Post by Administrator on Jul 19, 2002 19:54:17 GMT -5
Of all the crucial decisions awaiting Mitch Barnhart at the University of Kentucky, the fate of football coach Guy Morriss shapes up as the trickiest call.
If I were the new UK AD -- and on paydays, I'd sure like to be -- there are a couple of moves that would be easy.
My first week on campus, I'd call beleaguered coaches Bernadette Mattox (women's basketball) and Keith Madison (baseball) into my office and deliver a simple message:
Either make the NCAA Tournament in 2002-03, or consider career option B.
That gives two veteran coaches of struggling programs (Mattox is 15-41 in the past two years; Madison 39-71) a final chance while setting the improvement bar high.
If I were Barnhart, I'd also look at men's hoops coach Tubby Smith's overall record at UK and then tell a restive Big Blue fan base to take a chill pill.
But rendering a decision on Morriss is not going to be easy.
If I were the new UK AD -- and on paydays, I'd sure like to be -- there are a couple of moves that would be easy.
My first week on campus, I'd call beleaguered coaches Bernadette Mattox (women's basketball) and Keith Madison (baseball) into my office and deliver a simple message:
Either make the NCAA Tournament in 2002-03, or consider career option B.
That gives two veteran coaches of struggling programs (Mattox is 15-41 in the past two years; Madison 39-71) a final chance while setting the improvement bar high.
If I were Barnhart, I'd also look at men's hoops coach Tubby Smith's overall record at UK and then tell a restive Big Blue fan base to take a chill pill.
But rendering a decision on Morriss is not going to be easy.
