I know he doesn't interview well...but he's won back to back conference coach of the year awards. We need a new sheriff.
Dennis Gates
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Last: 1 yr ago by calumnus
I don't have the sources off the top of my head, but I've definitely read about studies that show that the interview itself is a poor gauge of how someone will do in a position. Previous performance and work experience often have a much bigger impact in predicting someone's future potential, but often times we focus on the few hours spent in the interview instead of the previous years of relevant work when judging whether to hire that person.
I'm reminded that someone else who recently has been blamed for having "poor" interviews is Eric Bienemy, currently offensive coordinator for the Chiefs, was for the second year in a row unable to secure a head coaching position, while guys like Nick Sirianni (who?), and Dan Campbell ("we are going to eat the opponents knees", or something just as stupid) were hired.
I'm reminded that someone else who recently has been blamed for having "poor" interviews is Eric Bienemy, currently offensive coordinator for the Chiefs, was for the second year in a row unable to secure a head coaching position, while guys like Nick Sirianni (who?), and Dan Campbell ("we are going to eat the opponents knees", or something just as stupid) were hired.
The "More Than Just A Recruiter" Interview Series: Ep. 13: Cleveland State Head Coach Dennis Gates - Bing video
Gates Interview - Horizon Coach of the Year
A very interesting introspective story chronicling his playing and coaching career.
Gates Interview - Horizon Coach of the Year
A very interesting introspective story chronicling his playing and coaching career.
Harborview
I've probably interviewed over 1,000 people in the last few decades (and also instructed companies on how to interview). From data and experience, the best determination of job success in order have been:
1. First couple weeks on the job*
2. Prior experience/resume
3. Education/Other accomplishments (yes - hobbies are probably more important than the interview).
4. Interview
Yep - dead last. The interview is often more of a screening or acceptance process. As in, we want to hire this person, but want the group to meet with them and get buy in. From an employers perspective, Good candidates that don't interview well are generally not as harmful as poor candidates that 'nail the interview'. Typically, the hardest job for an employer is screening for the candidate (items 2 & 3, above) or moving on if the person doesn't work out in the first few weeks or months (item 1).
*Some employers have serious organizational or institutional roadblocks to do so, but it truly is the best indicator of success (and failure, when they keep them on for too long).
D1 Coaching is not a typical job, but some of these lessons can be applied in any case.
1. First couple weeks on the job*
2. Prior experience/resume
3. Education/Other accomplishments (yes - hobbies are probably more important than the interview).
4. Interview
Yep - dead last. The interview is often more of a screening or acceptance process. As in, we want to hire this person, but want the group to meet with them and get buy in. From an employers perspective, Good candidates that don't interview well are generally not as harmful as poor candidates that 'nail the interview'. Typically, the hardest job for an employer is screening for the candidate (items 2 & 3, above) or moving on if the person doesn't work out in the first few weeks or months (item 1).
*Some employers have serious organizational or institutional roadblocks to do so, but it truly is the best indicator of success (and failure, when they keep them on for too long).
D1 Coaching is not a typical job, but some of these lessons can be applied in any case.
The "More Than Just A Recruiter" Interview Series: Ep. 13: Cleveland State Head Coach Dennis Gates - Bing video
Forward to the James Knowlton Cal AD - Dennis Gates
Forward to the James Knowlton Cal AD - Dennis Gates
Harborview
Seems like it's just a matter of time before Dennis Gates gets a high major gig. Let it be us.
Maybe I'm being too cynical, but I feel like unless we grab him this year, it's going to get too competitive for us to hire him down the road (unless he feels a stronger connection to Cal than is apparent). And I think it's pretty clear that we are not going to hire him this off-season.KoreAmBear said:
Seems like it's just a matter of time before Dennis Gates gets a high major gig. Let it be us.
