Fire Gene Stephenson

[1972Shocker]

I've had a change of heart from last year regarding BK.
BK gets NO pass. He's the large part of the cancer that rips through the team. BK is the cancer...

I'm not that close to the inner workings of the baseball program. In what way is BK the cancer? Just curious.

How is it that Gene, who contractually has the primary authority for hiring and firing his assistance, is not aware of this?

[1972Shocker]

We might as well sticky this thread for the next 6 weeks.

Our breadwinner sport is making cash less of an issue for the athletic department with each game. No excuse not to pull the trigger on Gene the second we strike out looking to end our MVC Tournament.

At this point here is how I am handicapping the possbilities with Gene:

65% probability that they will let him serve out his current contract through June 2014. Hopefully, they will pre-announce Gene's "retirement" before his final season. If Gene wants to go along with his "retirement" then he should be honored appropriately for his many years of service and his stellar long-term record as the Shocker head baseball man. If Gene doesn't want to go along with his "retirement" then he can move on just as any other terminated coach would. Thank you for your service and we wish you the best of luck. Hard to predict how Gene would re-act.

25% Chance that if this year is bad enough (and the way it is going it could be) Gene will have had enough and will voluntarily retire, receive a reasonable separation package and be appropriately honored.

10% chance that they will terminate Gene involuntarily at the end of this year. I know some posters think that is a done deal and they could be right. I certainly don't have any inside information available to me one way or the other.

[GoShockers89]

Sully is pretty strongly on the record in his chats that he thinks this will be Gene's last year barring a miracle.

[1972Shocker]

Sully is pretty strongly on the record in his chats that this will be Gene's last year barring a miracle.

Like I said I could be wrong. Sully would certainly be a reputable source. Hopefully, whenever it occurs, Gene will go along so that he can exit as gracefully as possible and be appropriately recognized for his 35 years as Shocker head man.

[GoShockers89]

Like I said I could be wrong. Sully would certainly be a reputable source. Hopefully, whenever it occurs, Gene will go along so that he can exit as gracefully as possible and be appropriately recognized for his 35 years as Shocker head man.

I agree, that would be nice. I am just not hopeful.

Gene gets $0.00 if he leaves voluntarily. He gets hundreds of thousands of dollars if he tells ADES to shove it and makes him fire Gene. Which option seems more likely?

[1972Shocker]

I agree, that would be nice. I am just not hopeful.

Gene gets $0.00 if he leaves voluntarily. He gets hundreds of thousands of dollars if he tells ADES to shove it and makes him fire Gene. Which option seems more likely?

Oh, I get it. That's why I lean toward Gene completing his contract through June 2014 as the most likely outcome absent an almost total boycott of the program by Shocker fans.

[ShockTalk]

I agree, that would be nice. I am just not hopeful.

Gene gets $0.00 if he leaves voluntarily. He gets hundreds of thousands of dollars if he tells ADES to shove it and makes him fire Gene. Which option seems more likely?

There is the in between ground of the second option @1972Shocker posted: 25% Chance that if this year is bad enough (and the way it is going it could be) Gene will have had enough and will voluntarily retire (or asked to retire), receive a reasonable separation package and be appropriately honored. I believe WSU is on the hook for only Gene and BK. JT is on a year to year contract. I don't remember what their salaries are, but lets go with the following. Gene $550,000, BK $150,000, and JT $100,000. Pure guess on my part, but let's say the new staff costs $500,000. So, if a separation package would cost $450,000, the total cost to WSU would be $950,000. Only $150,000 more than is being paid out now.

If not and the staff is let go, it's a total of $800,000 if you keep them, $700,000 if you let them go under worse case circumstance. Subtract JT's salary of $100,000 and WSU would be out an additional $400,000, not the $500,000 for the new staff or total cost for both staffs of $1,200,000. No honoring, no naming, no fanfare.

[GoShockers89]

Oh nevermind. I don't even care enough to argue about it anymore, that's how sh!tty this team has become.

[Veritas]

I agree, that would be nice. I am just not hopeful.

Gene gets $0.00 if he leaves voluntarily. He gets hundreds of thousands of dollars if he tells ADES to shove it and makes him fire Gene. Which option seems more likely?

