Ray Tanner to the rescue?

I’ve spoken with a few Wolfpackers through the years that have often referred to Ray Tanner as one of their top choices to replace Lee Fowler as the next Athletics Director at NC State. This article/entry had some interesting comments that may give us some hope that help may be on the way:

Questions about what could be perceived as a lateral move for Holbrook have risen in Chapel Hill. Sources tell GamecockAnthem that Holbrook also has a good relationship with Tar Heel head coach Mike Fox, but South Carolina offers him several things that North Carolina currently doesn’t. Tanner has publicly acknowledged that he only plans on coaching a few more seasons and would like to move into athletic administration, while Fox has publicly said he plans to coach at least another decade. Holbrook would be the natural successor to either coach, but is much more likely to become a head coach at a major program sooner at USC than at UNC.

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50 Responses to Ray Tanner to the rescue?

  1. spanky 07/07/2008 at 10:34 AM #

    mmmMMMMmmm, that would be nice. But how many years is “a few more seasons?” Didn’t he just get a brand new stadium built? Can Foulup really be here for 10+ years? That doesn’t seem normal to me… but I guess I don’t know how often most AD’s stay in office… Anyone have any clues? I’d understand if it was an excellent AD to keep him around, but you’d think that with an administrative position if things stall, new faces would be brought in every 5-7 years or so. I think 8 years with fuhcilities upgrades and freakish amounts of money pouring in with no improvement, and even a scary downward trend from where we were when Foulup got here classifies as a stall…. But! Of course… this is NCSU, silly me, what was I thinking?

  2. choppack1 07/07/2008 at 11:55 AM #

    One can only hope – right?

  3. SMD 07/07/2008 at 12:28 PM #

    Hey – where did the Mike Sherman/TAMU thread go?

    Also, to the mods – the front page is doing that thing again of loading blank. I can’t call up the site without the specific page URLs.

  4. topwolf 07/07/2008 at 12:41 PM #

    Hey Guys I am having trouble going directly to statefansnation website I have tried through Firefox which I use 99.9 percent of the time and I have tried through Internet Explorer 7 and no luck there either. I can still go through wolfpackwire and check out the articles and that is actually how I logged in to write this reply but I cant go directly to the website itself without getting a blank screen (firefox) or an error message (IE7).

  5. packbackr04 07/07/2008 at 1:22 PM #

    i get an error msg, and have to come in thru archives.

  6. Big Worm 07/07/2008 at 2:19 PM #

    I’m having the same issue, and have been for over a week. Any word on a potential resolution?

  7. StateFans 07/07/2008 at 2:34 PM #

    Guys,

    I just got back from Kerr Lake from a week of keeping the fish safe (feeding them and making sure they don’t get a hook in their mouth.) I have noticed this problem too and have started to dig through the logs etc. and putting a fix together.

    I’ll be fixing it as soon as I get a handle on what exactly is happening with the server and going from there. Strangely enough, only SFN has the problem, so that’s making it a little more interesting and annoying. RAWFS is loading up fine and since they use the same software, I and the WordPress folks are a bit baffled. If you are an IT guy, you know the process. Eliminating the impossible in order to find the probable.

    Couple that with two other things happening in my personal life; one, the punishment for being on vacay for nine days and two, I accepted a promotion today and there’s an s__storm erupting here at work because there will soon be a major vacuum when I leave my current position. Only reason I am telling y’all that is so you understand that I am busier than a one-legged kicker in a blowout today and this evening. It’s good to be wanted, but damn…

    –Alpha

  8. b 07/07/2008 at 2:34 PM #

    A “few more years” and who knows where our programs will be. I prefer a more sudden solution though I won’t hold my breath.

    I’m having the error issue as well, came in thru archives.

  9. StateFans 07/07/2008 at 2:59 PM #

    I think it is fixed. It was a WordPress plug-in problem. Sorry for the inconvenience.

  10. roandaddy 07/07/2008 at 3:10 PM #

    As a Gamecock fan, but a follower of Wolfpack.. don’t throw tomatoes.. my buddies are State fans in Raleigh and we pull for each other, except for the big game this fall.

    As for Tanner.. this is very interesting. I can tell you the hiring is being extremely well received in Gamecock land and apparently Tanner tried last year, but failed to get him to move to son’s illness, etc.

    I know I am biased.. but the USC job is pretty attractive right now with the new stadium opening next season. However, we did have a LARGE drain on players with the most recent draft. Two players in 1st round and one more that was recruited but booted off the team for stealing. (the guy from Pitt Community)

    Tanner is great guy and a great win for the Pack. Selfishly I hope we keep him, but he has accomplished a lot in his time at USC and this would be a nice crowing achievement.

  11. old13 07/07/2008 at 3:16 PM #

    Pipe dream! Another tease! Would that it would happen, though! But until the numbnutz that sit in the Chancellor’s office and on the BOT decide NCSU can AND SHOULD achieve major-sport NCAA championships without giving imbeciles scholarships, women and drugs, it ain’t gonna happen – unless there is some MAJOR grassroots pressure put on them, of which I’ve seen no evidence.

  12. graywolf 07/07/2008 at 3:34 PM #

    I think Tanner would make a good AD. He knows what NOT to do from observations during his tenure with Todd Turner. I would gladly welcome him back home.

    However, I will do what comes natural as a wolfpack alumnus and fan…..I will believe it when I see it otherwise its still a pipe dream.

