Fans and alumni of most universities worry - in the sports context - about won-loss records and recruiting. Media gaffes aren’t really on the radar screen.
Not so NC State alumni, who endure a seemingly unending cascade of embarrassing press about their alma mater. Some of this press is reactive, such as the bumbling search for a basketball coach that caused nationwide media catcalls. Some of it is UNC-related bias, or outright hatred for NC State (such as that of the pestilential weasel Gregg Doyel).
Much of this bad press, though, comes from NC State representatives shooting themselves and the university in their metaphorical feet. Fact is, I don’t know of any major university with an institutional propensity for media bungling equivalent to NC State’s.
First, there was Chuck Amato and his comments about the mighty Akron Zips using non-qualifying players, akin to Custer complaining that the Indians “didn’t fight fair.” Then, following another embarrassing UNC loss, Sports Information Director Anabelle Myers (she of the gallant non-response to the absurd Chris Paul “chant” fiction last year) took the subject of Amato’s job status – pretty much the only relevant topic – off the table at a press conference in a manner making the school look both secretive and clumsy.
Naturally, Athletic Director Lee Fowler’s gift for foot-mouth copulation has produced a treasure trove of bad press during the current coaching search. Fowler outdid himself, and that’s saying something, with his public pining for the departed Herb Sendek, his depiction of “the Internet” as the biggest general challenge to NC State athletics, and his claim that Sendek departed because fan conduct affected “the security of [Sendek’s] family.” Well done, Mr. Fowler.
But with every cloud comes a silver lining. Here, it was that the usual suspects were either (a) gone, like Amato, or (b) in Fowler’s case, had probably reached their limit for media buffoonery and public relations damage (or, at least, we hope). Fans and alumni could breath easy and, at the church of their choice, pray that professionals were running the ball on the coaching search.
Enter Jim King.
Who, you ask, is Jim King? He’s a member of the Wolfpack Club Board of Directors. And in circumstances which (most would realize) call for some measure of public discretion, Mr. King decided to start talking. Talking to the Technician, in fact.
And boy howdy, did Mr. King talk. First, he issued comments that seem almost tailor-made to alienate the only head coach apparently involved in the coaching search, Navy’s Paul Johnson:
Paul Johnson’s a fine football coach. But the only thing I don’t like about him is that he has a specific type of offense which I think would be limiting to recruiting at a Division-I school like State. Eighty-five percent of what Navy runs are running plays. It’s a very specific, set offense and would be considered by recruits as boring. They don’t throw the ball very much. You have to have a balance between passing and running to be successful against great defenses at Division-I schools these days. I would not be in favor of him and it doesn’t have anything to do with his personality. I just don’t like the style of offense he runs.
But Mr. King, having blithely assumed that Johnson was incapable of adjusting his offense according to his personnel, wasn’t done. After telling Technician that State “ought to hire a guy who’s an existing head coach and not an assistant” (a comment with which, incidentally, I agree), King proved that he had absolutely no idea what he’s talking about by confessing that, well, he really couldn’t think of a head coach whom State might go after: “I really don’t know any specific names, but there are a lot of Division-I coaches who have good track records. I can’t name any off the top of my head that’s got the experience.”
King then finished up with a comment that was less than supportive of a certain student athlete, and son of a longtime (and non-embarassing) friend and supporter of NC State: “I don’t believe our current quarterback will be our starting quarterback next year, but we’re going to have a pretty good football team next year whoever comes in.”
Good God.
Memo to Mr. King: In a situation where even Lee Fowler knows to say, “no comment,” do you think that clearly uninformed speculation about coaching candidates (to say nothing of his simply classless comment about Daniel Evans) might have been, say, ill-advised? True, King made clear that all of this was his personal opinion, not the Wolfpack Club’s or that of the university. However, this statement ignores what would seem to be the obvious fact that Technician contacted him (assuming it wasn’t the other way around) because he is a member of the Wolfpack Club Board of Trustees, and for no other reason. Truly, King should have more sense than to run his mouth like this in a time when official (or officially connected) representatives of the school should speak with both a unified voice (if at all) and some measure of discretion. King’s comments violated both of those rather basic principles.
