Shortly after SD was hired, I heard rumor that at the 11th hour Chris Peterson call SB and he might be interested in the HC job after initially saying no. Apparently he wanted a huge allowance for hiring assistants. Anyone know if there's any truth to this. If so, it makes me even more bummed and if there's no substance to it we still ended up getting SD and I'm still bummed.

I heard Walsh wanted to coach for us too after we hired SD but Sandy didnt want him to because he wanted to bring Dennis Green and San Wyche with him and they demanded huge salaries for assistants. She also didnt think a zombie could sell ESP tickets.

What a shame.

Peterson would get Donors and Old Blues back to Memorial Stadium.

booth.

Jim Harbaugh said he would coach for free and hire all the assistants using his own money, but Barbour said no.

I heard Saban was this close to signing for us at a salary lower than Sonny's but the faculty wouldn't give him a parking spot on campus.

Sheesh!! I was just wondering if anyone knew anything about this.

StillNoStanfurdium;842234480 said:

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I heard Saban was this close to signing for us at a salary lower than Sonny's but the faculty wouldn't give him a parking spot on campus.

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Saban will win the Nobel prize in football soon.

Belichik wanted the job thats why Tedford visited him

docfrom74;842234488 said:

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Sheesh!! I was just wondering if anyone knew anything about this.

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No, I can't say that I do! However I will have my researchers look into it. BTW just what Peterson are you talking about?

docfrom74;842234428 said:

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Shortly after SD was hired, I heard rumor that at the 11th hour Chris Peterson call SB and he might be interested in the HC job after initially saying no. Apparently he wanted a huge allowance for hiring assistants. Anyone know if there's any truth to this. If so, it makes me even more bummed and if there's no substance to it we still ended up getting SD and I'm still bummed.

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It was probably Dykes calling Texas Tech at the 11th hour, asking for a huge allowance for hiring assistants and getting turned down. I can imagine Buh listening on the same convo, fidgeting impatiently while waiting for the result.

docfrom74;842234428 said:

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Shortly after SD was hired, I heard rumor that at the 11th hour Chris Peterson call SB and he might be interested in the HC job after initially saying no. Apparently he wanted a huge allowance for hiring assistants. Anyone know if there's any truth to this. If so, it makes me even more bummed and if there's no substance to it we still ended up getting SD and I'm still bummed.

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Never happened. Peterson was the first coach contacted. He politely declined. That's as far as it got, never got close to a negotiation. SB then whiffed on Utah St. coach Gary Andersen, who was on his way to Wisconsin. At that point, SB went back to Peterson, and got another rejection.

At that point, I believe panic set in. Sonny Dykes was a hot name... more so because there were a lot of jobs open and not a lot of "names" to fill them all. I think the idea that an "exciting, high powered offense will sell tickets" is what put him over the top.

Peterson was never coming to Cal. Neither was Kirby Smart, Charlie Strong, James Franklin or any of the other fantasy candidates. Quite honestly I think Mike McIntyre, who at the time was down at San Jose State, would have been a solid choice. But that ship has obviously sailed to Boulder.

Please delete this thread title because it got me happy for a second.

Sandy took Peterson's measure. She looked him up and down, checked her matrix and found him strongly lacking against the strong and virile Texan

KoreAmBear;842234532 said:

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Please delete this thread title because it got me happy for a second.

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My first thought was that we picked up some stud recruit. You know, some kid named Peterson.

GB54;842234534 said:

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Sandy took Peterson's measure. She looked him up and down, checked her matrix and found him strongly lacking against the strong and virile Texan

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Please, tell us more about this "matrix".

I'm depressed all over again.

movielover;842234556 said:

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Please, tell us more about this "matrix".

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Well, when she introduced Dykes she talked about the search and about how she and a committee had put together a matrix of values, qualities, etc that the next coach should embody. She went on to say that when she interviewed Dykes she was bowled over about how he hit all the notes. (Winning, apparently, not being one of them)

Got a chuckle...Good gawd Dykes sucks.

Now that the magic seems to be dissipating in Boise, I'm hoping Petersen will be more amenable to taking the Cal job the next time it comes open.

With the bloom off the Broncos, maybe Boise won't be looking so appealing to him.

StillNoStanfurdium;842234480 said:

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I heard Saban was this close to signing for us at a salary lower than Sonny's but the faculty wouldn't give him a parking spot on campus.

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That's just a blatant lie. Saban insisted that Kirby Smart come with him as DC and asst HC. Sandy wanted a DC with a scarier name.

docfrom74;842234488 said:

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Sheesh!! I was just wondering if anyone knew anything about this.

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and there was no second time. No offense, but why are we talking about old news?

It was widely known that Dirk Nowitzki was interested in the job, until he realized that No.

is that someone made up this rumor (not this OP, someone earlier) and posted it. After a couple of other posts, it became Bear Insider fact and used by some to further vilify SB ("can you believe that she hired Dykes even when Chris Peterson called and asked for the job?").

I've heard a similar story, with slightly different timing. Sandy (or the search firm) called Peterson's agent in late October/early November, and was told "no interest". A week or two later, Peterson's agent called and said "there might be some interest; let's talk". Sandy's response was that Cal had already moved past Peterson and was too far down the road with another candidate to start talking with Peterson.

Peterson turned Cal down. We went after him hard. I'm not sure why we felt we had a better chance than UCLA or all the other schools that have pursued him, but he didn't take it. We got beat out by Wisconsin for Anderson. There were probably some NFL people available but we decided we wanted a college coach with current experience who would take the job. That left us with Dykes or McIntyre, both of whom looked like about equal quality hires at the time.