If I were the AD, I would be using back channels to find out what Dennis' interest level is for Cal and if so, let him know that there is interest level in him. This does not need to be the AD asking permission to speak with the coach. There HAS to be alumni that are connected with Dennis and can find out.KoreAmBear said:
Seems like it's just a matter of time before Dennis Gates gets a high major gig. Let it be us.
I work at a community college (another atypical job) and I've only been on a few interview committees. However I especially agree with your point in bold above since I've seen people the committee just liked get hired over obviously better qualified candidates. I think the problem was not the interview per se but the people and process involved.BeachedBear said:
I've probably interviewed over 1,000 people in the last few decades (and also instructed companies on how to interview). From data and experience, the best determination of job success in order have been:
1. First couple weeks on the job*
2. Prior experience/resume
3. Education/Other accomplishments (yes - hobbies are probably more important than the interview).
4. Interview
Yep - dead last. The interview is often more of a screening or acceptance process. As in, we want to hire this person, but want the group to meet with them and get buy in. From an employers perspective, Good candidates that don't interview well are generally not as harmful as poor candidates that 'nail the interview'. Typically, the hardest job for an employer is screening for the candidate (items 2 & 3, above) or moving on if the person doesn't work out in the first few weeks or months (item 1).
*Some employers have serious organizational or institutional roadblocks to do so, but it truly is the best indicator of success (and failure, when they keep them on for too long).
D1 Coaching is not a typical job, but some of these lessons can be applied in any case.
Personally I've found interviews helpful in screening candidates. I've encountered more than a few candidates with impressive resumes who during the interview made it obvious they didn't have a good grasp of the (technical) material. That's important for education but might be hard to determine for a coaching position.
I've never been able to convince a committee to try this but I've suggested we ask candidates to prepare a talk on some topic none of the committee members know much about. That would reveal something about teaching ability. I doubt a public school could get away with this but I'd like to see coaching candidates give a recruiting pitch to a few high school kids and their parents, then get feedback from the kids and parents. The candidates could similarly give a short clinic on one topic to the kids with the committee observing.
So now you know why I've only been on a few hiring committees.
Dennis Gates speaks with great respect and attachment concerning his time and association with Ben Braun while at Cal. Certainly these past excellent representatives of Cal continue to maintain their current cordial contact respectful relationship.BeachedBear said:If I were the AD, I would be using back channels to find out what Dennis' interest level is for Cal and if so, let him know that there is interest level in him. This does not need to be the AD asking permission to speak with the coach. There HAS to be alumni that are connected with Dennis and can find out.KoreAmBear said:
Seems like it's just a matter of time before Dennis Gates gets a high major gig. Let it be us.
It seems likely Ben Braun would happily act as the "back channel" representative between the parties if the alumnae and/or James Knowlton asked him to carry the message.
Harborview
Intuit said:Dennis Gates speaks with great respect and attachment concerning his time and association with Ben Braun while at Cal. Certainly these past excellent representatives of Cal continue to maintain their current cordial contact respectful relationship.BeachedBear said:If I were the AD, I would be using back channels to find out what Dennis' interest level is for Cal and if so, let him know that there is interest level in him. This does not need to be the AD asking permission to speak with the coach. There HAS to be alumni that are connected with Dennis and can find out.KoreAmBear said:
Seems like it's just a matter of time before Dennis Gates gets a high major gig. Let it be us.
It seems likely Ben Braun would happily act as the "back channel" representative between the parties if the alumnae and/or James Knowlton asked him to carry the message.
This is a good idea. My thought was that maybe the infamous "search firm" could perform that function, since that seems to be the strongest connection with Knowlton. Yes, I am saying this a tiny bit tongue-in-cheek, but, sadly, not really.
CalLifer said:
I don't have the sources off the top of my head, but I've definitely read about studies that show that the interview itself is a poor gauge of how someone will do in a position. Previous performance and work experience often have a much bigger impact in predicting someone's future potential, but often times we focus on the few hours spent in the interview instead of the previous years of relevant work when judging whether to hire that person.
