They even made a movie about the program he ditched JMU for.... :)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102517/

It looks like he took a lot of assistants with him too

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This does not surprise me one bit. This guy came in looking to build his resume and move on and why not ? In the real world men and women do this everyday trying to climb the corporate ladder and make more money and gain more prestige. It is just business. Nothing personal ...

Maybe kicking good ole loyal Mickey to the curb was not such a great idea.

It was well known that he was looking for FBS options, so no surprise there. The timing was at a point where I'm sure JMU had assurances that he was returning. They recently fired and hired coordinators, tweeted out that day bragging about their recruiting class coming in. By many accounts the TXST hiring was announced online before the JMU administration was even alerted. Within hours of taking the job he began offering many of the JMU commits. It all rings of selfishness to the highest level with no regards to promises made to the University, coaches, kids, and their families.

(01-07-2016 10:41 AM)Tribe Fan Wrote:  This does not surprise me one bit. This guy came in looking to build his resume and move on and why not ? In the real world men and women do this everyday trying to climb the corporate ladder and make more money and gain more prestige. It is just business. Nothing personal ...

Maybe kicking good ole loyal Mickey to the curb was not such a great idea.

The thing that drives me crazy (and I'm certainly no EW fan), is that everyone always complains about how coaches sit there and tell parents "I'll look after your kids for 4 years" but then bolt.

(1) How would any coach ever change jobs without doing this? Are they just supposed to stop recruiting in anticipation of possibly taking a job later on down the road?

(2) It's not like JMU (or any other school) would have a ton of loyalty to EW if he had a down year next year without VL. They'd can him in a heartbeat. Why not use what he's got now to move up to FBS and try to climb the ladder, if that's what he's looking for? I love that Jimmye wants to stay here, but that's an old model (and one we're not likely to see again).

I noticed on the JMU boards that they seem to be taking it so personally that EW took the job now, as if that was somehow his decision. Was he supposed to accept a job earlier in the season, before it was offered to him? It sucks for them, but it's not like TSU offered him the job a month ago and he waited until now just to screw JMU.

Depending on who JMU hires, I think they'll end up being better off. EW never impressed me that much. VL carried that team (credit for recruiting him, of course), but for a guy who spent much of his career on the defensive side of the ball that defense was pretty underwhelming.

It has to be humiliating to JMU to be in this situation. Withers was looking for the exit about 2 minutes after his introductory press conference in Harrisonburg. JMU fashions itself a real player so to have its head coach leave for a nothing FBS job is just awful, not to mention how badly it will screw them recruiting wise. We're so fortunate to have such stable leadership of not only our football program but our men's basketball program and almost all other programs.

To me this perfectly illustrates what all the "fire Laycock" or "the game has passed Laycock by" posters always miss. We enjoy a stability that is virtually unheard of in FCS football, and that we will never know again after he leaves. For 99% of FCS schools, when you hire a coach, there are only 2 possible outcomes, both with significant downsides: (1) he does not do well; or (2) he does well and leaves. We have that unbelievably rare coach who was courted by FBS schools (even took a job before changing his mind) and decided to stay, forever. To me, this virtue always far outweighs any bellyaching about individual game decisions. I so do not look forward to the day that we are in the same boat with the other FCS schools.

(01-07-2016 01:53 PM)wrnbldg Wrote:  To me this perfectly illustrates what all the "fire Laycock" or "the game has passed Laycock by" posters always miss. We enjoy a stability that is virtually unheard of in FCS football, and that we will never know again after he leaves. For 99% of FCS schools, when you hire a coach, there are only 2 possible outcomes, both with significant downsides: (1) he does not do well; or (2) he does well and leaves. We have that unbelievably rare coach who was courted by FBS schools (even took a job before changing his mind) and decided to stay, forever. To me, this virtue always far outweighs any bellyaching about individual game decisions. I so do not look forward to the day that we are in the same boat with the other FCS schools.

+1

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(01-07-2016 01:53 PM)wrnbldg Wrote:  To me this perfectly illustrates what all the "fire Laycock" or "the game has passed Laycock by" posters always miss. We enjoy a stability that is virtually unheard of in FCS football, and that we will never know again after he leaves. For 99% of FCS schools, when you hire a coach, there are only 2 possible outcomes, both with significant downsides: (1) he does not do well; or (2) he does well and leaves. We have that unbelievably rare coach who was courted by FBS schools (even took a job before changing his mind) and decided to stay, forever. To me, this virtue always far outweighs any bellyaching about individual game decisions. I so do not look forward to the day that we are in the same boat with the other FCS schools.

Perfectly said, but I do think there's a decent chance our next HC will have deep WM roots and want to stay long-term. We certainly have plenty of former players/coaches with the ability, including some that may be freed from having money as the driving force in the employment choice.

JMU got what they paid for when they hired a guy obviously looking to climb the ladder and quick. I knew he was a me-first guy when one of the first things he did was pull some schollies from a few of Matthews recruits that had already verbally committed. Right there he sent a clear signal that he cared more about short-term winning than the long-term brand that is JMU football.

(01-07-2016 05:02 PM)WMTribe90 Wrote:  Perfectly said, but I do think there's a decent chance our next HC will have deep WM roots and want to stay long-term. We certainly have plenty of former players/coaches with the ability, including some that may be freed from having money as the driving force in the employment choice.

