Fire Gene Stephenson

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

Because without Gene, this program doesn't have a huge stadium and the history it has. You don't fire someone like Gene. Even if the last few years have been a disaster.

I'll say this right now: There is a ZERO percent chance in my eyes that the word "Fired" is uttered in regards to Gene. Now, "force retired" or just plain "retired" is a different story. You might think fired and force retirement is the same thing, but it isn't in regards to a guy like Gene.

But how that is handles will be up to Gene.

[XManCometh]

But how that is handled will be up to Gene.

Gene doesn't want to look like an idiot. He doesn't want to be fired then be shamed in the city of Wichita the rest of his days. He's done and I think he knows it and he'll take the retirement over the firing. Especially since he'll probably get a nice parting gift if he takes retirement.

[1972Shocker]

@Veritas your are certainly enitled to your opinion and I also would like to see Gene step aside and retire as gracefully as possible and with the appropriate acknowledgment of his accomplishments and many years of service (which BTW he has received ample financial compensation).

If Gene was truly loyal to Wichita State he would not have sought and accepted the OU coaching job in the first place and he certainly would not have thrown Wichita State under the bus in doing so (which he did). At that point we owed Gene no more loyalty than what he showed us in the OU eposide, but accepting him back as if nothing had happened was certainly above and beyond the call of loyalty on behalf of the University.

Now it is time for Gene to recognize that his time has come and he and ADES need to sit down and work out a mutually acceptable, fair and reasonable retirement arrangement for Gene so that we can get on with attempting to rebuild and restore, to the best of our abilities, the Wichita State baseball program. Whether we will be successful in doing so remains to be seen, but if we are successful it will be on the foundation that Gene built. But we need to get on with it before the foundation beings to crumble as well.

I'm ready to give Gene the appropiriate tribute and honor that he deserves, but that is dependent on Gene doing the right thing.

[GoShockers89]

EDIT: Also, I'd like to see where Sullentrop said that he thinks Gene is fired is 90%. I just don't see him saying something like that. Even if he did say that, I'd like to read the article to get the reason as to where he came up with 90%.

It's in mutliple chats on the Eagle site, of course he's not going to write some article saying "HEY GUESS WHAT GUYZ 90% CHANCE GENE'S GONNA GET SHITCANNED." I'm not gonna take a half hour to sift through those and link them for you, but you can find them if you want.

I guess you can phrase it however you like, but the end result is the same: Gene not getting invited to return next year. I hope you're right and he takes the exit that offers some dignity. We'll see, I'm not counting on it.

[XManCometh]

It's in mutliple chats on the Eagle site, of course he's not going to write some article saying "HEY GUESS WHAT GUYZ 90% CHANCE GENE'S GONNA GET SHITCANNED." I'm not gonna take a half hour to sift through those and link them for you, but you can find them if you want.

I guess you can phrase it however you like, but the end result is the same: Gene not getting invited to return next year. I hope you're right and he takes the exit that offers some dignity. We'll see, I'm not counting on it.

I'll attempt to find the chat, but with the Eagle blocking non-subscribers from the site basically, I doubt I'll find it. I'll just take your word for it.

Maybe I'm wrong about the firing. Maybe I'm right. Who knows. But we'll definitely have something to talk about when the season ends.

[KC Shox]

His career record as a head coach is 153-176. Pass.

We can do significantly better than a guy who's gonna get fired from Penn State in another couple years.

You do realize he's coaching at Penn State. An extreme northern school that is not exactly a hotbed of college baseball. Considering that both baseball and basketball take the third row seat to football at that school, he's doing pretty well to make them competitive again.

[Veritas]

@Veritas your are certainly enitled to your opinion and I also would like to see Gene step aside and retire as gracefully as possible and with the appropriate acknowledgment of his accomplishments and many years of service (which BTW he has received ample financial compensation).

If Gene was truly loyal to Wichita State he would not have sought and accepted the OU coaching job in the first place and he certainly would not have thrown Wichita State under the bus in doing so (which he did). At that point we owed Gene no more loyalty than what he showed us in the OU eposide, but accepting him back as if nothing had happened was certainly above and beyond the call of loyalty on behalf of the University.

Now it is time for Gene to recognize that his time has come and he and ADES need to sit down and work out a mutually acceptable, fair and reasonable retirement arrangement for Gene so that we can get on with attempting to rebuild and restore, to the best of our abilities, the Wichita State baseball program. Whether we will be successful in doing so remains to be seen, but if we are successful it will be on the foundation that Gene built. But we need to get on with it before the foundation beings to crumble as well.

I'm ready to give Gene the appropiriate tribute and honor that he deserves, but that is dependent on Gene doing the right thing.

I understand your points. I just wish there was a different way out for the guy, and it makes me angry with BK and JT that they didn't step up. With Gene, I'm a little more empathetic since he has done so much for WSU baseball. The other two guys IMO are taking advantage of not only the program, but of HCGS too.