I'm reminded that someone else who recently has been blamed for having "poor" interviews is Eric Bienemy, currently offensive coordinator for the Chiefs, was for the second year in a row unable to secure a head coaching position, while guys like Nick Sirianni (who?), and Dan Campbell ("we are going to eat the opponents knees", or something just as stupid) were hired.
I have heard the exact same thing. If anybody ever finds those studies, so we can cite them, let us know!
What I have found to be the best indicator is recommendations from reliable sources, i.e. a source that you trust, respect and know they're not making the recommendation based on their own agenda.
An example of the latter (a differing agenda) was when Bill Walsh recommended Tom Holmoe to be our football coach. Walsh actually liked Cal, but his agenda was to help out and promote one of his own guys.
A good AD has sources all over the place who he respects and can trust.
Me too. I'd love for this too happen, but the timing isn't great. Seems like Fox gets at least one more year. Maybe some savior with money to burn can swoop in and pay his buyout.
I think the one thing to be careful of here is that a lot of times, this leads to people in charge hiring candidates that look a lot like themselves. Generally, for many of us, the people we trust and respect are people that look like us (for no reason other than our society generally stratifies in ways where that is the outcome). I think it's more important (1) to really understand what it takes to succeed in the position you are hiring for, (2) to do the work necessary to understand how to identify good candidates, and (3) what are the best questions you can ask about their background and of their references to really suss out how they would fit your vision for the role. Further, as the person in hiring, you really need to understand your own blind spots and fight those.Big C said:CalLifer said:
I don't have the sources off the top of my head, but I've definitely read about studies that show that the interview itself is a poor gauge of how someone will do in a position. Previous performance and work experience often have a much bigger impact in predicting someone's future potential, but often times we focus on the few hours spent in the interview instead of the previous years of relevant work when judging whether to hire that person.
I'm reminded that someone else who recently has been blamed for having "poor" interviews is Eric Bienemy, currently offensive coordinator for the Chiefs, was for the second year in a row unable to secure a head coaching position, while guys like Nick Sirianni (who?), and Dan Campbell ("we are going to eat the opponents knees", or something just as stupid) were hired.
I have heard the exact same thing. If anybody ever finds those studies, so we can cite them, let us know!
What I have found to be the best indicator is recommendations from reliable sources, i.e. a source that you trust, respect and know they're not making the recommendation based on their own agenda.
An example of the latter was when Bill Walsh recommended Tom Holmoe to be our football coach. Walsh actually liked Cal, but his agenda was to help out and promote one of his own guys.
A good AD has sources all over the place who he respects and can trust.
Great points.
I've never bought the bad interview story on himsheki said:
I know he doesn't interview well...but he's won back to back conference coach of the year awards. We need a new sheriff.
Take the time to listen to the attached Dennis Gates interview.
Cal alums must be proud to acknowledge Gates as example of an accomplished University of California graduate who is also an inspiring leader and basketball coach.
Cal alums must be proud to acknowledge Gates as example of an accomplished University of California graduate who is also an inspiring leader and basketball coach.
Harborview
He was called the sheriff because of his defense, which was pretty good. But he also was the main guy guarding Eddie House when House went off for 61 at Haas. Of course, what kind of a player you were has little bearing on how good a coach you will be. I hope he gets some consideration for the Cal job if and when it becomes available.SFBear92 said:I've never bought the bad interview story on himsheki said:
I know he doesn't interview well...but he's won back to back conference coach of the year awards. We need a new sheriff.
SFCityBear
Intuit said:
The "More Than Just A Recruiter" Interview Series: Ep. 13: Cleveland State Head Coach Dennis Gates - Bing video
Gates Interview - Horizon Coach of the Year
A very interesting introspective story chronicling his playing and coaching career.
Wow. Ok, I'm completely sold. We would be lucky to bring him back to Cal.
SFBear92 said:I've never bought the bad interview story on himsheki said:
I know he doesn't interview well...but he's won back to back conference coach of the year awards. We need a new sheriff.
