout and try to keep John happy and pray like hell he'll stay loyal to you.
Beilein was not signing a contract with a huge buyout, period. So we roll with him until his contract expires or he leaves. Which likely would've been when he left.
Warde was is in a near no-win situation, he had no leverage. Just like Bama has no leverage over Saban. Clemson has no leverage over Swinney. Duke has no leverage over K. MSU has none over Izzo.
If ANY one of those men say "no" to a buyout...what AD in the world is going to be like "well, fine, no contract...you can leave when your deal is done." What leverage does an AD have over any of those coaches? ZERO. Beilein has been our Saban for the past 3 years. ESPECIALLY last year when he made it to the CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!!!
For fucksake, it's not that difficult to see why a buyout works for some and not for others. You think Yaklich or Saddi won't stay as a head coach for a $10M buyout? What leverage does he have if he wants to be a head coach at this level and at Michigan (right now)? None. Either would GLADLY take at $10M buyout if it meant they could be head coach. Shit, make it $20M.
This times a thousand. There are two parties in contract negotiations (which the pro-buyout crowd doesn't seem to get), and further, in situations like this the other party has much more leverage (if not all of it).
" Were you ready to let Beilein walk at the first opportunity because he wasn't going to sign a contract with a huge buyout? "
Did Beilein walk at the first opportunity anyway?
" Clemson has no leverage over Swinney "
Swinney has a $4 million buyout - $6 million if he leaves to become coach at Alabama.
Shhh people hate facts around here.
I remember this fact: you constantly called for Beilein to be fired, in post after post, and kept bitching about the fact that he made $3 million. And now you've done a 180 and are bitching that we "let him get away."
I get that you're a miserable person, but can you take it elsewhere?
Link?
Except that the buyout is specific to college head coaching roles. If he were to move to the NFL there is zero buyout.
(which, incidentally, is another reason the pro-buyout crowing is silly. they are most frequently targeted towards other college positions.)
How does this mean he has leverage?
Maybe he doesn't give a shit about a buyout because he's not leaving!
Use your fucking brain.
For whatever reason, I actually have no worries about Juwan's Xs and Os abilities. I am of the belief he will be able to X and O with the best of them.
My 2 wishes are that he can set his recruiting successes & performance with a floor of JB and ceiling of Penny, and that he brings along assistants that can develop players similarly to JB and his staffs.
I'm the opposite. I have no doubt that Juwan will be able to recruit at a very high level. I have no idea about his X's and O's abilities. Having a good staff can help alleviate either concern frankly which is why I think Juwan is the best candidate.
I think Yak is gone if Juwan gets the job. Internal candidates in any profession are more likely to bolt sooner than later after getting bypassed. Unless a money cannon is aimed at our assistants. Which would be nice.
ive thought this as well. unless you tell him youre grooming him to be a coach in waiting if Juwan wants to be in NBA in 4-5 years.
But that’s assuming Juwan wants to leave in 4-5 years
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