ISU passed on Jeter; Jeter didn't turn down ISU!

[nil]

I called a good friend who lives in Iowa, and touched on ISU's coach search for a second - he is looking online for the article, but there was specifically a quote from ISU's AD in an Iowa newspaper (city?) that states that Jeter was a bit "upset" at the fact that THEY passed on Jeter - not the other way around, as many of you seem to believe.

Not to upset you guys, but it seems that "Jeter the great" was not doing UWM a favor, rather he was just turned down in the process, and never had a shot at actually deciding in the first place!

I'm just wondering what some of you think about this now?

As soon as I get that link, I'll post it for you to read.

[aknowsense]

ZZZZZZZZZZZZ

[PJD]

Nothing looks worse to a program than losing your first choice. Rob did a nice job of not commenting on details. ISU should do the same thing. If pressed, I'm sure the AD would say they got their first choice. Doesn't really matter now much, does it. What happened happened. If you look at how the events unfolded, that's pretty hard to believe. This means little to me as a panther fan. I'm not even sure why I bothered to do this post.

[germanathens]

Atherton Barber, I believe you have the correct story, but it is quite irrelevant. Rob is here for another year.

[milwsport]

Atherton, the timeline and what we know for sure happened doesn't fit that version.

ISU AD Pollard interviewed Mc Dermott on Sunday. He drove to Madison to interview Jeter on Monday. About an hour or so after he would have arrived back at ISU, their web sites started posting that Jeter was the choice.

By early Monday evening both their official and unofficial fan sites had postings that said their board admins talked to people in their Athletic Department and were told Jeter would be announced as their coach the next morning.

They also said that negotiations were underway and would continue that evening
And in truth they were.

Jeter went to our AD, Bud Hadiet. Our AD undoubtedly checked to be sure ISU made an offer before bumping Jeter's salary up to 500k. No way does he call the heavy hitter donors for help unless he was certain an offer had been made. He wouldn't even have to take RJ's word for it. Those negotiations would have included Jeter's 900k buyout clause.

UWM upped the ante. Jeter accepted and informed ISU sometime Monday evening. According to Pollard he called Mc Dermott around midnight Monday evening and offered him the job before Jeter announced that he was staying which would have made ISU look bad and Mc Dermott look like a second choice.

Pollard called RJ Tuesday morning to let him know Mc Dermott had accepted and the deal with him had been worked out so Jeter could announce that he was staying.

No way does Jeter get a 60% increase in his pay unless Bud was sure he had to offer that to keep RJ.

No way does it take ISU 36 hours to offer the job to Mc Dermott if they knew all along he was their first choice. And I don't think their fan site moderators just made up being told by ISU officials that Jeter was selected and would be announced the next day.

I think ISU was surprised that Jeter didn't accept and laid it on thick to save face but their version just doesn't match the facts as we KNOW them to be.

But think what you like. We're happy he's staying.

[damasa]

nil said:

I called a good friend who lives in Iowa, and touched on ISU's coach search for a second - he is looking online for the article, but there was specifically a quote from ISU's AD in an Iowa newspaper (city?) that states that Jeter was a bit "upset" at the fact that THEY passed on Jeter - not the other way around, as many of you seem to believe.

Not to upset you guys, but it seems that "Jeter the great" was not doing UWM a favor, rather he was just turned down in the process, and never had a shot at actually deciding in the first place!

I'm just wondering what some of you think about this now?

As soon as I get that link, I'll post it for you to read.

Your buddy shouldn't believe everything he reads. That's a bad way to live.

[nil]

"He's an outstanding coach. He's going to have many opportunities ahead of him, but I just felt that coach McDermott was a better fit for Iowa State. When I really thought hard about it, it came down to giving a guy from Iowa a chance to prove that his formula works at the big-time level."

[milwsport]

Translation. "We screwed up when someone let our fan boards know Jeter was the choice and he didn't accept. I don't want Mc Dermott to look like warmed over left overs and I don't want recruits to think ISU is not a desireable place."

[Pantherholic]

Atherton don't even post this crap unless u have the link already. also, name one school from a power conference that will publicly admit they lost out on a coaching candidate to a mid-major school.

[Panther 106]

We have already been through this discussion in much depth, see ISU to hire Northern Iowa Coach thread.