Does the same apply to the Assistant coaches? To add on to the Wu_Shizzle plan: Fire the Assistant Coaches and replace them with an Associate HC and other and let Gene retire next year with dignity and his legacy intact, and the Shockers move on with good feelings regarding HCGS.

[kstarheel]

I'm 'hoping' that Valley play will see the Shox play better... I don't know, I'm just not ready to quit showing up. We'll see how the conference season goes.

[SB Shock]

I'm 'hoping' that Valley play will see the Shox play better... I don't know, I'm just not ready to quit showing up. We'll see how the conference season goes.

What interesting is WSU has the worst RPI in the conference. The MVC has several teams actually off to a pretty decent start that would have given WSU some good rpi games. ISUB at 55, CU 72 and MSU at 60.

[KC Shox]

This situation reminds me of some people I work with. They ***** and complain about a new project or new process that is being implemented but yet, can't provide any recommendation that will fix what they perceive to be the issue or concern.

Yeah, we can throw out some names of former Shockers who might be a great replacement but in essence we're just throwing darts. This isn't like college baseball or football where the coaching circles and pedigrees of potential candidates are relatively small. I'm not in the know of college baseball coaches, I can't even speculate who would be a great fit and hire. Therein lies the problem. Most of us are in agreement something needs to change and that something is overwhelmingly stacked against Gene and Co. But instead of throwing out the obligatory former Shocker greats, does anyone have anything of substance to share of who actually would be a great fit, hire and has what it takes to turn this ship around?

This is not an insult to any of you. But I don't want, "anyone would be better than what we got now", reasoning or "whoever we get can't be any worse than Gene", rationalizations. I'm concerned ADES will end up throwing darts at a name.

Before we get rid of a legend, I just want to know that the athletic department does its due diligence in identifying a winner, someone who sees WSU baseball as a destination job and not a stepping stone to a BCS program, a person who has potential to be just as great as Gene and can recruit and coach the spoiled, entitled and coddled kids of this generation.

[tripleshock]

This situation reminds me of some people I work with. They ***** and complain about a new project or new process that is being implemented but yet, can't provide any recommendation that will fix what they perceive to be the issue or concern.

Yeah, we can throw out some names of former Shockers who might be a great replacement but in essence we're just throwing darts. This isn't like college baseball or football where the coaching circles and pedigrees of potential candidates are relatively small. I'm not in the know of college baseball coaches, I can't even speculate who would be a great fit and hire. Therein lies the problem. Most of us are in agreement something needs to change and that something is overwhelmingly stacked against Gene and Co. But instead of throwing out the obligatory former Shocker greats, does anyone have anything of substance to share of who actually would be a great fit, hire and has what it takes to turn this ship around?

This is not an insult to any of you. But I don't want, "anyone would be better than what we got now", reasoning or "whoever we get can't be any worse than Gene", rationalizations. I'm concerned ADES will end up throwing darts at a name.

Before we get rid of a legend, I just want to know that the athletic department does its due diligence in identifying a winner, someone who sees WSU baseball as a destination job and not a stepping stone to a BCS program, a person who has potential to be just as great as Gene and can recruit and coach the spoiled, entitled and coddled kids of this generation.

This guy: Kevin Hooper

[Schmakey]

Never going to happen. Hooper wants pro ball, not begging high school players to please come play for WSU.

[ShockTalk]

This guy: Kevin Hooper

Never going to happen. Hooper wants pro ball, not begging high school players to please come play for WSU.

Just for discussion, Hooper will be in his 5th season as manager of the Wingnuts. Does anyone know how often a manager from an independent league team goes to a meaningful position with an affiliated team or how long such a move usually takes? He has had 4 winning seasons with a .566 winning percentage. I guess I would have thought he might have moved up somewhere by now. I suppose one could also speculate that him staying in Wichita for what will be his 6th straight year could mean that he has some other motives. Different speeds and strokes for different folks, but Wedge was already a major league manager at 35, went staight from playing AAA to managing A, A+, AA, AAA in a 5 year period.

As for getting someone who will be less likely to use WSU as a stepping stone, those days may have past except for hiring someone within the Shocker family. Had a move for change been made when Krusty and Krew left for OU, Shocker baseball was still hanging on as a major program in spite of Gene's quote and may have been able to hire someone who looked at WSU as a destination job. No longer. Gene has seen to that.