After listening to that damn good interview anybody who claims his prior interview with our AD was "bad" is damning the interviewer more than the interviewee.
I love it when people think outside the box, come up with new creative solutions.stu said:I work at a community college (another atypical job) and I've only been on a few interview committees. However I especially agree with your point in bold above since I've seen people the committee just liked get hired over obviously better qualified candidates. I think the problem was not the interview per se but the people and process involved.BeachedBear said:
I've probably interviewed over 1,000 people in the last few decades (and also instructed companies on how to interview). From data and experience, the best determination of job success in order have been:
1. First couple weeks on the job*
2. Prior experience/resume
3. Education/Other accomplishments (yes - hobbies are probably more important than the interview).
4. Interview
Yep - dead last. The interview is often more of a screening or acceptance process. As in, we want to hire this person, but want the group to meet with them and get buy in. From an employers perspective, Good candidates that don't interview well are generally not as harmful as poor candidates that 'nail the interview'. Typically, the hardest job for an employer is screening for the candidate (items 2 & 3, above) or moving on if the person doesn't work out in the first few weeks or months (item 1).
*Some employers have serious organizational or institutional roadblocks to do so, but it truly is the best indicator of success (and failure, when they keep them on for too long).
D1 Coaching is not a typical job, but some of these lessons can be applied in any case.
Personally I've found interviews helpful in screening candidates. I've encountered more than a few candidates with impressive resumes who during the interview made it obvious they didn't have a good grasp of the (technical) material. That's important for education but might be hard to determine for a coaching position.
I've never been able to convince a committee to try this but I've suggested we ask candidates to prepare a talk on some topic none of the committee members know much about. That would reveal something about teaching ability. I doubt a public school could get away with this but I'd like to see coaching candidates give a recruiting pitch to a few high school kids and their parents, then get feedback from the kids and parents. The candidates could similarly give a short clinic on one topic to the kids with the committee observing.
So now you know why I've only been on a few hiring committees.
Don't sell yourself short! I'd listen to your ideas.
Having seen that game, Eddie House was gonna score big time on whoever attempted to guard him. A scorer who was on fire.SFCityBear said:He was called the sheriff because of his defense, which was pretty good. But he also was the main guy guarding Eddie House when House went off for 61 at Haas. Of course, what kind of a player you were has little bearing on how good a coach you will be. I hope he gets some consideration for the Cal job if and when it becomes available.SFBear92 said:I've never bought the bad interview story on himsheki said:
I know he doesn't interview well...but he's won back to back conference coach of the year awards. We need a new sheriff.
Gates was a very good defender and very long. And no one was going to stop Eddie that night.
Gates was not very longsuperbear99 said:
Gates was a very good defender and very long. And no one was going to stop Eddie that night.
I'd also say that any time you give up 61 to any individual player, the fault is more with team defense and scheme than with any one player. I remember watching the game, but it was quite a while ago, but I'm guessing that House was running all over, being screened for, etc. At some point, Braun needed to adjust something to try to slow House down (or he did and House was so on fire it didn't matter). But it's never one guy's fault if someone goes off like that.superbear99 said:
Gates was a very good defender and very long. And no one was going to stop Eddie that night.
True on two facets - it was a team effort (or lack thereof) and it was also a performance for the ages by House. he was making some Curry - like step back threes from 8 feet beyond the arc and such. It was not a physical domination, but the game DID go to 2 OTs and Eddie played the entire time and didn't get gassed, when everyone else on the floor did.CalLifer said:I'd also say that any time you give up 61 to any individual player, the fault is more with team defense and scheme than with any one player. I remember watching the game, but it was quite a while ago, but I'm guessing that House was running all over, being screened for, etc. At some point, Braun needed to adjust something to try to slow House down (or he did and House was so on fire it didn't matter). But it's never one guy's fault if someone goes off like that.superbear99 said:
Gates was a very good defender and very long. And no one was going to stop Eddie that night.
