Louisville Jeff Walz to Tennessee?

[cockhrnleghrn]

I will say ... if UConn & Lou meet on Sunday ... the Albany crowd should greet Jeff with a rousing rendition of "Rocky Top."

That would be some gamesmanship right there and it doesn't cross the line, IMO.

 

[SimpleDawg]

Lets just say Waltz does come to Tennessee..there really won't be any rebuilding to do other than him getting in the players that fit his system. He will have a team loaded with talent, even more so than what he will have next season at Louisville, provided that the current roster and the incoming class stay intact. He will inherit a program that laid the groundwork for WCBB and still has huge name recognition and a large fan base. I imagine he would recruit very well here...Basically the Tennessee job is akin to what the Alabama football job was when Nick Saban was hired.

Anyhow, I digress and will drift back down to reality and predict Tennessee will actually hire Kelly Jolly Harper, which would be a much, much cheaper option

I agree with everything you wrote, except Tennessee doesn't need to go "cheap." I don't think handing out money is even an issue at Tennessee. On that note, Harper could go to Louisville. It's only one state over from Missouri, and if she's a good candidate for Tennessee, she certainly can be a good candidate for Louisville.


...

 

[Boxerpups4me]

I'm starting to doubt that Holly is even going to be fired. The only plausible reason for a delay could be that their MBB team is still in the tournament and they don't want there to be a distraction. It's possible that the result might simply be that Holly needs to replace 1 or more assistants. I think we'd all agree that Holly's a great recruiter and that she really just needs a great X's and O's person to take care of strategy and a great player development person for practices. I can definitely see a scenario where she's back next year.

Hey, I think that is probably what is taking so long to announce it. I don't think AD Fulmer wants to look like he is diverting attention away from the great success the Men are having in the NCAA this season.

I think what really cost Holly this season was her inability to discipline the players off the court. There were huge chemistry issues between players and the coaching staff and I think it all just came to a head after the NCAA loss to UCLA. I think she is done and already put in her resignation and all that is left to do is announce the specifics and if she is taking a job in the AD office..

BTW, looking forward to watching that great South Carolina class come in next year and play..

 

[CocoHusky]

I'm starting to doubt that Holly is even going to be fired. The only plausible reason for a delay could be that their MBB team is still in the tournament and they don't want there to be a distraction. It's possible that the result might simply be that Holly needs to replace 1 or more assistants. I think we'd all agree that Holly's a great recruiter and that she really just needs a great X's and O's person to take care of strategy and a great player development person for practices. I can definitely see a scenario where she's back next year.

Not sure I'd agree to that. Good recruiter? Sure. As the head coach Holly would still be required to surprise and approve the X's and O's being drawn up- I see no ability in Holly to even to distinguish between an X and and an O. The program needs new leadership. Expertise at the top is required-That is not Holly.

 

[Magy Cannon]

Usually, where there's smoke, there's fire.

 

[UConnNick]

Why is Louisville's AD so shady? From arena deals to the coaches they choose to run their highest profile programs.

One word...money. It's a commuter school with lousy academics, but the people who live in Louisville are insanely loyal to the school, whether they have any direct connection to it or not. Over half the student body is from Jefferson County, living at home with mommy and daddy. It started out in the 1920's as a municipal college. The state took it over many years later, 1960's I think. That may explain the local, blindly loyal fanbase. The school can do no wrong.

For many years the school allowed the AD to be run totally autonomously from the rest of the school. Jurich is a Las Vegas gambling type. Nobody was watching, so he got away with bloody murder. He surrounded himself with yes men and like minded creeps. It's no wonder Petrino and Pitino worked for him. They were just as sleazy as he was, maybe even more so.

The school used the AD to raise its national profile, the same thing UCONN did when the men's and women's BB programs took off in
the early 1990's. UCONN parlayed its sudden national notoriety into finally getting the state legislature to pony up the $$$ to rebuild its horribly neglected campus, which has transformed the entire school. Louisville's problem is they did it by breaking every conceivable rule, both financially and otherwise, with no oversight. And it's still a lousy academic commuter school, although they're improving on that to some extent.

You do have to grudgingly admire Jurich for one thing. He elevated the school's profile and completely blindsided UCONN's passive administration to worm his way into the ACC. We were up against a riverboat gambling type with nothing to lose. We sat by and watched him get a fourth rate academic institution, with a history of NCAA cheating in a class by itself, into the ACC.

 

[southofnorth]

Is this “insider info” like all the “insider info” about which college the top high school prospects are going to? If it is then I’ll take a pass on this whole topic.

 

[Vowelguy]

Usually, where there's smoke, there's fire.

1 tweet from an unclear source is smoke?

 

[Boxerpups4me]

I agree with everything you wrote, except Tennessee doesn't need to go "cheap." I don't think handing out money is even an issue at Tennessee. On that note, Harper could go to Louisville. It's only one state over from Missouri, and if she's a good candidate for Tennessee, she certainly can be a good candidate for Louisville.


...

Just to add to that..in 2009 tennessee paid pat summit 1.4 mil, which in todays dollars is nearly 1.7 mil. So, i guess maybe it is possible tennessee would be willing to be big bucks for a big name coach

 

[Alibi Ike]

This could be a ploy by walz to negotiate even more money on his contract, i cant imagine tennessee paying what it would take to get him here...kinda akin to the grumor rumors that plagued tennessee football

Tennessee has a lot of money.

 

[Alibi Ike]

Tennessee has a lot of money BUT, they are currently paying Butch Jones $200,000 per month ($2.4 Million per year) until August 2021.

They will have to pay off Holly, then pay the new coach's salary.

They have several billionaire boosters, but that is a lot of money.

Why would Walz leave Louisville where he is king?

