We will never lose another Head Coach again

[XUOHTX]

Ok, that might be hyperbole.

My question is, now that we are in the Big East, presumably one of the top conference in college basketball, will we no longer be a "stepping stone" for coaches and instead be a destination?

To me, the answer is simple, only if we pay them. Pay the coach like a big time coach and we become a destination. With the new conference, new TV money, and hopefully the power to recruit even better talent, this should be no problem.

[Cheesehead]

we might lose a coach though

[GoMuskies]

We're far from safe. The schools that make up the C7 have lost plenty of good coaches to "moving up". We'll have a lot better shot than we did in the past, though. Particularly, I would think, with an alum like Chris Mack at the helm.

[XUOHTX]

We're far from safe. The schools that make up the C7 have lost plenty of good coaches to "moving up".

I agree, really, the only one that hasn't would be Georgetown. Maybe that list of "Destinations" is smaller than I originally thought. Let's try it:

Duke
UNC
Kansas
Kentucky
(Arizona, Ohio State) <-- They must be...right?

[Masterofreality]

I know what Chris Mack is now making as Head Coach at Xavier University. Don't worry. he's being paid.....handsomely. A guy making that amount of money per year with a dream house with an indoor pool is not indigent.

I also now know what the assistant coaches are now making. It is a major improvement.

I will never say that Xavier may not have to ever do a head coach search again, but I will tell you that it will not be because of money.

The new league can only help.

[GoMuskies]

Well, it's only not about money until someone offers more. And there's always someone willing to offer more, it seems. And sometimes a big number doesn't look so great anymore when someone else is offering 1.5X or 2X that otherwise big number.

[Masterofreality]

Well, it's only not about money until someone offers more. And there's always someone willing to offer more, it seems. And sometimes a big number doesn't look so great anymore when someone else is offering 1.5X or 2X that otherwise big number.

You are correct, sir.

What I should have said is that if Xavier has to do another coach search it was not because they were paying non-competitive money.

We are paying in the big time level right now.

[DC Muskie]

Kansas lost their coach to North Carolina.

No one is ever safe.

[LA Muskie]

Well, it's only not about money until someone offers more. And there's always someone willing to offer more, it seems. And sometimes a big number doesn't look so great anymore when someone else is offering 1.5X or 2X that otherwise big number.

I think MOR's position is that, practically speaking, those situations would be more about ego than money. I agree with him.

[danaandvictory]

I also now know what the assistant coaches are now making. It is a major improvement.

This I like to hear.

[GoMuskies]

If someone offers you twice the money, it's probably about the money. Ego, too, sure, but $3 million/year really is different than $1.5 million/year.

I'd be okay with either one if someone wants to make the offer.

[LA Muskie]

If someone offers you twice the money, it's probably about the money. Ego, too, sure, but $3 million/year really is different than $1.5 million/year.

I'd be okay with either one if someone wants to make the offer.

It is more money. But at $1.5mm in Cincy you don't really NEED more $$$. You might like it (as Jimmy Fallen would say, who wouldn't?) but you could readily justify saying "thanks but no thanks, my family is set and I love it here."

On the other hand, ego often drives people to make as much as they can, regardless of the other factors (or disproportionately valuing that factor), because when compared to their peers, or family members, or friends (or whatever) they would be in a "better" position.

[GoMuskies]

You don't need more money from $500k either, to tell you the truth. But you can live significantly better for $3 mil than you can for $1.5 mil. And you've got a better chance of living well for a lot longer at $3 million/per.

[LA Muskie]

You don't need more money from $500k either, to tell you the truth. But you can live significantly better for $3 mil than you can for $1.5 mil. And you've got a better chance of living well for a lot longer at $3 million/per.

I don't necessarily disagree with you. It's all a matter of degree.

[Masterofreality]

I think MOR's position is that, practically speaking, those situations would be more about ego than money. I agree with him.

Absolutely 100% correct sir.

[PMI]

Ok, that might be hyperbole.

My question is, now that we are in the Big East, presumably one of the top conference in college basketball, will we no longer be a "stepping stone" for coaches and instead be a destination?

To me, the answer is simple, only if we pay them. Pay the coach like a big time coach and we become a destination. With the new conference, new TV money, and hopefully the power to recruit even better talent, this should be no problem.

There are plenty of things that can happen and it's never safe to assume that we couldn't lose a coach. Xavier has become more and more of a destination program over the years, and this move will only help solidify us as such, but that does not mean Mack is all of a sudden a lifer here. I hope he is and want him to be our coach for as long as possible, but it's something I can neither count on nor worry about. Xavier's program has been bigger than one coach for a long time now and if the job were open, it's as attractive as ever to coaches around the nation. I don't anticipate this being an issue anytime soon but you truly never know.