I agree with 90. I think the "powers that be", including Jimmye, sense that we have a blueprint that potentially works for this school, where loyalty and school ties and, thus, continuity, give us an edge to counteract the restrictions we deal with as far as our entry requirements.

If we have to just continue to hire the best available W&M alum, who is in no hurry to leave, then so be it. I like the way it has worked so far.

(01-07-2016 10:04 AM)Tribe1693 Wrote:  They even made a movie about the program he ditched JMU for.... :)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102517/

The Fighting Armadillos !
Guess they are offering scholarships now...

(01-07-2016 07:43 PM)Tribe Fan Wrote:  

(01-07-2016 10:04 AM)Tribe1693 Wrote:  They even made a movie about the program he ditched JMU for.... :)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102517/

The Fighting Armadillos !
Guess they are offering scholarships now...

HA! I always associated that movie more with North Texas, for some reason (Texas State wasn't named Texas State, yet).

Anyway, as a Sunbelt team, he'll be last in the pecking order for recruits behind all of the other FBS schools in Texas. That's tough.

(01-08-2016 06:16 AM)TribeNiner Wrote:  

(01-07-2016 07:43 PM)Tribe Fan Wrote:  

(01-07-2016 10:04 AM)Tribe1693 Wrote:  They even made a movie about the program he ditched JMU for.... :)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102517/

The Fighting Armadillos !
Guess they are offering scholarships now...

HA! I always associated that movie more with North Texas, for some reason (Texas State wasn't named Texas State, yet).

Anyway, as a Sunbelt team, he'll be last in the pecking order for recruits behind all of the other FBS schools in Texas. That's tough.

Yes, but there are a lot of good high school football players in Texas that leave state now.

I wasn't a big Withers fan, because of his association with the stink that emanates from Chapel Hole. I hope JMU gets a good coach, they are still my second favorite school in the CAA. The Dukes can beat everyone else as long as they lose to the Tribe.

One of the few pleasures of the Duquesne game was getting to beat Dukes twice in one football season.

Go Tribe!

(01-07-2016 09:54 AM)JMU2004 Wrote:  

(01-07-2016 07:44 AM)tribe_pride Wrote:  Tough to blame Withers on the timing of all of this. They knew he was applying for FBS schools and Texas State made their decision when they did. The timing hurts them but it is what it is and JMU should have been ready for it (maybe they are?)

Our leadership isn't proactive. I highly doubt they were ready for this, and I highly doubt we hire a coach in the next 3 weeks.

JMU AD is incompetent...the incompetent get what they deserve.

Go Tribe, at least the Tribe has standards

(01-08-2016 06:16 AM)TribeNiner Wrote:  

(01-07-2016 07:43 PM)Tribe Fan Wrote:  

(01-07-2016 10:04 AM)Tribe1693 Wrote:  They even made a movie about the program he ditched JMU for.... :)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102517/

The Fighting Armadillos !
Guess they are offering scholarships now...

HA! I always associated that movie more with North Texas, for some reason (Texas State wasn't named Texas State, yet).

Anyway, as a Sunbelt team, he'll be last in the pecking order for recruits behind all of the other FBS schools in Texas. That's tough.

The movie was filmed on the campus of North Texas in Denton, Tx

JMU has done more than lost a surly (just check his post-game media interviews) head football coach...
the JMU boards have lost their mind.

Until now, I had no idea where Texas State University was. I got little confused between Texas State and University of North Texas. UNT used to be called North Texas State, so I thought maybe Withers went to UNT. UNT is located in Denton which is about 1 hr. drive from Dallas whereas TSU is in San Marcos which is about 1 hr. drive from Austin. Anyway, I thought if Withers had couple more good seasons at JMU he could have gotten somewhat of better offers than TSU. But he has a history of bouncing around so JMU should have known better. I am just relieved that we have Coach Laycock.

(01-09-2016 11:05 AM)tribeintexas Wrote:  Until now, I had no idea where Texas State University was. I got little confused between Texas State and University of North Texas. UNT used to be called North Texas State, so I thought maybe Withers went to UNT. UNT is located in Denton which is about 1 hr. drive from Dallas whereas TSU is in San Marcos which is about 1 hr. drive from Austin. Anyway, I thought if Withers had couple more good seasons at JMU he could have gotten somewhat of better offers than TSU. But he has a history of bouncing around so JMU should have known better. I am just relieved that we have Coach Laycock.

Well, with Vad Lee gone, he may have seen his best success at JMU already. With Alger so openly leading the the charge against Stipends instead of just keeping quiet, EW may have felt that in the long term, the associated perception would have a negative impact on recruiting.
With almost zero chance of an FBS move up at JMU in the foreseeable future, EW was likely to jump at any chance to get back to Div 1A.

Of course, the money doesn't hurt either.....
Withers will be paid $650,000 in the first year of a five-year deal, with $25,000 raises each year.
His salary at JMU was $350,000 /yr.

He's a terrible person for taking a FBS gig for $300k more a year and lower taxes. Shame on him!

(01-09-2016 02:55 PM)Tribal Wrote:  He's a terrible person for taking a FBS gig for $300k more a year and lower taxes. Shame on him!

No state tax in TX. JMU fans can nail this squarely on VA democrats