Some reading this might respond: if that is the case, smart guy, how is it that you feel free to point out Fowler’s gaffes at every opportunity? The answer is absurdly simple: For one, I’m not officially (or unofficially) connected with the school, its department of athletics, or the Wolfpack Club in any fashion other than my degree on the wall and a small Wolfpack Club donation. Lee Fowler and Jim King are a wholly different kettle of fish. Second, when I see representatives of my school acting in a manifestly foolish fashion, as again in the case of Lee Fowler and Jim King, I feel it appropriate to add even my own tiny voice to what’s hopefully a broad-based, if unpublicized, sentiment. Which is: for heaven’s sake, gentlemen. Shut up.
The coaching search gaffe’s were bad enough.
However, the unforgivable occurs when a fat cat board member throws Daniel Evans under the bus. Yeah, he had some mistakes this year. But the kid was solely responsible for giving us any reason to hope this year. Not to mention the kid’s character. If he said that about a troublemaker that is one thing.
Without Daniel, the BC and FSU games probably do not happen, and most of the losses probably are beyond the 1 TD point differential.
The Evans comment was unbelievable.
bobby.purcell@wolfpackclub.com
The more I think on this the more I think Wolfpack Club members need to tell Mr. Purcell that this is NOT acceptable.
I have emailed Mr. Purcell and demanded a public apology from Mr. King concerning his comments regarding Daniel Evans. It should not stop with an apology either, but his retraction should inlcude a glowing endorsement of Daniel. (Btw… My name is Dan, but I’m not Daniel Evans….)
why does Doyel hate NCSU?
^ God knows. It’s obvious, though.
Why is it so hard for these guys to not comment when we’re in these situations? At the beginning of the search there should be a clear and firm communication that no one speaks to the press. Then be unsupportive of Danial Evans like that? There is no excuse.
Its a good thing NC State doesn’t have stock or market valuations to worry about. With representatives like this it’d be worthless.
Do you have a link to the article?
We have our AD and Board of Trustees speaking to the media as though they are kicking back at a local pub shooting the breeze. Let’s make sure we alienate a couple more candidates before we even get our interviews in full swing.
^^ Because a Wolfpack fan either beat him up or took his woman while he was in Charlotte.
King needs to be thrown under a bus…or at least someone needs to duct tape his mouth shut. What a buffoon.
It sure looks like we are a Big Pack of wolves running around scrapping with each other and the press…but regardless it has been pretty quiet with only David Glenn sharing some ideas. I kind of like the quiet and think…wow, how much quieter it would be if Fowler and King would keep their mouths shut…It would be PRICELESS. Go Pack!
Clearly, this is why the internet is the bane of NCSU athletics. Were it not for you crazy bloggers, this story would reach only a handful of people who actually read the Technician. Once again, the internet has been used to expose the buffoonery of those who pull the strings within NCSU athletics, and you all should be ashamed for reading, writing, and spreading such tripe.
Can’t you just all understand, if you didn’t keep up with how dumb our Athletic Department and it’s support network are, no one would know except them, gah. That’s what’s causing our athletics so much problems, not incompetence, but exposure of that incompetence. Keep up the good work SFN, obviously you care about NCSU so much you require people who know how to do their job, good luck on that.
http://media.www.technicianonline.com/media/storage/paper848/news/2006/12/05/Sports/Qa.With.The.Wolfpack.Clubs.Jim.King-2522024.shtml?sourcedomain=www.technicianonline.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com
I think the following has now become necessary.
NCSU Official Policy regarding media interaction:
“No NCSU employee or person associated with the university not named “sidney Lowe” will utter any words other than “no” followed by “comment”.
Addendum to said NCSU media interaction policy:
“Lee Fowler will not be allowed within 25 feet of either a microphone, camera or telephone (if said phone is connected to any media member).
