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Sooners Tell Cowboys: Great Hire!
Published: 4/16/2008 3:20 PM
Last Modified: 4/16/2008 3:20 PM

Coaching hires have come to be compared to baseball at-bat production.

Had OSU hired Bill Self, it would have been a grand slam home run.

Had OSU hired a big-name from a school with recent success in the NCAA tournament, it would have been considered to be a home run.

Somebody good from a mid-major, a triple.

An assistant from Nowheresville, a bunt single.

If it is true that OSU hired the UMass coach, this would be the baseball equivalent of being beaned.






Reader Comments 66 Total
Jeff (5 years ago)
This hire is a bean ball to the bean. This is a junk hire.

Weak. Totally weak.

The list of "Why not so-and-so?" is getting longer by the second.
Horatio (5 years ago)
Holder being a golf coach (no experience with TEAM sports), I'd say this is the equivalent of a water hazard, a drop in the big drink...a double bogey with the whole college basketball world watching.
Jeff (5 years ago)
Who was Jeff Capel to anyone in Oklahoma before he was hired? He would have to be considered another bean ball as well. He has turned out to be a pretty good hire. Let's say that this hire is a long fly ball to left. Time will tell if it gets caught in the wind and turns into a can of corn or if it is indeed a home run, or even a ground-rule double would be nice.
dave, houston (5 years ago)
Horation...that's the best comment I've seen on this yet. I'm diappointed that I overlooked that analogy.
Jeff (5 years ago)
Who was Jeff Capel to anyone in Oklahoma before he was hired? He would have to be considered another bean ball as well. He has turned out to be a pretty good hire. Let's say that this hire is a long fly ball to left. Time will tell if it gets caught in the wind and turns into a can of corn or if it is indeed a home run, or even a ground-rule double would be nice.
world picker (5 years ago)
Who is Jeff Capel now?
world picker (5 years ago)
This game of musical coaches has cost OSU a lot of money.

Does it means greens fees will be raised?
Chris (5 years ago)
I agree that OSU (actually Boone and Holder) has hurt itself with it's coaching search.

However, Capel has made progress in Norman, and no one wanted him at first. Who is Capel now? A year away from a very good OU team.

This could go two ways, either no recruits and Ford is fired in 3 years, or he recruits and OSU becomes a good basketball team again.

I think it could be the latter of the two.
Seth Davis (5 years ago)
People who are locked in on the possibility of Travis Ford filling the vacancy at Oklahoma State are missing the boat. Ford is not going anywhere, partly because he has an athletic director in John McCutcheon who will give him a sufficient raise to make sure he stays. The guy Oklahoma State is targeting first and foremost is Billy Gillispie.
Clayton (5 years ago)
As an alum I am very discouraged. Firing a guy with a 57% win percentage to get one with a53%, seems like a bad deal. Do we not learn any thing from the poor aggies down in College Station. The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence, unless it sits atop the septic tank!
Great blog picker and I will make this prediction. "Sean Sutton will still be getting checks from Boone Pickens long after Travis Ford is gone!" Take it to the bank.
Clayton (5 years ago)
As an alum I am very discouraged. Firing a guy with a 57% win percentage to get one with a53%, seems like a bad deal. Do we not learn any thing from the poor aggies down in College Station. The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence, unless it sits atop the septic tank!
Great blog picker and I will make this prediction. "Sean Sutton will still be getting checks from Boone Pickens long after Travis Ford is gone!" Take it to the bank.
Clayton (5 years ago)
As an alum I am very discouraged. Firing a guy with a 57% win percentage to get one with a53%, seems like a bad deal. Do we not learn any thing from the poor aggies down in College Station. The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence, unless it sits atop the septic tank!
Great blog picker and I will make this prediction. "Sean Sutton will still be getting checks from Boone Pickens long after Travis Ford is gone!" Take it to the bank.
Josepi (5 years ago)
Stan Clark would have made a better coach!!
Arthur (5 years ago)
This guy has no major conference experience. The most he knows of a major conference would be playing in two of them. Let's hire John Lucas he's a great point guard from major conference. After being cut from the Rockets I hear he needs a job.
Any fan should be angry that we didn't even talk to Jamie Dixon. The only reason I could think of was after all of the national media he was afraid of another PR blunder like "they're salt of the earth people. They aren't very sophisticated." He gets mad at Gundy for the rant and then tells the world that we aren't very sophisticated. WOW, he's not off to a great start as an AD. I'm glad he didn't have to hire another head coach when Eddie left. He would have only been on the job a few months. I think our program would have been a lot worse the last two years if he would have had to hire someone then.
MIKE (5 years ago)
Picker, I have a question. What's worse:

1. Travis Ford is hired as OSU's next head basketball coach or...
2. Speculation is built up that OSU is hiring a head coach whose resume looks eerily similar to Sean Sutton's and then that head coach decides to turn down the job.