Per box score, House played 50 minutes (never came out once) and went 18-for-30 from the field, including 7-of-10 from 3-point range and made 18 of 19 free throws.
Very good points. House also had 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals. I should not have laid all the responsibility for guarding House on Gates, as according to the box score, Gates played only 24 minutes, so he was not the only player guarding House. Still, that was 10 minutes longer than Gates usually played in a game (14), so he may very well have been gassed to some extent trying to stop House. In the video I saw, Gates lost House several times, which was uncharacteristic of Gates to lose any man he guarded.BeachedBear said:True on two facets - it was a team effort (or lack thereof) and it was also a performance for the ages by House. he was making some Curry - like step back threes from 8 feet beyond the arc and such. It was not a physical domination, but the game DID go to 2 OTs and Eddie played the entire time and didn't get gassed, when everyone else on the floor did.CalLifer said:I'd also say that any time you give up 61 to any individual player, the fault is more with team defense and scheme than with any one player. I remember watching the game, but it was quite a while ago, but I'm guessing that House was running all over, being screened for, etc. At some point, Braun needed to adjust something to try to slow House down (or he did and House was so on fire it didn't matter). But it's never one guy's fault if someone goes off like that.superbear99 said:
Gates was a very good defender and very long. And no one was going to stop Eddie that night.
Per box score, House played 50 minutes (never came out once) and went 18-for-30 from the field, including 7-of-10 from 3-point range and made 18 of 19 free throws.
SFCityBear
Jerod Haas compared to Dennis Gates represents the antithesis of leadership and coaching methodology
Stanford falls 79-42 to USC: Jerod Haase Postgame (247sports.com)
Stanford falls 79-42 to USC: Jerod Haase Postgame (247sports.com)
Harborview
Tell the truth. Stop talking in circles. Looks like Davis may not be back. Hasse is talking nonsense.
Go Bears!
sheki said:
I know he doesn't interview well...but he's won back to back conference coach of the year awards. We need a new sheriff.
I never understand why people take self serving information and rumors from inside the Cal administration at face value. I don't have much access to insiders and even I have caught them in things that were misinformation. And I know those who are big enough donors will say I just don't know the real story and they will believe who they think are there friends. Sorry. Was burned enough for too many years.
They were never going to hire Dennis Gates. They thought he was too young and inexperienced. They had some pressure from important enough sources to interview and consider him. So people who didn't want to interview him interviewed him and had to report back some reason he was being totally dismissed from consideration.
Dennis Gates is an extremely intelligent man. He interviews publicly very well. He apparently interviewed well enough at Cleveland State to get the job which makes one wonder about the claims about how poorly he interview with us as they made it sound like he came in with mustard on his tie and drooled during the interview.
My guess is that his poor interview had nothing to do with him. I could see one of three likely scenarios:
1. People who didn't want to interview him patronized him, made it clear from the get go he wasn't getting the job and he figured that out early and interviewed accordingly.
2. People who wanted him to fail the interview saw what they wanted
3. People who wanted him to fail the interview didn't see what they wanted but reported back to their sources to get them to back off.
He had no incentive to throw the interview even if he didn't want the job.
In any case, maybe he had a bad interview. It's possible. But our only evidence that he is a poor interview is a couple of Cal people at one interview who had plenty of self serving reasons to say he was a bad interview. And in any case, spreading that rumor EVEN IF TRUE, about anyone, let alone a distinguished member of the Cal basketball community, possibly hurting his future prospects, was a complete asshat maneuver and I see no way that those spreading that vs. keeping their mouths shut come out good in this scenario. I'd like to understand how trashing candidates you interview helps you get future candidates to interview. Clearly the only smart thing to do FOR THE UNIVERSITY, is to not comment . And, by the way, Gates had the tact not to respond.
So I would challenge why anyone believes he is a poor interview. And to be clear, I don't care whether we consider him or not. I don't think going to Cal makes one more qualified to coach here. What bothers me is a guy who was a great representative of everything a Cal student athlete is supposed to be given shade by our (to be clear past) administration and Cal fans so easily believing the shade.