And to be clear, while ego and money are two of the big factors for coaches leaving for other jobs, there are certainly other things too.

[Xavgrad08]

There are certain programs that you don't turn down. If one of those programs comes calling I think Mack will leave. I think the list of those type of programs is very very small. X is a great Job and it will continue to be a great job. I truly believe our best years are ahead of us.

I am not worried about losing the head coach, however it is getting annoying losing assistants. I hope we keep the current staff in place for a couple of years. I think Ashley Howard is going to be a really good recruiter for us.

[smileyy]

I agree, really, the only one that hasn't would be Georgetown. Maybe that list of "Destinations" is smaller than I originally thought. Let's try it:

Duke
UNC
Kansas
Kentucky
(Arizona, Ohio State) <-- They must be...right?

Add UCLA and Indiana to that list. But yeah. The list of places that a Xavier coach or Brad Stevens or Shaka Smart or Mark Few would be lured to is pretty short and very elite. Matta and Miller made that clear with their choices, and Mack did too when he spurned Tennessee's millions.

Edit: Maybe Michigan too.

[smileyy]

Kansas lost their coach to North Carolina.


You'll always be at risk of losing a guy to his alma mater. X has less to worry about there.

[kmcrawfo]

Add UCLA and Indiana to that list. But yeah. The list of places that a Xavier coach or Brad Stevens or Shaka Smart or Mark Few would be lured to is pretty short and very elite. Matta and Miller made that clear with their choices, and Mack did too when he spurned Tennessee's millions.

Edit: Maybe Michigan too.

My List of most desirable coaching jobs.

Top-4 (no specific order within groups)
Indiana
Duke
Kentucky
UNC

Next Group:
Arizona, UCLA, Ohio State, Kansas, TExas

Then:
Florida, Georgetown, Mich. State, Syracuse, Michigan, UConn

[kmcrawfo]

Per the sporting news:

1. NORTH CAROLINA. How many kids in America wouldn’t take Carolina’s call?

2. UCLA. The location and tradition are incredible, but agents prowling the region threaten to knock this one down the list.

3. TEXAS. There’s so much talent and money — and minimal pressure to win it all. What more could a coach want?

4. KENTUCKY. Perhaps more than any other program, Kentucky makes certain there is life beyond basketball for those who prove themselves to be committed Wildcats.

5. OHIO STATE. The Buckeyes earned the 2011 NCAA Tournament No. 1 overall seed with a rotation featuring six in-state recruits.

6. INDIANA. This state produced Greg Oden, Mike Conley and Gordon Hayward for others, but the best are starting to join the Hoosiers again.

7. KANSAS. If getting talent weren’t such a chore, KU would fight UNC for the top spot.

8. DUKE. With Mike Krzyzewski, Duke is the country’s most powerful program. What will it be when he retires?

9. MARYLAND. The area they’re now calling the DMV—D.C./Maryland/Northern Virginia—might be the country’s richest talent mine.

10. ARIZONA. The brand name Lute Olson established makes this program a factor with nearly every player west of the Rockies.

[GIMMFD]

I feel like you could argue location with a lot of schools not mentioned, Miami, Florida State, USC, UNLV...

[nuts4xu]

You can compete for a national championship at Xavier. This is not hyperbole, it is fact. There are other schools you can say have a better chance. But now, more than ever in our history, we have a realistic opportunity to compete on the highest level. In years past, people would think I'm filled with blue kool aid, a Pollyanna, or just plain nuts. But with the level we have reached the past 30+ years and our imminent departure to the big east, it is a more reasonable proposition than ever before.

I hear coaches leave for many reasons, most include "to compete for a national championship". If we can pay a coach a competitive wage, he graduated from here, and he has all the resources needs to win it all.....why would a guy leave?

Coach Mack will be here as long as these three standards are met. It would be a plus if he has a great relationship with our next AD, but my hunch is he will get along great with any AD if he continues to put new banners in the rafters of the Cintas Center.

[xu95]

There are certain programs that you don't turn down. If one of those programs comes calling I think Mack will leave. I think the list of those type of programs is very very small. X is a great Job and it will continue to be a great job. I truly believe our best years are ahead of us.

I am not worried about losing the head coach, however it is getting annoying losing assistants. I hope we keep the current staff in place for a couple of years. I think Ashley Howard is going to be a really good recruiter for us.

I don't mind us losing assistant coaches. It means we are doing something right. If these guys don't have the aspirations of moving up the food chain they are doing us no good on our bench.

[DC Muskie]

How is Louisville not on this list?

[ThrowDownDBrown]

If we want to keep our head and assistant coaches the we better take some of that new tv revenue and use it to increase all of their salaries.

[American X]

How is Louisville not on this list?

Same way Five Guys is the sixth best burger in town.