And quite frankly, given what we're paying, we wouldn't get better than a middling lower-conference coach for the money.

This is why I find the "fire Sandy because she hired Dykes" argument particularly annoying. We have these unrealistic expectations for success and we're ridiculously cheap on salaries (then Cal fans complain we're paying too much). Not exactly a recipe for success.

Lots of good reasons to fire Sandy. Hiring Dykes isn't one of them.

This thread is awesome!

Cal Panda Bear;842234460 said:

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I heard Walsh wanted to coach for us too after we hired SD but Sandy didnt want him to because he wanted to bring Dennis Green and San Wyche with him and they demanded huge salaries for assistants. She also didnt think a zombie could sell ESP tickets.

What a shame.

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The comments on this thread are HILARIOUS. Thanks to all the posters.
A bright end to a dismal season.
:rollinglaugh::rollinglaugh::rollinglaugh:
Have a Happy Thanksgiving and a GREAT Basketball Season.
:beer::cheer

I heard that John Gruden wanted to pay our university $15 million per year for the privilege at coaching here at Cal. Sandy said no because she disapproved of his conditional request to hire Bill Parcells as an assistant coach.

movielover;842234556 said:

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Please, tell us more about this "matrix".

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Just follow the white rabbit.

Andy Buh originally turned the job down in hopes of getting the Wisconsin job.

But he lost that job and Sonny Dykes had already been hired, so Dykes had to pay him top dollar to lure such an innovative defensive mind as our defensive coordinator.

Cal Panda Bear;842234460 said:

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I heard Walsh wanted to coach for us too after we hired SD but Sandy didnt want him to because he wanted to bring Dennis Green and San Wyche with him and they demanded huge salaries for assistants. She also didnt think a zombie could sell ESP tickets.

What a shame.

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You know that 6 months from now some poster will show up on BearInsider claiming that it is Gospel truth that Peterson, Green and Wyche were ready to come to Cal but Sandy blocked it.

okaydo;842234862 said:

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Andy Buh originally turned the job down in hopes of getting the Wisconsin job.

But he lost that job and Sonny Dykes had already been hired, so Dykes had to pay him top dollar to lure such an innovative defensive mind as our defensive coordinator.

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It is rather innovative if you think about it. The TFS is all about a high # of plays and a fast pace so our defense works in conjunction with the offensive philosophy to insure that we get back offense as quickly as possible which usually entails giving up a big TD in as few plays as possible.

BeachyBear;842234798 said:

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Peterson turned Cal down. We went after him hard. I'm not sure why we felt we had a better chance than UCLA or all the other schools that have pursued him, but he didn't take it. We got beat out by Wisconsin for Anderson. There were probably some NFL people available but we decided we wanted a college coach with current experience who would take the job. That left us with Dykes or McIntyre, both of whom looked like about equal quality hires at the time.

And quite frankly, given what we're paying, we wouldn't get better than a middling lower-conference coach for the money.

This is why I find the "fire Sandy because she hired Dykes" argument particularly annoying. We have these unrealistic expectations for success and we're ridiculously cheap on salaries (then Cal fans complain we're paying too much). Not exactly a recipe for success.

Lots of good reasons to fire Sandy. Hiring Dykes isn't one of them.

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Beachy -

I think that is probably a decent reconstruction of the facts. But I think that the issue is that IF Sandy was in this position it is the time to go back to the alums and rethink the firing. If we could only afford SD with Tedford having 2+ years on the books and it was a "bad" years to be a buyer then wait. It is a multiyear (multi-decade) kind of decision and you have to get it right.

So.....

A) Sometime around October 31, 2012 Sandy should have understood both the major donor sentiment AND the competitive landscape for coaches. Peterson could have been felt out for the umpteenth time. My own hard on satisfied by approaching Franklin's people to find his interest/price to leave Vandy.

B) After Oregon State 2012, Sandy meets with Tedford. Gets his side of the story/plan. Lets him dangle for a week.

C) Go back to donors. Tell them it will take X to make a major move. Absent X the best thing she can advise is waiting a year.

THAT is what a good AD does. It is about managing multiple stakeholders and managing revenues and outflows. The firing of Tedford in 2012 when this is the best we could do is a fireable offense. Maybe not entirely within her sphere of control and fate of god with the injuries but that is why she makes bank.

socaltownie;842235350 said:

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Beachy -

I think that is probably a decent reconstruction of the facts. But I think that the issue is that IF Sandy was in this position it is the time to go back to the alums and rethink the firing. If we could only afford SD with Tedford having 2+ years on the books and it was a "bad" years to be a buyer then wait. It is a multiyear (multi-decade) kind of decision and you have to get it right.

So.....

A) Sometime around October 31, 2012 Sandy should have understood both the major donor sentiment AND the competitive landscape for coaches. Peterson could have been felt out for the umpteenth time. My own hard on satisfied by approaching Franklin's people to find his interest/price to leave Vandy.

B) After Oregon State 2012, Sandy meets with Tedford. Gets his side of the story/plan. Lets him dangle for a week.

C) Go back to donors. Tell them it will take X to make a major move. Absent X the best thing she can advise is waiting a year.

THAT is what a good AD does. It is about managing multiple stakeholders and managing revenues and outflows. The firing of Tedford in 2012 when this is the best we could do is a fireable offense. Maybe not entirely within her sphere of control and fate of god with the injuries but that is why she makes bank.

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Way to break it down. Firing JT when we did was dumb.