Breaking: Baylor Finalizing the Hire of Doug McNamee as Next Director of Athletics

That's the way sports fan go.

Might work, Might not be that great. Yet there is at least a chance that this one will not end up in some sort of massive failure and/or national embarrassment.

So there's that.

I'm ready to give him a shot.

Stanton was 30 years ago. Times are different. College sports is a business now so we hired a guy with business experience who also has college athletic department experience.

I'd rather roll the dice and take some risks than bring in average AD who does basic traditional AD things which results in a continuation of poor marketing/branding, poor gameday experience (winning obviously is ultimate decider but our tailgating is bad and the music selection is poor).

Again your first paragraph was often stated in 96. We will see how this goes but the rolling of the dice needs to be bringing in great results rather quickly. We don't have alot of time to waste with this experiment.

I think it comes down to rolling the dice or a slow and painful death.

So hiring Stanton 30 years ago means this guy is no good? Silly argument. That's not history teaching you, it's history weighing you down.

Actually it is history either repeating itself or rhyming intensely at this point. Do you think the likelihood is high that he is better than a current AD who is currently doing a good job? That sounds like a sillier argument quite frankly.

For sure there is a current AD which people would reasonably believe was a safer choice. But we can't just pick. All I'm saying is this guy needs a chance. He has some interesting credentials and some impressive connections. And just saying "but remember Stanton" is absurd. Apples and oranges.

boykin_spaniel said:

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Stanton was 30 years ago. Times are different. College sports is a business now so we hired a guy with business experience who also has college athletic department experience.

I'd rather roll the dice and take some risks than bring in average AD who does basic traditional AD things which results in a continuation of poor marketing/branding, poor gameday experience (winning obviously is ultimate decider but our tailgating is bad and the music selection is poor).

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Your premise is wrong. College athletics isn't "marketing and branding". It's wins and losses like it's always been.

The change is roster management. That's what NIL created. It's why schools have started hiring GMs.

There's nothing in this resume that says after being away from college athletics for 8 years, he's ready to apply the lessons he's learned since the rollout of NIL and the transfer portal.

Baylor will know how well this AD hire was based on how well they sign OL and DL in the portal this season. January we will know.

Seeing a lot of teaching and defensiveness over this move. Never a good start be coming in on your back foot if this hire is supposed to be uniting it is weird that they picked someone with a divisive resume and experience.

Iam not sold on the connections angle. If it was the former VP for CBS or ESPN or TNT coming in we could argue it but Field and Stream? Magnolia? This is a very hard sell.

Mitch Blood Green said:

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boykin_spaniel said:

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Stanton was 30 years ago. Times are different. College sports is a business now so we hired a guy with business experience who also has college athletic department experience.

I'd rather roll the dice and take some risks than bring in average AD who does basic traditional AD things which results in a continuation of poor marketing/branding, poor gameday experience (winning obviously is ultimate decider but our tailgating is bad and the music selection is poor).

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Your premise is wrong. College athletics isn't "marketing and branding". It's wins and losses like it's always been.

The change is roster management. That's what NIL created. It's why schools have started hiring GMs.

There's nothing in this resume that says after being away from college athletics for 8 years, he's ready to apply the lessons he's learned since the rollout of NIL and the transfer portal.

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College Sports is a Business. A Business whose profitability is judged by wins and losses, but still a business.

no AD was/is going to be good at every aspect of the job in the same way that no CEO is going to be great at all of Operations, Finance, Accounting, Legal, Personnel, Treasury, Compliance and Safety, Marketing and Sales, etc.

the only question is whether he knows what he doesn't know and is humble enough to hire great subordinates (or get outside assistance) in those areas.

if he can successfully build a large war chest and successfully facilitate other people doing the other work, winner.

we hired a career athletic administrator last time and he steadfastly refused to accept advice in the many areas where he is/was weak. He surrounded himself with people amenable to micromanagement. It ended badly.

Is there some magic formula for NIL? It's re-establishing and creating new relationships with big donors (and the general fan base). It's bringing in money! It sounds like he's a good choice for that. After that it's having the sense to get the best advice to bring in a competent GM for football and, ultimately, a real coach. Every AD needs to do that. My guess is he is a good choice to get the resources to do those things.

As for me, I'm not interested in throwing rocks until he has a chance to do those things. Let's see what happens.

Adriacus Peratuun said:

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Mitch Blood Green said:

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boykin_spaniel said:

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Stanton was 30 years ago. Times are different. College sports is a business now so we hired a guy with business experience who also has college athletic department experience.