At Tennessee, after a couple of years, if he doesn't make the final four at a minimum, the fans will be ready to run him out of town, and they are an especially Vicious fan base. Ultimately, his record at Tennessee will always be compared to Pat Summit's record.

 

[MilfordHusky]

A few cautionary notes...

--- Gene Henley is the Tennessee athletics beat writer for the Times Free Press. This is very different than an ESPN reporter or a Louisville Courier Journal reporter presenting this news/scoop.

-- Jeff Walz is under contract through 2024-2025, per the contract extension he signed after the 2017-2018 season. The contract extension he signed included an extension of the original deal by three years, plus a $50,000 raise.

--- Walz's current contract -- before the extension -- runs through 2022 and pays him $1.15 million annually.

--- Walz's contract with Louisville has a buyout provision, which was part of last year's contract negotiations.

Irrespective of whether Walz takes the job or whether Gene Henley is accurate, these are a few points to consider, at this point in time.

Cam, thanks! One addition and one question. I believe that Jeff's contract also includes incentives for performance that run to $200K per year or more. Do you know the terms of the buyout provision?

 

[HopJim]

1 tweet from an unclear source is smoke?

Not sure what is the truth, but am aware of several cases at other schools where a "source" associated with a competitor started the "rumor" to disrupt one or both school's programs.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Not sure what is the truth, but am aware of several cases at other schools where a "source" associated with a competitor started the "rumor" to disrupt one or both school's programs.

How much more can the Vol Nation be disrupted?? Hmm? I think this could be a plus for Jeff--non-contender for Holly. Her world has been a rolly Coaster for a few years. I too don't know the truth, only a select few do, but rumors are rumors.

 

[Sven23]

Tennessee has a lot of money BUT, they are currently paying Butch Jones $200,000 per month ($2.4 Million per year) until August 2021.

They will have to pay off Holly, then pay the new coach's salary.

.

Holly's buyout is not much on 2 years left on a contract for $690k/yr. It's not cost prohibitive like Geno's.

 

[Carnac]

Wouldnt you guys/gals welcome this hire as it would pertain to the uconn tenn renewed series?

No.

 

[Vowelguy]

Cam, thanks! One addition and one question. I believe that Jeff's contract also includes incentives for performance that run to $200K per year or more. Do you know the terms of the buyout provision?

In an article I've read in the past day, I forget where, pretty sure I saw that Walz buyout was 1.4M, and Hollys is 700k

 

[j66kicker]

Wouldnt you guys/gals welcome this hire as it would pertain to the uconn tenn renewed series?

I don't think we even have any interest in the "renewed series", which amounts to UConn having its arm twisted by the Naismith HOF to do a 2-year charity gig for Pat's foundation. AFAIC Tennessee can buzz off forever.

 

[j66kicker]

Walz would be an idiot to leave what he's built at Louisville and jump into that dumpster fire of a program.

I'm envisioning Asia Durr & Sam Fuehring - and especially their underclass teammates - getting swamped with "Walz to TN" questions in the Louisville version of those informal hallway after-practice cell phone camera interviews. Jeff needs to be telling his team right now, "I'm here for the long haul. Don't listen to this crap - it's just noise." He needs to promise them, and he needs to mean it. I don't even know if that would be enough to quiet the seeds of doubt his players must have right now at this most critical time. If he doesn't mean it then he deserves what he gets.

 

[DanishBulldog]

Welcome to the world of agents.

Agent to UT: You know, Waltz might be available.
UT to Agent: What $$$ are we talking about?
Agent to L'ville: UT is interested in Waltz. You can keep him, but it will cost you.
L'ville to Agent: He just got a new deal. We expect him to honor the contract.
L'ville to reporter: Not looking good with keeping Waltz.

Meanwhile, Waltz is going, "What just happened?"

 

[Gamecockfan77]

If Tennessee is looking to hire someone that is still coaching, they don't have much incentive to announce Warlick's firing.

They can probably do what legwork they need to do informally and then make a decision based on feedback whether moving on is the right move or not.

I'm not sure what earthy difference firing her now makes to the men's team's attention, but might let the AD make the trip in peace.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Fulmer probably has as good an idea as anyone how actually important it is to the Tennessee fan base as a whole to be great at WBB.

So it will be interesting to see what he does here in terms of timing and in terms of money if and when Warlick is fired.

Left to his druthers he might rather spend money on supporting his new football hire and helping him draw up plans on how to do dirt.

 

[UConnNick]

Walz would be an idiot to leave what he's built at Louisville and jump into that dumpster fire of a program.

I'm envisioning Asia Durr & Sam Fuehring - and especially their underclass teammates - getting swamped with "Walz to TN" questions in the Louisville version of those informal hallway after-practice cell phone camera interviews. Jeff needs to be telling his team right now, "I'm here for the long haul. Don't listen to this crap - it's just noise." He needs to promise them, and he needs to mean it. I don't even know if that would be enough to quiet the seeds of doubt his players must have right now at this most critical time. If he doesn't mean it then he deserves what he gets.

I'm not sure how well that works anymore. There's a fairly long list of coaches that have done that, perhaps most notably Brian Kelly when he left Cincinnati, and then left anyway a few days later. Several coaches, including our own Randy Edsall, didn't even say goodbye to their former team, which is unforgivable IMO.

 

[biobioprof]

Not sure what is the truth, but am aware of several cases at other schools where a "source" associated with a competitor started the "rumor" to disrupt one or both school's programs.

So you're predicting someone will blame Geno and UConn for the Walz rumors?

 

[ScarlettB]

In an interesting (and maybe related) development, Louisville assistant coach Samantha Williams was just named the new Head Coach at Eastern Kentucky University.