[shox1989]

You guys will throw stones at me, but I don't think he should be fired. In the little bit of what I know about Gene is that loyalty gets in the way of him doing the right thing.
-- Loyalty to not over-recruit
-- Loyalty in returning to WSU from OU
-- Loyalty in not firing ACJT

This clearly is an issue when a Boss (ADES) recognizes that an employee (HCGS) needs help and decides what to do for him.
-- ADES needs to fire ACJT
-- ADES needs to hire an Associate HC that would report to Gene and understand that when Gene retires the Associate HC gets the job

Benefits:
-- Program is not negatively impacted by the cloud hanging over the uncertainty of who replaces HCGS
-- Recruiting could get back on track
-- ACBK would know he's on notice to start performing or he could be fired too
-- The Associate HC could start building his program and allow perhaps one of the greatest coaches in college history to plan on retiring with dignity.

Gene may have lost some energy but he is surrounded by the likes of ACJT and ACBK who certainly are not helping him. I think a little falls on ADES for not using his leadership to right the ship for a Legend.

Sure hate to see it possibly end this way for HCGS.

For what it is worth, I agree with you.

[GoShockers89]

You do realize he's coaching at Penn State. An extreme northern school that is not exactly a hotbed of college baseball. Considering that both baseball and basketball take the third row seat to football at that school, he's doing pretty well to make them competitive again.

I'm not trying to be a richard with you, but take a look at PSU's performance during the 5-10 years before Wine arrived and then defend your statement. They made a super regional and actually won the Big Ten. He didn't inherit a dung heap. Hell, the previous head coach Joe Hindelang went 389-355 from 1991-2004. What makes Wine's 153-176 record remotely impressive, KC?

The guy oozes mediocrity and will not even get a sniff. He might make a decent assistant.

Guys, we're not paupers desperate for just anyone to come in who's willing to coach our program. Shed the pathetic loser mindset. We pay Gene a top 15 type salary. We can get someone good.

[DUShock]

Krusty built this ship, unfortunately he is taking to Valhalla with his funeral pyre.

I agree with 89, let's pay the big bucks for a quality coach. I am jonesn' to get back to a Shocker baseball game, it has been too damn long!

Go Shocks!!

[KC Shox]

I'm not trying to be a richard with you, but take a look at PSU's performance during the 5-10 years before Wine arrived and then defend your statement. They made a super regional and actually won the Big Ten. He didn't inherit a dung heap. Hell, the previous head coach Joe Hindelang went 389-355 from 1991-2004. What makes Wine's 153-176 record remotely impressive, KC?

The guy oozes mediocrity and will not even get a sniff. He might make a decent assistant.

Guys, we're not paupers desperate for just anyone to come in who's willing to coach our program. Shed the pathetic loser mindset. We pay Gene a top 15 type salary. We can get someone good.

Since when has a B1G baseball program consistently made some noise on the national level? It's no coincidence that the northern BCS conferences, Big East and Big Ten, struggle to stay competitive with the warm weather programs/conferences. I'm not going to fault Wine or any other coach up north who can't make their baseball program a consistent winner and dominating presence in college baseball. They are exposed to huge disadvantages. Sure, the B1G gets some teams that are flash in the pan success stories, but that conference struggles and Wine leading a northern program is not immune.

Here are the number of teams from the B1G that were invited to the NCAA postseason for the past 10 years, 1, 1, 3, 1, 3, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1 (16 teams). Compare this to the MVC for the past 10 years, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 2, 2 (15 teams). Do you think the weather affects the B1G's success? Basketball and football dominate the sports scene in the B1G and Big East. Hell, baseball probably comes in 4th in terms of men's athletic prestige behind basketball, football and hockey. They aren't going to get the kids from Texas, California, Florida and any other southern state to come play for them.

I guarantee, that if you take away Horton's, Gurrido's and Fox's name from the back of their jersey, transplant them up to PSU or some other B1G program, they would not have nearly the same success as they enjoy now. There's a reason why they never took a head job up north and I'm willing to bet any B1G coach would quickly jump at a chance to coach a southern team.

I think focusing strictly on Wine's record is the wrong way to view his capability as a coach. Wine comes from Oklahoma State, he has the pedigree and he knows his baseball.

[GoShockers89]

Is this guy your wife's cousin or something? What on earth...

[KC Shox]

Is this guy your wife's cousin or something? What on earth...

What the eff do you think? All I'm simply saying is don't get all butt hurt on a guy by just focusing on a number.

[podunkboy]

They just need to allow him to step down into a "Special Consultant to Baseball Operations" position, give him a nice pimped-out office at the stadium and a few box seats for games, and start re-building the program. I think WSU has been plenty loyal post OU-"lost weekend", and he's repaid us with mediocrity.

[1972Shocker]

They just need to allow him to step into a "Special Consultant to Baseball Operations" position, give him a nice pimped-out office at the stadium and a few box seats for games, and $500,000 and start re-building the program. I think WSU has been plenty loyal post OU-"lost weekend", and he's repaid us with mediocrity.

Fixed. There is no reason for Gene to step down when he his contractually owed $500k per year through June 30, 2014. And I can't say that I blame him. I don't think I could walk away from $500k very easily. Seems like Gene holds the stronger negotiation hand at this point.