[DC Muskie]

Same way Five Guys is the sixth best burger in town.

Louisville is way better than Five Guys. It certainly has a bigger name than Arizona and Maryland.

[xufan02]

How is Louisville not on this list?

This is the one I worry most about in relation to Mack. It is in his recruiting wheelhouse, Pitino is 2-4 years away from retirement, and Christi Mack is from Louisville.

[GoMuskies]

Wait, Christi Mack is from Louisville Holy Cross?!? She's a Shively girl? Well that's interesting.

[nuts4xu]

Christi Mack is from Louisville.

She also went to dayton, and Chris Mack will NEVER coach there.

Louisville isn't a 1000 miles away, and Chris Mack wouldn't take that job just to move Christi back to her hometown.

He doesn't seem to be a fit there at all.

[xufan02]

She also went to dayton, and Chris Mack will NEVER coach there.

Louisville isn't a 1000 miles away, and Chris Mack wouldn't take that job just to move Christi back to her hometown.

He doesn't seem to be a fit there at all.

That is not the main reason he would take it. I'm just saying she is from there and still has family in that area. Louisville is a top ten job and has a top 5 arena.

[SixFig]

This thread is degenerating rapidly. Let's enjoy Chris now eh?

In case you didn't see the video, I'm pretty sure Mack has everything needed to win. He takes a private jet to watch recruits in Detroit in the afternoon and gets back the same night.

Nothing midmajor about that


http://www.local12.com/news/local/story/A-Day-In-the-Life-of-Xavier-Coach-Chris-Mack/xkMj92XBNU-skSCyL2XdXA.cspx#.UTT9rUP0TNg.twitter

[Juice]

This thread is degenerating rapidly. Let's enjoy Chris now eh?

In case you didn't see the video, I'm pretty sure Mack has everything needed to win. He takes a private jet to watch recruits in Detroit in the afternoon and gets back the same night.

Nothing midmajor about that


http://www.local12.com/news/local/story/A-Day-In-the-Life-of-Xavier-Coach-Chris-Mack/xkMj92XBNU-skSCyL2XdXA.cspx#.UTT9rUP0TNg.twitter

I agree with enjoying Chris while he is here comment but I think this thread is stupid for the opposite reasons you have.

Chris Mack will eventually leave. Maybe not anytime soon, but he will leave for a better job. The new Big East is great for XU but it still isn't the Big Ten or the ACC. XU still have a tiny enrollment and still cannot offer more more money than other places. Plenty of schools have plenty of things to offer Mack or any other coach which XU does not possess. It's the facts.

On the flip side, XU's commitment to basketball and this new conference do allow XU to have better options if/when Mack leaves.

Coaches leaving XU isn't something I worry about. I've come to accept it.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I don't mind us losing assistant coaches. It means we are doing something right. If these guys don't have the aspirations of moving up the food chain they are doing us no good on our bench.

I agree as long as they are not leaving for the same job at another school which I believe has happened. If they leave because they are moving to a higher assistant spot or they become a head coach thats great they did wel for us but it does stink to lose a guy to another school and the same position just because of money. At the same time I understand there are going to be schools that can afford to pay their assistants more than XU.

[Masterofreality]

I agree as long as they are not leaving for the same job at another school which I believe has happened. If they leave because they are moving to a higher assistant spot or they become a head coach thats great they did wel for us but it does stink to lose a guy to another school and the same position just because of money. At the same time I understand there are going to be schools that can afford to pay their assistants more than XU.

Some of the assistant movement last year was because of quality, not money.

XU is paying well.

[rove02]

Some of the assistant movement last year was because of quality, not money.

XU is paying well.

The quality of the assistants? As in they were asked to leave?

[xudash]

I agree with enjoying Chris while he is here comment but I think this thread is stupid for the opposite reasons you have.

Chris Mack will eventually leave. Maybe not anytime soon, but he will leave for a better job. The new Big East is great for XU but it still isn't the Big Ten or the ACC. XU still have a tiny enrollment and still cannot offer more more money than other places. Plenty of schools have plenty of things to offer Mack or any other coach which XU does not possess. It's the facts.

On the flip side, XU's commitment to basketball and this new conference do allow XU to have better options if/when Mack leaves.

Coaches leaving XU isn't something I worry about. I've come to accept it.

Why? Just because there are bigger jobs out there?

If it's that automatic, why hasn't Few left Gonzaga.

Also, Cincinnati is home and Xavier is his alma mater. I don't believe for a minute that Chris Mack will be gone from Xavier for years, and, even when he goes, I'm not convinced that it will be for a bigger job.

Besides, by the time he's reeled off a few more years at Xavier, the Xavier job will be sufficiently big on its own.

[throwbackmuskie]

Mack will be a lifer here at Xavier as long as he is doing good