I'd rather roll the dice and take some risks than bring in average AD who does basic traditional AD things which results in a continuation of poor marketing/branding, poor gameday experience (winning obviously is ultimate decider but our tailgating is bad and the music selection is poor).

---

Your premise is wrong. College athletics isn't "marketing and branding". It's wins and losses like it's always been.

The change is roster management. That's what NIL created. It's why schools have started hiring GMs.

There's nothing in this resume that says after being away from college athletics for 8 years, he's ready to apply the lessons he's learned since the rollout of NIL and the transfer portal.

---

College Sports is a Business. A Business whose profitability is judged by wins and losses, but still a business.

no AD was/is going to be good at every aspect of the job in the same way that no CEO is going to be great at all of Operations, Finance, Accounting, Legal, Personnel, Treasury, Compliance and Safety, Marketing and Sales, etc.

the only question is whether he knows what he doesn't know and is humble enough to hire great subordinates (or get outside assistance) in those areas.

if he can successfully build a large war chest and successfully facilitate other people doing the other work, winner.

we hired a career athletic administrator last time and he steadfastly refused to accept advice in the many areas where he is/was weak. He surrounded himself with people amenable to micromanagement. It ended badly.

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All business is business. That does t mean Coca Cola hires Chip Gaines as its CEO. He lacks the requisite experience that says he knows how to run a multinational food and beverage organization.

I do t understand why we are ignoring that.

Mitch Blood Green said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

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Mitch Blood Green said:

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boykin_spaniel said:

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Stanton was 30 years ago. Times are different. College sports is a business now so we hired a guy with business experience who also has college athletic department experience.

I'd rather roll the dice and take some risks than bring in average AD who does basic traditional AD things which results in a continuation of poor marketing/branding, poor gameday experience (winning obviously is ultimate decider but our tailgating is bad and the music selection is poor).

---

Your premise is wrong. College athletics isn't "marketing and branding". It's wins and losses like it's always been.

The change is roster management. That's what NIL created. It's why schools have started hiring GMs.

There's nothing in this resume that says after being away from college athletics for 8 years, he's ready to apply the lessons he's learned since the rollout of NIL and the transfer portal.

---

College Sports is a Business. A Business whose profitability is judged by wins and losses, but still a business.

no AD was/is going to be good at every aspect of the job in the same way that no CEO is going to be great at all of Operations, Finance, Accounting, Legal, Personnel, Treasury, Compliance and Safety, Marketing and Sales, etc.

the only question is whether he knows what he doesn't know and is humble enough to hire great subordinates (or get outside assistance) in those areas.

if he can successfully build a large war chest and successfully facilitate other people doing the other work, winner.

we hired a career athletic administrator last time and he steadfastly refused to accept advice in the many areas where he is/was weak. He surrounded himself with people amenable to micromanagement. It ended badly.

---

All business is business. That does t mean Coca Cola hires Chip Gaines as its CEO. He lacks the requisite experience that says he knows how to run a multinational food and beverage organization.

I do t understand why we are ignoring that.

---

I think if you ask 100 people what constitutes a good Coca Cola CEO you would get a variety of answers……..some emphasizing Operations, some marketing, some finance.

ask the same question about an athletic director and the question likely garners an even greater variety of answers.

you don't like his resume. OK.
maybe a year from now results will support your position. maybe not.

but given the results from the "traditional resume hire" the last two times, to act like thinking outside the box is wholly unsupportable is a vast overreach. if you know a proven commodity that wanted Baylor and Baylor refused, name that person. If not, Baylor was hiring from a pool of candidates that all had some unknowns.

Adriacus Peratuun said:

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Mitch Blood Green said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

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Mitch Blood Green said:

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boykin_spaniel said:

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Stanton was 30 years ago. Times are different. College sports is a business now so we hired a guy with business experience who also has college athletic department experience.

I'd rather roll the dice and take some risks than bring in average AD who does basic traditional AD things which results in a continuation of poor marketing/branding, poor gameday experience (winning obviously is ultimate decider but our tailgating is bad and the music selection is poor).

---

Your premise is wrong. College athletics isn't "marketing and branding". It's wins and losses like it's always been.

The change is roster management. That's what NIL created. It's why schools have started hiring GMs.

There's nothing in this resume that says after being away from college athletics for 8 years, he's ready to apply the lessons he's learned since the rollout of NIL and the transfer portal.

