It has been a crazy day. As you can imagine, I've been on the phone, getting texts, etc. I've talked to people close to the situation at Vanderbilt, a beat writer in St. Louis and just got off the phone with a national writer.
It's still clear that the situation in St. Louis is being played close to the vest. There don't seem to be any leaks and I'm not sure if there will be. We may not know until St. Louis makes a hire.
I heard all kinds of things regarding Stallings and Vanderbilt today. I do know that his contract formerly had provisions where NCAA Tournaments gave him more years and more money, and there is one school of thought that his making the tournament may have triggered another round of that, making him more difficult to fire.
And this may be important. When I passed along what I passed along over the weekend--that I thought he was gone--I think everyone assumed at the time that they'd miss the tournament and there was little way he could stick around. So the conditions have perhaps changed a bit since I said what I said.
And if this is so: barely making the tournament and then putting on an embarrassing performance could be the perfect bad storm, where VU justifies keeping him and no one is happy. There's a poll at The Tennessean right now where 1,500 people voted and 80 percent came out wanting Kevin gone. I think they will have massive numbers of fans not renew season tickets if Kevin is back.
Right now, I don't have a great sense of what comes next. It's a bit quiet; that could mean that everyone is just waiting for Kevin to take the St. Louis job--and some people believe that Kevin initiated contact there as much as a month ago--and as I have said many times, this would be the best-case outcome for Vanderbilt and Kevin.
And honestly, if it's silence for that reason, then that's smart. As much as I know people want him gone, that's why it may be best to wait to see how that unfolds before anyone passes judgment.
But if St. Louis goes in another direction and Kevin is still the coach here, all I can say is that I wouldn't want to be David Williams. Unless there is a mitigating circumstance where it were somehow in Vanderbilt's best interest to keep Kevin--I can't think of any, but I always like to leave an out just in case there's something none of us conceived--it sends a terrible, terrible message to the fans about Vanderbilt and its commitment to athletics, what it is that really drives decisions there, and how much it values what its fans and its boosters think.
And if that happens, then obviously the spotlight has to turn on chancellor Nick Zeppos, too.
Anyway... stay tuned, obviously I will pass on what I can in a responsible manner. I know that's not much of a news update, but just wanted to share my thoughts before I get some sleep.
Thank you all again for your support of what we do.
It's still clear that the situation in St. Louis is being played close to the vest. There don't seem to be any leaks and I'm not sure if there will be. We may not know until St. Louis makes a hire.
I heard all kinds of things regarding Stallings and Vanderbilt today. I do know that his contract formerly had provisions where NCAA Tournaments gave him more years and more money, and there is one school of thought that his making the tournament may have triggered another round of that, making him more difficult to fire.
And this may be important. When I passed along what I passed along over the weekend--that I thought he was gone--I think everyone assumed at the time that they'd miss the tournament and there was little way he could stick around. So the conditions have perhaps changed a bit since I said what I said.
And if this is so: barely making the tournament and then putting on an embarrassing performance could be the perfect bad storm, where VU justifies keeping him and no one is happy. There's a poll at The Tennessean right now where 1,500 people voted and 80 percent came out wanting Kevin gone. I think they will have massive numbers of fans not renew season tickets if Kevin is back.
Right now, I don't have a great sense of what comes next. It's a bit quiet; that could mean that everyone is just waiting for Kevin to take the St. Louis job--and some people believe that Kevin initiated contact there as much as a month ago--and as I have said many times, this would be the best-case outcome for Vanderbilt and Kevin.
And honestly, if it's silence for that reason, then that's smart. As much as I know people want him gone, that's why it may be best to wait to see how that unfolds before anyone passes judgment.
But if St. Louis goes in another direction and Kevin is still the coach here, all I can say is that I wouldn't want to be David Williams. Unless there is a mitigating circumstance where it were somehow in Vanderbilt's best interest to keep Kevin--I can't think of any, but I always like to leave an out just in case there's something none of us conceived--it sends a terrible, terrible message to the fans about Vanderbilt and its commitment to athletics, what it is that really drives decisions there, and how much it values what its fans and its boosters think.
And if that happens, then obviously the spotlight has to turn on chancellor Nick Zeppos, too.
Anyway... stay tuned, obviously I will pass on what I can in a responsible manner. I know that's not much of a news update, but just wanted to share my thoughts before I get some sleep.
Thank you all again for your support of what we do.