Addendum to the Addendum to said NCSU media interaction policy:
Lee Fowler wil be forced to purchase a new closetful of clothes from a company that does not use polyester and shave off the hillbilly mustache.
I think silence is better than the idiotic drivel spewing forth now.
GOOD LORD !!!! …. Granted, my interest is solely from the “somebody oughta write a book” angle, but to quote the bandit bard, Butch Cassidy … “WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE!”
The “Paul Johnson offense” remark would be expected from a bozo loonie but not from a scarecrow with a brain. It makes as much sense as if he had said “NC State SHOULD hire Johnson cause he comes from Tommy Burleson’s home town.” …. tell Bobby P to cash this guy’s checks then hand him a ball of twine and lock him in a closet until this is over for you guys.
Even our ever-quotable “Mo The Mouth” Koury (aka Donnan’s sugar daddy) doesn’t gaff this bad. As for the Daniel Evans remark … show it to Tank Tyler and give him Mr King’s home address.
Hang in there guys … it could still all work out OK … ya gotta believe!
BobLee
“That’s what’s causing our athletics so much problems, not incompetence, but exposure of that incompetence.”
Yeah, because sweeping things under the rug will definitely make everything all better in the long run. We’d be bigger buffoons by turning a blind eye and letting incompetence run rampant. Good call.
why does Doyel hate NCSU?
———————–
Because a Wolfpack fan either beat him up or took his woman while he was in Charlotte.
It looks like someone remembered Doyel’s Complaint:
http://www.statefansnation.com/index.php/archives/2006/05/13/gregg-doyels-complaint/
My less humorous take on the idiot Doyel:
http://www.statefansnation.com/index.php/archives/2006/04/12/red-or-white/
That’s exactly the reason I started writing these columns. I am sick to death of these dummies calling the shots at NC State, and I am equally sick of the consquences of that.
Test4eko…I agree…no point in sweeping anything under the rug…as for the “Crazy Blogers” comment from ncsumatman…get a life and stop participating in the very Blog you can’t stand unless you agree with the comments…how you say, Hypocrite. Cardiff Giant…keep the columns coming and could not agree more!
This whole episode just reinforces the need for new leadership in the Athletics Department. I know this is not directly the fault of the AD. However, when the leader sets a media hungry example, those around him follow. Can you imagine Jed trying to correct this behavior? “Hey Pot! Its me kettle!”
Its time for some fresh air in that office.
This is off topic, but I couldn’t find a place for it. This being reported by ESPN:
Johnson, who has guided the Midshipmen to an unprecedented four consecutive bowl games, has spoken with Wolfpack athletics director Lee Fowler and Chuck Neinas, the coach head-hunter hired by the school to help identify fired coach Chuck Amato’s successor, the source said.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2687000
So is it official that Neinas is the search firm we went with?
People, I know that you can’t type tones and inflections, but the SARCASM of my post I thought was self-evident. Those of you who thought I was serious should consider sending your resume to NCSU, care of the Athletics Department, they may have a position for you.
^^ Sounds like you already did
Ouch, witty retort.
^^ Hey just a litte SARCASM
I actually have no problem with him making those comments about Johnson….primarily because I think he is partially right. The answer came to a direct question: “How would you feel about Paul Johnson at Navy?” Perhaps Mr. King should have had a little more class, but I will never criticize someone for saying what they believe to be the truth. I think it was worded in a manner that let the reader know that it was just Mr. King’s personal opinion. I think everyone knows by now that there are some people who like Johnson and there are some that dont. Of course he also took a shot at Jimbo Fisher and Chow because they are not head coaches. He was honest and offended everyone.
I do however have a problem with him speaking about a current player on the team. It makes no difference that it is Daniel Evans, who is a bright kid with more character in his little finger than most of us have in our entire body. Mr. King is NOT a coach. There should NEVER be any negative comments about existing players on any team by anyone other than that teams coach. Period.