Personally, I'd rather have #1. Think about how awful it will be for Holder if Ford turns this down after it's been built up that he is taking it. Can OSU stand that slap in the face? If a UMASS coach making $200,000 a year isn't taking this job, what kind of message does that send to any other candidate out there?
MIKE (5 years ago)
One note to add to that last comment. If Ford does end up turning down the position, is it even possible to try to offer it to someone higher on the ladder? Does anyone really think that Dixon or Floyd or even Gillespi will even listen to Holder? I see the conversation going like this:

"So you chose a non-power conference NIT coach over me: a power conference coach with NCAA tourney experience? And now you want to offer me the job after he said no first? There's the door. Have a great flight."
Cotton Fitzsimmons (5 years ago)
Picker, I know 99% of what you write is strictly intended to rile folks up, but I'll definitely have to disagree with you on this one. I'd label Travis as "somebody good from a mid-major", notice not "great", just "good".

This isn't a hire that'll put OSU in the spotlight, so to speak, as would have a home-run like Self - instead it's up to Mr. Ford to get things done in Stillwater and put himself (and the program) back in the spotlight.

As an OSU alum, I'm particularly glad the search is over - all the gossip, rumors, and various media mishandling can now cease. Sure, this isn't the same as getting a Dixon or Floyd, but he's the new coach so I'll support him. I guess you can tell I'm one of the OSU fans who's over the whole Sutton debacle and ready for a fresh start for OSU basketball.

The only downside with Ford at this point is that the faction of OSU fans that adamantly hate Holder for Sean's "mutual" departure aren't going to see this as a step up (although it most certainly is). Travis Ford is an excellent example of a coach that can get a lot from a little; something it appeared Sean was not capable of. I just feel bad for the guy since that aforementioned group of Holder-haters are probably not only not going to support him, but they'll be especially critical of his every move whether warranted or not.
chris (5 years ago)
This hire is beginning to make a lot of sense. It serves Pickens/Holder right that we couldn't get Self, or any quality coach. Money can buy a lot of things, but when the cash is being waved around by a couple of dictators, what successful coach would really want to come? Thus, we have to settle for someone that is arguably less proven than Sean.

Those who have made comparisons to OU hiring Capel are wrong. There is a big difference. One program has Castiglione doing the search and the other has a golf coach doing the same.

Holder claimed that Sean departed because "not making the big dance is unacceptable." Well, we just hired an NIT coach. I can't stand his hypocracy!
jj (5 years ago)
more drama, more drama... this is worse than a bean ball. It is more like leaning into the pitch to take one for the team.
jj (5 years ago)
It is funny though how many people now say that "self wasnt coming anyway". Where were they 2 weeks ago? oh yes they were saying boone pickens would buy the coach he wanted.
Cotton Fitzsimmons (5 years ago)
Ah, but therein lies the rub, JJ, the whole "Pickens is going to buy the next coach" hoopla just came from rumors and the media. Yes, OSU went after Bill Self. Why not? Long shot, but you've got to at least try. According to Self, money wasn't even discussed.

The only place Holder was throwing money at potential coaches was in people's minds, so I'd suggest you just get over it.
Arthur (5 years ago)
I can't speak for everyone but most of us who were angry about firing Sean were upset that we didn't give him enough time. I will be even more furious if this coach doesn't get at least three years (barring something extraordinary like can't even get to double digit wins in his second year, but that's next to impossible).

I don't like the idea of anyone being robber of a fair shot, regardless of who does or does not support him. Holder might not be happy when ticket sales lag because we have a less proven coach than the one we just forced to resign.
john (5 years ago)
Just like Eddie, Holder will be run out of town after crashing his "Ford."
john (5 years ago)
Just like Eddie, Holder will be run out of town after crashing his "Ford."
Cotton Fitzsimmons (5 years ago)
Wow, John, how long have you been thinking that one up?
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The Picker began entertaining – and infuriating – sports fans in 1993. Each week during football season, he writes about his picks of college and NFL games in his Thursday Sports column. He's never afraid of sharing his opinions about the game and the personalities who play it. Readers have a chance to go against him each season in the Outpick the Picker contest. He welcomes the competition.

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