---

College Sports is a Business. A Business whose profitability is judged by wins and losses, but still a business.

no AD was/is going to be good at every aspect of the job in the same way that no CEO is going to be great at all of Operations, Finance, Accounting, Legal, Personnel, Treasury, Compliance and Safety, Marketing and Sales, etc.

the only question is whether he knows what he doesn't know and is humble enough to hire great subordinates (or get outside assistance) in those areas.

if he can successfully build a large war chest and successfully facilitate other people doing the other work, winner.

we hired a career athletic administrator last time and he steadfastly refused to accept advice in the many areas where he is/was weak. He surrounded himself with people amenable to micromanagement. It ended badly.

---

All business is business. That does t mean Coca Cola hires Chip Gaines as its CEO. He lacks the requisite experience that says he knows how to run a multinational food and beverage organization.

I do t understand why we are ignoring that.

---

I think if you ask 100 people what constitutes a good Coca Cola CEO you would get a variety of answers……..some emphasizing Operations, some marketing, some finance.

ask the same question about an athletic director and the question likely garners an even greater variety of answers.

you don't like his resume. OK.
maybe a year from now results will support your position. maybe not.

but given the results from the "traditional resume hire" the last two times, to act like thinking outside the box is wholly unsupportable is a vast overreach. if you know a proven commodity that wanted Baylor and Baylor refused, name that person. If not, Baylor was hiring from a pool of candidates that all had some unknowns.

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I'm confused. I was told Mack was fired for only the affair and nothing else. Was he fired for other things? If so, Baylor would've been aware of those other things, why did they act surprised when they had to fire him and move forward? Why did they delay?

Mitch Blood Green said:

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Baylorbears111 said:

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Seeing a lot of teaching and defensiveness over this move. Never a good start be coming in on your back foot if this hire is supposed to be uniting it is weird that they picked someone with a divisive resume and experience.

It is on the connections angle. If it was the former VP for CBS or ESPN or TNT coming in we could argue it but Field and Stream? Magnolia? This is a very hard sell.

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If you or I sent that resume in for the AD job,, we don't get a call for an interview.

My frustration is that I'm tired of being bull****ted. It's not that McNamee isn't a good due or smart or a quick study or a committed alum. It's that this hire is bull***** And y'all are selling g it to people who can see through it.

Our leadership is driving us to be mediocre and accept it.

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Exactly. We hired someone because Drew was pushing for it. That's a shame. How's that conversation gonna go when Drew wants more money to spend on a roster ???

Nothing in this resume shows me the ability to manage tough conversations - just someone who likely successfully implemented projects.

This is gonna backfire and Linda should go along with him. Drew better focus more on basketball - you just lost to a 3-4 Memphis team.

Adriacus Peratuun said:

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Mitch Blood Green said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

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Mitch Blood Green said:

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boykin_spaniel said:

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Stanton was 30 years ago. Times are different. College sports is a business now so we hired a guy with business experience who also has college athletic department experience.

I'd rather roll the dice and take some risks than bring in average AD who does basic traditional AD things which results in a continuation of poor marketing/branding, poor gameday experience (winning obviously is ultimate decider but our tailgating is bad and the music selection is poor).

---

Your premise is wrong. College athletics isn't "marketing and branding". It's wins and losses like it's always been.

The change is roster management. That's what NIL created. It's why schools have started hiring GMs.

There's nothing in this resume that says after being away from college athletics for 8 years, he's ready to apply the lessons he's learned since the rollout of NIL and the transfer portal.

---

College Sports is a Business. A Business whose profitability is judged by wins and losses, but still a business.

no AD was/is going to be good at every aspect of the job in the same way that no CEO is going to be great at all of Operations, Finance, Accounting, Legal, Personnel, Treasury, Compliance and Safety, Marketing and Sales, etc.

the only question is whether he knows what he doesn't know and is humble enough to hire great subordinates (or get outside assistance) in those areas.

if he can successfully build a large war chest and successfully facilitate other people doing the other work, winner.

we hired a career athletic administrator last time and he steadfastly refused to accept advice in the many areas where he is/was weak. He surrounded himself with people amenable to micromanagement. It ended badly.

---

All business is business. That does t mean Coca Cola hires Chip Gaines as its CEO. He lacks the requisite experience that says he knows how to run a multinational food and beverage organization.

I do t understand why we are ignoring that.

---

I think if you ask 100 people what constitutes a good Coca Cola CEO you would get a variety of answers……..some emphasizing Operations, some marketing, some finance.

ask the same question about an athletic director and the question likely garners an even greater variety of answers.

you don't like his resume. OK.
maybe a year from now results will support your position. maybe not.

but given the results from the "traditional resume hire" the last two times, to act like thinking outside the box is wholly unsupportable is a vast overreach. if you know a proven commodity that wanted Baylor and Baylor refused, name that person. If not, Baylor was hiring from a pool of candidates that all had some unknowns.