Interesting comment from the linked article:
“A former offensive coordinator at Hawaii and Navy, Johnson has earned a reputation of an offensive guru, running a pass-happy spread formation with the Rainbows and triple-option running attack with the Midshipmen. Navy led the country in rushing in three of the last four seasons.”
Read the part about Hawaii, Mr. King. You know, where Don Ho lives?
Running Wolf, I know you are, but what am I? Seriously, don’t be embarrassed you didn’t get my post.
Guess it’s easy to see why NCSU athletics has been mired in over 20 years of mediocrity! Hiring Lowe was obviously a mistake - it deviates unnaturally from the trend. Can I turn in my sheep skin and get my money back!
“People, I know that you can’t type tones and inflections, but the SARCASM of my post I thought was self-evident. Those of you who thought I was serious should consider sending your resume to NCSU, care of the Athletics Department, they may have a position for you.”
Don’t quit your day job to go applying for those AD jobs or we’ll be even more screwed!!!
Sorry, I was just being sarcastic.
ahhhh, you people are borderline retarded.
^ Hey now we have a great sarcastic example…Thanks test4eko
Why don’t you guys man up to settling this with a “slapfight”?
Was that Sarcasm…??
Actually, if we just rope off “sarcasm” for the rest of this thread, I think a slap fight won’t be necessary.
I agree…btw/ anyone have any idea who some of the other high profile HC prospects are…?
I keep hearing former GB HC Mike Sherman’s name sprinkled around, although I think he may get another stab at a pro gig, which means he’s less than an ideal candidate.
I hope King’s opinions are not in any way a litmus for the prevailing winds within the WPC.
I agree with King that Evans isn’t our guy for next season. I love Evans’ character and we need more kids on the team like him , but he’s not a good QB. If he doesn’t complete that pass against BC it’s not even an issue.
My issue with King’s statement is that as a representative of the university, he is revealed as an uninformed idiot. Paul Johnson’s offense at Navy is geared towards the type of players he recruits — guys that will be in the Persian Gulf after college rather than NFL combines. And he’s WINNING at Navy. He’s coached one of the greatest I-AA RBs at Ga. Southern (Adrian Peterson) and he ran a spread, pass-first offense at Hawaii.
This guy can’t name a qualified candidate off the top of his head and I’m supposed to have faith in our administration’s search for a new coach?
Forget the Evans comment; I’m more concerned the people representing us are damned fools.
^ Good post. My column might have been better via more succinct if I’d merely said, “Jim King is a damned fool,” because that is how he appears with his comments.
partialqualifier, you nailed it , I have no problem with the comments about Johnson. I feel the same way. I don’t want the “safe” and conserative choice. My expectations for the Pack are very high and I’m believe we need someone other than Johnson to get us there.
Personally I think this is a tempest in a teapot. Mr King is not on the search committee. He was asked a question. He spoke his mind. As he went on to say that the seach team would decide that.
Now — if I was PJ and read that — which I probably wouldn’t — would not think. “How dare they. Just for that I’n not coming.” Really. Cmon. The interview and selection process is among a select team. They will make the decision to offer or not offer. If PJ had read this and was made the offer his thoughts would probably be to convice the naysayers he was for real. That’s part of being a sucessful coach.
There’s no way to put a gag order on everyone on the Board. Like everywhere else there are multiple side to every issue (as you can see from SFN bloggers) and you have a writer looking for controversy (which is what pays their salaries).
Mr King should have known better but it isn’t major crime. Probablty more explains the intent of the writer (who shall remain nameless) to put down NCSU.
While it might have been a slight to say Danny Evan is “toast” we do have Justin Burke, Harrison Beck in the house and a potential Va star coming. Daniel is a nice kid but the odds on him being QB are as good as us winning the Confernece title next year. He knows that. His feelings won’t be hurt. He’ll just try to prove Mr King was wrong. That’s what makes a sucessful person — in life — but not always football.