  13. highstick 07/07/2008 at 5:55 PM #

    Tanner would be fantastic!! Roandaddy, I’m a Gamecock fan(actually a Gamecock Club member) because of my son the USC grad and follow South Carolina about as closely as my alma mater, NC State. I’m also going to have a tough time with the game this August cause I’ll probably be pulling for both of them and somebody has to lose!

    If we could dump Lee and if the idiots in control could pull off getting Ray back to State, this would be a major coup! But, then again, I have no confidence that they have enough sense to do something so positive and logical!

  14. redfred2 07/07/2008 at 6:54 PM #

    Statefans, WORK??? Get that software fixed, work can wait. I understand about the fishing though. 😉

  15. redfred2 07/07/2008 at 7:19 PM #

    In hindsight, I’ll admit that I foolishly stayed in Amato’s corner longer than I should have. But when I fell off that bandwagon, I fell hard, as many of you well know. My reason for sticking with him was strickly the momentum that his presence/persona/Philip Rivers had built. Anyway, for those of you who didn’t ever care too much for Chuck Amato, I believe that Lee Fowler’s job status would have already been jeopardy if it wasn’t for Chuck Amato, so there’s another reason to dislike him.

    Fowler owes much to Amato and I could understand his hesitation in letting him go. The other former coach though, well, I won’t get into that. But my point is, that the money is there and keeps coming due in large part to a wave of enthusiam that was intiated by a former football coach. So while it seems the piggy bank is going to stay full, Lee Fowler, just like Chuck Amato, should be just about at the end of his ride on that same fading wave.

  16. howlie 07/07/2008 at 7:49 PM #

    Nice ‘find,’ JB. No way to ‘connect those dots’ unless someone in high places knows Tanner wants to return.
    Anyway to share any hints as to whom might have mentioned Tanners’ interest?

  17. Primewolf 07/07/2008 at 8:19 PM #

    SFN, tonight is the first time in a few weeks that I have been able to directly get to the site without going thru Wolfpack Wire. Hope it is fixed. Thanks.

    I have no idea if Tanner would be a good AD. However, it is nearly impossible to image that he could do worse than Lee. Let’s see, if we got a new AD and he didn’t-
    1. Blame the internet as the biggest problem at NC State, instead of the lack of anything approaching a competitive sports program.
    2. Absolutely embarass the university in his BB coaching search.
    3. Blame losing on lack of fuhcilities.
    4. Call into Radio shows and talk about Cougars.
    5. Appear totally unprepared when it comes to being proactive about the need for coaching changes.
    6. Put out an moronic 5 year report.
    7. Have the worst SID in the natioin.
    8. Suggest NC State wasn’t up to winning BB championships because of our successful neighbors.
    9. Talk about his Lake house every change he got.
    10. Try to be hired by other colleges for more money (please someone help us).

    Then he would be a much better AD that Lee. Give me a tough, fair, inovative leader than demands and expects success in every sport. And hire a bean counter to make sure the dept runs within its limits. Oh, and, I suspect the money would really roll in if we just had a inspiring leader.

  18. redfred2 07/07/2008 at 9:07 PM #

    As an owner/CEO/employer, if you had more outside interest and irons in the fire than you already knew what to do with, without even considering your job itself, and if you had no more than a passing interest in the product itself anyway, wouldn’t you just leave the guy in place who keeps your own wallet fat and allows you to do the things that you’re REALLY interested in?

    If I was James Oblinger, I would.

    I’m not James Oblinger though, I actually love athletics and I believe that they can teach many lessons that are more important than anything I learned in a lot of the classes that I had to sit through in high school and college. Especially the composition and English Lit classes, or can’t you spell, uh, I mean, tell?

  19. roandaddy 07/07/2008 at 9:21 PM #

    Mentioned this article to a few people.. and everyone keeps saying Charlie Cobb is the next AD.. I don’t know who he is. Is this a legit candidate?

  20. redfred2 07/07/2008 at 9:58 PM #

    Cobb was at NCSU and left a few years back to take over as the AD at App State. He’s an entertaining and enthusiastic guy, and he’s been a great hire for ASU as they’re doing pretty well under his watch. But there are still many of the same faces around in high places that were there when he worked at NC State before, so he’s possibly too close and too well connected to be an effective agent for change anyway. Plus, I’m not too sure that I’d like to see ANYTHING even remotely related to the Todd Turner era receiving a paycheck from NCSU again.

    How old is Cobb anyway?

    I know we’re talking about an actual replacement for Lee Fowler, but somebody who knows more about it would have to sell me on that hire.

  21. sautz 07/07/2008 at 11:02 PM #

    I’d be happy with Danny Tanner as AD right now.

  22. RAWFS 07/08/2008 at 7:06 AM #

    ^ A friend of mine made a comment that made me spit my soda last night:

    “Expecting Lee Fowler to ‘fix’ Wolfpack athletics is like being that guy that repeatedly calls the Three Stooges to come and fix his plumbing.”

  23. Noah 07/08/2008 at 8:04 AM #

    I’d be happy with a retarded monkey (potato, puh-tah-toe) as our AD if only because it meant that Fowler wasn’t here.

    Cobb was one of Sheridan’s players. I think he was on the teams with Shane Montgomery, so that would put him in his very early 40s, I think.

    Given the choice between Cobb and Tanner, I’d choose Cobb simply because of age.

  24. Elrod 07/08/2008 at 8:21 AM #

    Does anyone know if Bobby Purcell has any desire for the job?

  25. BoKnowsNCS71 07/08/2008 at 8:25 AM #

    SFN – where do you fish?

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