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Last two times??? You cannot throw Ian in there as a failure. That failure was on the board. He quit because of the board. And he had done well at Liberty since leaving here. Under his leadership Baylor had the best run in sports the school has ever seen.

Baylorbears111 said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

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Mitch Blood Green said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

---

Mitch Blood Green said:

---

boykin_spaniel said:

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Stanton was 30 years ago. Times are different. College sports is a business now so we hired a guy with business experience who also has college athletic department experience.

I'd rather roll the dice and take some risks than bring in average AD who does basic traditional AD things which results in a continuation of poor marketing/branding, poor gameday experience (winning obviously is ultimate decider but our tailgating is bad and the music selection is poor).

---

Your premise is wrong. College athletics isn't "marketing and branding". It's wins and losses like it's always been.

The change is roster management. That's what NIL created. It's why schools have started hiring GMs.

There's nothing in this resume that says after being away from college athletics for 8 years, he's ready to apply the lessons he's learned since the rollout of NIL and the transfer portal.

---

College Sports is a Business. A Business whose profitability is judged by wins and losses, but still a business.

no AD was/is going to be good at every aspect of the job in the same way that no CEO is going to be great at all of Operations, Finance, Accounting, Legal, Personnel, Treasury, Compliance and Safety, Marketing and Sales, etc.

the only question is whether he knows what he doesn't know and is humble enough to hire great subordinates (or get outside assistance) in those areas.

if he can successfully build a large war chest and successfully facilitate other people doing the other work, winner.

we hired a career athletic administrator last time and he steadfastly refused to accept advice in the many areas where he is/was weak. He surrounded himself with people amenable to micromanagement. It ended badly.

---

All business is business. That does t mean Coca Cola hires Chip Gaines as its CEO. He lacks the requisite experience that says he knows how to run a multinational food and beverage organization.

I do t understand why we are ignoring that.

---

I think if you ask 100 people what constitutes a good Coca Cola CEO you would get a variety of answers……..some emphasizing Operations, some marketing, some finance.

ask the same question about an athletic director and the question likely garners an even greater variety of answers.

you don't like his resume. OK.
maybe a year from now results will support your position. maybe not.

but given the results from the "traditional resume hire" the last two times, to act like thinking outside the box is wholly unsupportable is a vast overreach. if you know a proven commodity that wanted Baylor and Baylor refused, name that person. If not, Baylor was hiring from a pool of candidates that all had some unknowns.

---

I'm confused. I was told Mack was fired for only the affair and nothing else. Was he fired for other things? If so, Baylor would've been aware of those other things, why did they act surprised when they had to fire him and move forward? Why did they delay?

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Who told you what?

what you should anticipate is that Rhoades' Separation Agreement (much like Mulkey and Briles) contains provisions that severely limit what the parties can say about the other.

if you are expecting Public Announcements and Reality to 100% overlap, life will offer many surprises.

cowboycwr said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

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Mitch Blood Green said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

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Mitch Blood Green said:

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boykin_spaniel said:

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Stanton was 30 years ago. Times are different. College sports is a business now so we hired a guy with business experience who also has college athletic department experience.

I'd rather roll the dice and take some risks than bring in average AD who does basic traditional AD things which results in a continuation of poor marketing/branding, poor gameday experience (winning obviously is ultimate decider but our tailgating is bad and the music selection is poor).

---

Your premise is wrong. College athletics isn't "marketing and branding". It's wins and losses like it's always been.

The change is roster management. That's what NIL created. It's why schools have started hiring GMs.

There's nothing in this resume that says after being away from college athletics for 8 years, he's ready to apply the lessons he's learned since the rollout of NIL and the transfer portal.

---

College Sports is a Business. A Business whose profitability is judged by wins and losses, but still a business.

no AD was/is going to be good at every aspect of the job in the same way that no CEO is going to be great at all of Operations, Finance, Accounting, Legal, Personnel, Treasury, Compliance and Safety, Marketing and Sales, etc.

the only question is whether he knows what he doesn't know and is humble enough to hire great subordinates (or get outside assistance) in those areas.

if he can successfully build a large war chest and successfully facilitate other people doing the other work, winner.

we hired a career athletic administrator last time and he steadfastly refused to accept advice in the many areas where he is/was weak. He surrounded himself with people amenable to micromanagement. It ended badly.

---

All business is business. That does t mean Coca Cola hires Chip Gaines as its CEO. He lacks the requisite experience that says he knows how to run a multinational food and beverage organization.

I do t understand why we are ignoring that.