Barber, If you follow the paper trail, you are correct, but there is more to the story than has been "officially" reported.

[boosyourdaddy]

So you guys must be done discussing the NIT at Butler, huh?

[TBone]

In all honesty, I could care less if ISU made the offer and Jeter said no or if they didn't make the offer. The reason I was dissapointed in hearing that Jeter may head there was from a continuation of momentum for the program. Having Jeter back gives us a much better chance to do that.

And in all honesty, if they said that they chose McDermott first, I think they made a better choice. Not that Jeter isn't a good coach or won't be a good coach at that level. I just think his inexperience in a head coaching position may have been exposed there. I think it's a win-win situation for both parties personally.

T

[nil]

No we were taken out a week ago.... but good one.

We were comming off of the same success (ours was even longer) several years ago, before our coaching fall out caught up with us and we're finally comming out of it. You guys could easily go through the same couple of years of re-building to get back on top... the NIT jokes may be funny now, but just wait to see what happens after the turnover, and loss of a senior laden team.

However, this isnt about Butler, I'm just intrigued by the fact that many of you turned from hating Jeter to loving him, because you actually think that he turned down the opportunity.
I like TBone's explanation, but I'm sure he's not one of the people who were going crazy on Jeter when everyone thought he was going to be gone.

[nighthawk]

AB:

I suppose McDermott wasn't called until Midnight because Pollard lost his number.

He had 6 hours to call him, but didn't until midnight? Unlikely, if you ask me.

Why was he waiting?

Was he making up his mind? Maybe, but why not call in the morning on Tuesday? Kansas St had interviewed McDermott but was no where near ready to make an offer to anyone yet as far as I can tell, and they weren't going to make him an offer between midnight and 8 Tuesday morning.

Was JP just slow on the uptake? I doubt it.

I think he heard from Robbie at about 11:30 PM Monday that Robbie wasn't biting. Then it was on to Plan B (McDermott).

Why would UWM give Jeter a bump and extension that night, if there wasn't an "unofficial" offer on the table? They could have done that on Tuesday or Wednesday. Jeter wasn't going anywhere, if you believe the spin.

And why refer to it as "Jeter Staying Put as Men's Coach" and "Jeter not Leaving UWM" if he wasn't given the chance to leave in the first place.

Wouldn't the headline read "Jeter Not Offered ISU Position - Remains at UWM"?

If I don't invite you to a party, do you tell everyone that you decided to stay home for the night, or do you say you aren't going because you weren't invited?

The facts are:
Jeter Interviewed Monday afternoon in Madison. All reports until 7 PM were that Jeter had the job provided there were no complications. Jeter met with Bud Monday night. Jeter got a raise Monday night. McDermott was made an offer at Midnight on Monday, after Jeter met with Bud and got a raise. Jeter announced Tuesday morning that he was "staying", but denied an "official" offer, which of course is factually accurate in the literal, thus sparing Pollard the embarrassment of losing out to a mid-major for his #1 candidate.

That would have made McDermott less desirable for the boosters of ISU, and less acceptable to the fans at ISU, not to mention make ISU look pretty bad overall. There are reputations at stake in these decisions, and it isn't often that an offer from a BCS school is turned down and reported that way. Too many egos to stroke for that to happen.

This is JP's first hire, and it MUST appear as if he "got his man", and Jeter would not allow anything to come out that would make his close friend look silly in his first big decision as AD.

The ISU "disappointed" comments have little to no impact on Jeter, Bud or UWM in general, because they already know the facts. Jeter could probably care less what the media thinks, as well. as long as his friend looks like he got what he wanted, he's a happy guy.

Jeter is one of the most loyal people in coaching. He turned down the head coaching job at UWM when Ryan left because he felt he owed Ryan a few more years as his assistant (his words, not mine). He turned down the ISU job because he felt he owed UWM and Bud for giving him his first big job (my words, not his). And he would rather look like he "lost out" on the job at ISU than have his friend Pollard be left with lots of egg on his face.

[brewtownbrian]

Butler fans...always trying to start some s**t!

No matter if ISU turned Jeter down or if Jeter turned them down...the Head Coach of the 2006-2007 UWM Men's Basketball team is Rob Jeter III.

That's all that matters to me. Save the "he said, she said" for the Butler board.