In closing. I gave up a long time ago “living and dying “with the Wolfpack. I’m a loyal supporter, give my money, do what I can, but thinking that everything is going to be perfect all the time. Well — I’ve never seen it.
I’ve seen good ups — seen bad downs. We all need to enjoy the ups and endure the downs. But don’t blow our gaskets everytime some one screws up. We’ll all live longer.
Edited, as I misunderstood Bo’s post, for which I apologize - Cardiff
I agree with everything Mr. King said. He probably shouldn’t have said it, but it’s not like what he says is going to influence Fowler’s decision anyway. And about Evans, he had one good drive in the BC game and a decent game against FSU and that’s all he did all year. Remember he was 2-7 as a starter (Stone was 6-3 and Jay Davis was 7-9). I thank him for those two wins, but if he’s the QB next year then we won’t be any better regardless of who the coach is.
^ Dave, that is the point, really - whether the comments are true or not, this was not the time to make them - and you especially don’t hack on a current player.
Whether you agree or disagree with his comments is somewhat irrelevant. In a position like his he needed to follow the advice of a wise old army colonel I used to work for,
“Never pass up the opportunity to keep your mouth shut.”
From someone who is successful enough in life to be on the BOT at a major university I would expect more discretion. And anyway, what the hell does a member of the BOT know about who should play which position? Isn’t that why we hired guys like Mark Trestman?
^ Cardiff is right
What some of you are missing is that there is a difference between Wolfpack Club board members and Jim Rome. Board members arent supposed to just tell the media everything they think.
Whether he is right or wrong is meaningless.
Cardiff — try re-reading. My comment was that there are multiple sides to every issue. You can see that by looking at SFN or any other newsmedia. If we all agreed then this would be a pretty boring site. I never said (or meant to say) that SFN writers were doing what you say I’m saying. WHich kind of proves my point. I said something quite bland and now it appears as though I’ve slandered SFN and the Technician.
Maybe the point that what any writer (in the media -Cardiff– not SFN) wants to do is write something with some controversy because cool, calm reporting is bland, not interesting, and doesn’t sell.
The Technician gets the enjoyment of taking a Board member to task for his opinion. I probably was inaccurate that the Technicnian writer was putting NCSU down. More appropriately he was roasting Mr. King who represents NCSU on his own canard.
But in the end. Who cares.
Boy, Mr King’s comments sure loosened some tongues around here on SFN too. What were the options at QB this season? How damn many balls were just plain dropped this season? How many routes were off? How about another game winning pass that was right on the money, except for a foot coming down out of bounds?
Though they still absolutely stunk on offense, and for a million different reasons above and beyond Daniel Evan’s control, the team played better with him in the game. That kid was thrust into a starting spot when he probably never even expected any playing time at all.
Do not ever poor mouth a returning player, especially when it is one as determined and smart as Daniel Evans, and one who has everything to prove.
Daniel Evans? Wait a minute, wasn’t that supposed to say (Btw… My name is Dan, but I’m not Herb Sendek….)
???
Just kidding Danny boy, lighten up man!!!
Why is it so hard for these people to S H U T T H E I R M O U T H S!!!
And, how does a guy like Mr. King, with apparently no general idea of decent coaching candidates, get on the BOT? Not that I want him to talk about it publicly, but it seems pretty clear that Mr. King was willing to talk…the problem was simply he has no clue about football coaches.
I don’t follow lots of other football coaches, but since NC State is looking I have read bios of several candidates and could name at least five up and coming coaches that are worth NC State taking a look at. You would think Mr. King would be able to do the same.
Seriously, how do these guys get on the BOT?
I would imagine the WPC board of trustees is made up of people who are big donors and have a lot of friends who are big donors.
In theory a big donor is somebody who is successful in some type of business, but that doesn’t mean they are good at talking to the media. Many people who run businesses never talk to the media unless you are talking about somebody who runs a Fortune 500 type company.
