(I kid--Comp is the legend, as are his DotComps. This is NOT on that level...)
From my seat in CAVE CREEK, AZ:
It's NOT about a buyout. If a guy wants to leave, he will (and the kind of school that would want him will find the dollars).
It's about:
A GREAT FOUNDATION:
Thanks to our big donors, Coach Mark Dantonio and a united, smart MSU Administration, we've done a ton to help get CMT started in the right way:
BELIEF & FIT:
We've got a Coach who KNOWS he can win BIG in EL.
CMT has ALREADY demonstrated that he isn't going to allow this program to fall victim to "self-imposed limitations".
And he's a Midwest and BIG guy.
And, you don't think he knows EXACTLY what LSU is going to be like? Come on. Any black head coach would take that job KNOWING his race is always going to be an issue down there.
And why on Earth would anyone want to follow Saban at Alabama? You could be GREAT and it won't be good enough. Ever. And that job isn't open. Now, or probably soon.
USC? Great gig, but he's not a West Coast guy. And I find it hard to think he'd be ok with being the second fiddle that you are in LA. (Pro town, Lakers town, Dodgers town, even when SC is rolling...)
And MSU is FINALLY starting to properly celebrate and recognize our proud history of being a ground-breaker in opportunities for African-Americans.
We all know, when you get recruits on the incredible MSU campus, and they "feel" the people/culture, the tradition, and...well, with CMT's approach to recruiting and new facilities, we're going to be more than fine here.
TIMING IS EVERYTHING IN LIFE:
CMT strikes me as a cat who wants to build his own legendary status and identity--and is confident he can. I don't think he believes he needs a better job to win big.
Timing helps:
He's just shy of $6M. It's not like he's making $3M and would start making $9M.
If he's making $6M, you can take him to $8M and extend his contract and do some other things and then the money is truly off the table.
SELF-SOILING IN ANN ARBOR:
Michigan State University--right or wrong--has been called a "Sleeping Giant" by many, for a long, long time.
UM had their WORST fears realized, under Mark Dantonio. (An absolute LEGEND.)
The only thing worse than CMD for them, is an MSU FB program that puts even more resources into the program, and starts recruiting at a new level with an excellent Head Coach.
Imagine the self-soiling in Ann Arbor...no wonder they ARE doing everything they possibly can to see CMT leave EL.
It's been 13 years of Michigan State being consistently good in football, winning divisions, winning BIG titles, BIG championship games, winning Rose and Cotton Bowls, CFB playoff appearance.
While Michigan has been--as their non-deluded fans have lamented: "We're nothing more than a helmet, a fight song and a big stadium.
A full generation of kids has grown up seeing Michigan State be the far better program. Imagine if that goes another 12-15? And it just might.
Not to mention the FAR superior reputation Michigan State enjoys outside the state of Michigan v. inside the state. Just at the time CMT is going national in recruiting. Effectively so...
HOW GOOD MIGHT CMT BE?
Sure, CMT has plenty to prove. It's early. This team has been a joy to watch, but I don't think it's a great team. But that's beside the point.
Even the normally restrained Jim Comparoni said (BEFORE the season even started, by the way) that CMT might turn out to be "...the most dangerous man in the BIG. Maybe the most dangerous man in all of college football".
I think we are all seeing why that may be the case.
And, it's not ONE of these things that makes the difference--it's the sum of the parts. And the sum of the parts to be the head man in East Lansing is pretty darn good, right now.
(Boy did we dodge a bullet in the AD search. Had we not hired Haller, I fear it could have tilted this whole thing...)
And if CMT turns in 12-15 years in East Lansing, we just might need room for three "statues" (or named buildings, or whatever) on that beautiful campus--Tom Izzo, Mark Dantonio and Mel Tucker.
CMT often wears a Michigan State t-shirt at practices: "Destination"
Key donors, the administration and the University have done a ton to build a great start to making it THE destination for CMT.
We need to do whatever else it takes, to make it just that for him, because we might just have another legend in the making.
From my seat in CAVE CREEK, AZ:
It's NOT about a buyout. If a guy wants to leave, he will (and the kind of school that would want him will find the dollars).
It's about:
- Compensation
- Facilities & Resources
- Support (fan base, donors, exposure, etc.)