---

I think if you ask 100 people what constitutes a good Coca Cola CEO you would get a variety of answers……..some emphasizing Operations, some marketing, some finance.

ask the same question about an athletic director and the question likely garners an even greater variety of answers.

you don't like his resume. OK.
maybe a year from now results will support your position. maybe not.

but given the results from the "traditional resume hire" the last two times, to act like thinking outside the box is wholly unsupportable is a vast overreach. if you know a proven commodity that wanted Baylor and Baylor refused, name that person. If not, Baylor was hiring from a pool of candidates that all had some unknowns.

---

Last two times??? You cannot throw Ian in there as a failure. That failure was on the board. He quit because of the board. And he had done well at Liberty since leaving here. Under his leadership Baylor had the best run in sports the school has ever seen.

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Briles reported to him. That entire situation happened on his watch.
Plus he left the athletic budget a HUGE mess.

can definitely throw Ian in the failure mix.

In a way Mack was the reverse of Ian…Mack had great connections due to his reputation and respect from those in the "industry". Mack was also a budget guy that did a great job maximizing BMDs. His weaknesses were recruiting new money and a focus on fan experience and engagement. Which were Ian's strengths. Doug worked along side both. Giving him a unique perspective of how both have its pros and cons.

Same goes for a conference commissioner and most everyone seems relatively pleased with Yormark. He was not a traditional commish hire with traditional check boxes on his resume.

Obviously it's wins and losses but wins and losses are now more than ever determined by monetary war chest. Nothing else really matters. Tech is not a legitimate title threat without buying that defensive line.

I'm not a Joey hater or lover. He's a good coach and maybe we have 8 wins this year with him at the helm but he's competing for a national title this year because they bought the best front 7 money can buy.

I'm not huge fan of the direction the sport has gone but if we want to win that's the reality of the situation. Get more money to get better players than the other team. Once you do that then you get the coach. Auburn got the players this year but didn't have the coach. Now they have a coach and will give him the money to get the players again.

Adriacus Peratuun said:

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cowboycwr said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

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Mitch Blood Green said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

---

Mitch Blood Green said:

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boykin_spaniel said:

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Stanton was 30 years ago. Times are different. College sports is a business now so we hired a guy with business experience who also has college athletic department experience.

I'd rather roll the dice and take some risks than bring in average AD who does basic traditional AD things which results in a continuation of poor marketing/branding, poor gameday experience (winning obviously is ultimate decider but our tailgating is bad and the music selection is poor).

---

Your premise is wrong. College athletics isn't "marketing and branding". It's wins and losses like it's always been.

The change is roster management. That's what NIL created. It's why schools have started hiring GMs.

There's nothing in this resume that says after being away from college athletics for 8 years, he's ready to apply the lessons he's learned since the rollout of NIL and the transfer portal.

---

College Sports is a Business. A Business whose profitability is judged by wins and losses, but still a business.

no AD was/is going to be good at every aspect of the job in the same way that no CEO is going to be great at all of Operations, Finance, Accounting, Legal, Personnel, Treasury, Compliance and Safety, Marketing and Sales, etc.

the only question is whether he knows what he doesn't know and is humble enough to hire great subordinates (or get outside assistance) in those areas.

if he can successfully build a large war chest and successfully facilitate other people doing the other work, winner.

we hired a career athletic administrator last time and he steadfastly refused to accept advice in the many areas where he is/was weak. He surrounded himself with people amenable to micromanagement. It ended badly.

---

All business is business. That does t mean Coca Cola hires Chip Gaines as its CEO. He lacks the requisite experience that says he knows how to run a multinational food and beverage organization.

I do t understand why we are ignoring that.

---

I think if you ask 100 people what constitutes a good Coca Cola CEO you would get a variety of answers……..some emphasizing Operations, some marketing, some finance.

ask the same question about an athletic director and the question likely garners an even greater variety of answers.

you don't like his resume. OK.
maybe a year from now results will support your position. maybe not.

but given the results from the "traditional resume hire" the last two times, to act like thinking outside the box is wholly unsupportable is a vast overreach. if you know a proven commodity that wanted Baylor and Baylor refused, name that person. If not, Baylor was hiring from a pool of candidates that all had some unknowns.

---

Last two times??? You cannot throw Ian in there as a failure. That failure was on the board. He quit because of the board. And he had done well at Liberty since leaving here. Under his leadership Baylor had the best run in sports the school has ever seen.

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Briles reported to him. That entire situation happened on his watch.
Plus he left the athletic budget a HUGE mess.

can definitely throw Ian in the failure mix.

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Nope