Between WPC board members and our esteemed AD you’d think this was some kind of SNL skit or something. Someone should just collect a few chimps and have them pose in suits in a boardroom setting and that would pretty much sum up what we have at the pinnacle of our athletic leadership.
When I saw Jim King’s name on the Technician article I winced. My dad and I sat beside him in section 28 row K at Carter-Finley for at least a decade. He was an arrogant blowhard then and I can see he is still one now. Jim King must be a WPC BOT member because of dollars because I never knew him to have an original insight. He always denied O’Cain had discipline problems and thought O’Cain was the right man for the job at State longterm regardless of how many times State got pasted.
Bo, obviously I misunderstood your post, for which you have my honest (and unlimited) apology.
^^ Well, that IS something. That, in combination with his comments I posted, suggests that he isn’t, well, very knowledgeable about football.
“And, how does a guy like Mr. King, with apparently no general idea of decent coaching candidates, get on the BOT?”
Gee, I never realized that awareness of decent coaching candidates is one of the qualifications for being on the BOT. Learn something new on SFN every day.
“stop participating in the very Blog you can’t stand unless you agree with the comments…”
God forbid, we certainly don’t want differing opinions — unless of course we are differing with people who don’t agree with us.
I can’t get the thought out of my mind, where did Fowler get the idea that he was NOT going to be asked to fire Amato? Could the Chancellor possibly have told Fowler that? Could Saturday night have been the straw that broke the camel’s back? Probably not. Just more Fowler buffoonery.
“Gee, I never realized that awareness of decent coaching candidates is one of the qualifications for being on the BOT. Learn something new on SFN every day.”
Obviously, given Mr. King’s comments, it isn’t. And given that he clearly has no idea what he’s talking about, one wonders why he would feel compelled to speak to media outlets regarding his blatantly uninformed opinion.
Do you defend his doing so when his ignorance is so manifest? Inquiring minds want to know.
” can’t get the thought out of my mind, where did Fowler get the idea that he was NOT going to be asked to fire Amato? Could the Chancellor possibly have told Fowler that? Could Saturday night have been the straw that broke the camel’s back? Probably not. Just more Fowler buffoonery.”
I would guess, and it’s only that, that Fowler felt he had sufficient influence to prevent the firing, and that the BOT rolled him. And general buffoonery also played its part, I am sure.
“God forbid, we certainly don’t want differing opinions — unless of course we are differing with people who don’t agree with us.”
If that is the case, why are you permitted to post? You really ought to think a little more before you post some of this tripe.
Good heavens. Did Mr. King attend the Jed Fowler School of Public Relations? First of all he disses Paul Johnson, who by all accounts is a heckuva football coach and a fine man as well.
But to make such a public comment about Daniel Evans is simply INEXCUSABLE. Daniel is a great young man, an excellent representative of NC State, and a pretty dog gone good football player as well.
I’m am angered beyond belief that a grown man would do this to one of our student-athletes. He owes Daniel and Johnny Evans, and Paul Johnson, and the entire NC State community an apology.
King must not realize that PJ spent several years as a coach at Hawaii. I think he knows how to pass the ball. I heard him in an interview this morning, explaining why it’s difficult to have success throwing the ball at a service academy. Navy running the ball gives them the best chance to win. His teams at Ga. Southern and Hawaii knew how to throw the ball. The guy is a master coach, NC is his home, and I think he wants to be here. To me this should be a no-brainer.
Sidney Lowe is gnna be a good coach as he was as a player. If any of you remember a great high coach name Morgan Wotten in the DC area. That is who taught coach Lowe. The mistake is our adminstration & the coaches who us down after what they did to coach V. Remember if he was still he alive & coaching at STATE would be at the top of the game today. UCLA knew but coach V N C STATE still today in heaven. No one know coach Sendek from the mailman or most of us State. Everybody know Sidney Lowe from his days as player & NBA coach. Kids are gonna love playing for coach Lowe. Now you can take that to the bank. The ex - old great player will be back on campus. That is great thing for State & the city of Raliegh too. GO PACK.