Just wanted to clarify, OTB. Was this Gates interview when we hired Jones or when we hired Fox? Because if his interview was during the most recent cycle when we interviewed Fox, that is definitely the current admin, no? Knowlton hired Fox (an Christ hired Knowlton, if I'm not mistaken). I guess Gates got the Cleveland State job in the same cycle as when we hired Fox, so maybe Gates' interview was a token interview during the Wyking hiring cycle, but I thought his interview was during the most recent cycle.Quote:
So I would challenge why anyone believes he is a poor interview. And to be clear, I don't care whether we consider him or not. I don't think going to Cal makes one more qualified to coach here. What bothers me is a guy who was a great representative of everything a Cal student athlete is supposed to be given shade by our (to be clear past) administration and Cal fans so easily believing the shade.
CalLifer said:Just wanted to clarify, OTB. Was this Gates interview when we hired Jones or when we hired Fox? Because if his interview was during the most recent cycle when we interviewed Fox, that is definitely the current admin, no? Knowlton hired Fox (an Christ hired Knowlton, if I'm not mistaken). I guess Gates got the Cleveland State job in the same cycle as when we hired Fox, so maybe Gates' interview was a token interview during the Wyking hiring cycle, but I thought his interview was during the most recent cycle.Quote:
So I would challenge why anyone believes he is a poor interview. And to be clear, I don't care whether we consider him or not. I don't think going to Cal makes one more qualified to coach here. What bothers me is a guy who was a great representative of everything a Cal student athlete is supposed to be given shade by our (to be clear past) administration and Cal fans so easily believing the shade.
I know it wasn't the Fox cycle.
Gates told a story about his in-home with Ben Braun
If I'm a basketball coach (and the player was good enough) I'd find a place for him on my team
It's clear that Gates has a good story that would play well with many recruits and in living rooms
yet, it's not just the words ... anyone can write a speech. It's how authentic his words are, and if he truly lives by them
once a player is on the team for a year or two, they will know
This is the type of hire I hoped for, but understandably Gates was a little inexperienced at the time. Some might say he still is inexperienced and a high D1 job is different. That's true, but is the reason you get an experienced associate coach to provide that deeper experience (e.g. trent johnson for example)
I wanted Cal to hire Decuire, but after this interview, I think Gates would be a good hire too if we needed a new coach sometime in the future
If I'm a basketball coach (and the player was good enough) I'd find a place for him on my team
It's clear that Gates has a good story that would play well with many recruits and in living rooms
yet, it's not just the words ... anyone can write a speech. It's how authentic his words are, and if he truly lives by them
once a player is on the team for a year or two, they will know
This is the type of hire I hoped for, but understandably Gates was a little inexperienced at the time. Some might say he still is inexperienced and a high D1 job is different. That's true, but is the reason you get an experienced associate coach to provide that deeper experience (e.g. trent johnson for example)
I wanted Cal to hire Decuire, but after this interview, I think Gates would be a good hire too if we needed a new coach sometime in the future
Gates was a two-time PAC12 All-Academic Team Member at Cal. He has coached under two coaching greats - Mike Montgomery and Leonard Hamilton, with multiple tournament appearances. He has been the Horizon Conference Coach of the Year, and has had the best year in Cleveland State history.
I am not sure why there would be a need for an interview the next time around. Results supersede all else once you have that kind of track record.
I am not sure why there would be a need for an interview the next time around. Results supersede all else once you have that kind of track record.
You still need the players.annarborbear said:
Gates was a two-time PAC12 All-Academic Team Member at Cal. He has coached under two coaching greats - Mike Montgomery and Leonard Hamilton, with multiple tournament appearances. He has been the Horizon Conference Coach of the Year, and has had the best year in Cleveland State history.
I am not sure why there would be a need for an interview the next time around. Results supersede all else once you have that kind of track record.
Go Bears!
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