- Recruiting draw
- Admin support (AD, President, Hoops Coach, University)
- Perception of ability to win big
- Fit
A GREAT FOUNDATION:
Thanks to our big donors, Coach Mark Dantonio and a united, smart MSU Administration, we've done a ton to help get CMT started in the right way:
- The commitment to some incredible facilities upgrades, his compensation, the salary pool for his staff, extra resources for new staff (nutrition, social media, etc.).
- Huge dollars from BIG TV and dueling billionaires who probably aren't done dropping huge dollars--all of that helps.
- A unified Admin: The AD he wanted and a huge, important, willing asset in the hoops coach. (He and Izzo clearly have a great groove going together--that is NOT a small thing.) And a University now united around our new AD--the AD he wanted, who helped hire him, who is HIS guy.
BELIEF & FIT:
We've got a Coach who KNOWS he can win BIG in EL.
CMT has ALREADY demonstrated that he isn't going to allow this program to fall victim to "self-imposed limitations".
And he's a Midwest and BIG guy.
And, you don't think he knows EXACTLY what LSU is going to be like? Come on. Any black head coach would take that job KNOWING his race is always going to be an issue down there.
And why on Earth would anyone want to follow Saban at Alabama? You could be GREAT and it won't be good enough. Ever. And that job isn't open. Now, or probably soon.
USC? Great gig, but he's not a West Coast guy. And I find it hard to think he'd be ok with being the second fiddle that you are in LA. (Pro town, Lakers town, Dodgers town, even when SC is rolling...)
And MSU is FINALLY starting to properly celebrate and recognize our proud history of being a ground-breaker in opportunities for African-Americans.
We all know, when you get recruits on the incredible MSU campus, and they "feel" the people/culture, the tradition, and...well, with CMT's approach to recruiting and new facilities, we're going to be more than fine here.
TIMING IS EVERYTHING IN LIFE:
CMT strikes me as a cat who wants to build his own legendary status and identity--and is confident he can. I don't think he believes he needs a better job to win big.
Timing helps:
- He probably looks at OSU and thinks they are more vulnerable under Day than they were under Urban or Tressel. (Not vulnerable, more than they have been.)
- And with Harbs at UM, he probably thinks what we do: "good".
He's just shy of $6M. It's not like he's making $3M and would start making $9M.
If he's making $6M, you can take him to $8M and extend his contract and do some other things and then the money is truly off the table.
SELF-SOILING IN ANN ARBOR:
Michigan State University--right or wrong--has been called a "Sleeping Giant" by many, for a long, long time.
UM had their WORST fears realized, under Mark Dantonio. (An absolute LEGEND.)
The only thing worse than CMD for them, is an MSU FB program that puts even more resources into the program, and starts recruiting at a new level with an excellent Head Coach.
Imagine the self-soiling in Ann Arbor...no wonder they ARE doing everything they possibly can to see CMT leave EL.
It's been 13 years of Michigan State being consistently good in football, winning divisions, winning BIG titles, BIG championship games, winning Rose and Cotton Bowls, CFB playoff appearance.
While Michigan has been--as their non-deluded fans have lamented: "We're nothing more than a helmet, a fight song and a big stadium.
A full generation of kids has grown up seeing Michigan State be the far better program. Imagine if that goes another 12-15? And it just might.
Not to mention the FAR superior reputation Michigan State enjoys outside the state of Michigan v. inside the state. Just at the time CMT is going national in recruiting. Effectively so...
HOW GOOD MIGHT CMT BE?
Sure, CMT has plenty to prove. It's early. This team has been a joy to watch, but I don't think it's a great team. But that's beside the point.
Even the normally restrained Jim Comparoni said (BEFORE the season even started, by the way) that CMT might turn out to be "...the most dangerous man in the BIG. Maybe the most dangerous man in all of college football".
I think we are all seeing why that may be the case.
And, it's not ONE of these things that makes the difference--it's the sum of the parts. And the sum of the parts to be the head man in East Lansing is pretty darn good, right now.
(Boy did we dodge a bullet in the AD search. Had we not hired Haller, I fear it could have tilted this whole thing...)
And if CMT turns in 12-15 years in East Lansing, we just might need room for three "statues" (or named buildings, or whatever) on that beautiful campus--Tom Izzo, Mark Dantonio and Mel Tucker.
CMT often wears a Michigan State t-shirt at practices: "Destination"
Key donors, the administration and the University have done a ton to build a great start to making it THE destination for CMT.
We need to do whatever else it takes, to make it just that for him, because we might just have another legend in the making.
