Did we really just fire Gene Stephenson?

[William]

Whose idea was this, I have read posts of people bitching and moaning on here, but never in a million years can I imagine an athletic director doing this. Seriously where in
hell would a dumbass idea like this eminate from. You don't fire Bill Snyder, you don't fire Bill Self, and you most certainly don't fire Gene. Where would ades ever get the
balls to pull this? Am I to believe there was legitimate fan support for this move? This is tragic, what kind of message does this send to coaching prospects from all sports about us?
Come to Wichita, turn chickenpoop into chickensalad, work miracles, go to postseason and get fired? Better yet, Who in the hell do we think we are? IF you think BK won't dump us
as soon as Gene gets his new gig, you got another thing comin' I seriously want to know how ades thinks this move will be popular, maybe I'm wrong, maybe there was support for
this here, I don't post or read here much anymore, surely not.

[SB Shock]

IDK, I only saw this on TV tonight.....

Capture.JPG

[ISASO]

The program was sucking in every measurable way and the slide was well documented. Gene had choices to make this easy or difficult. He chose the difficult, stubborn route. He was never going to retire. They would have had to carry him out of there in a coffin. Next year was always his year, just one more one last chance. Like a drug addict, he just needed one more fix, then he would quit cold turkey. You know what? Drug addicts ruin their lives and everyone else's lives chasing that one last fix before they quit. Gene wasn't a quitter, a "resigner" or a "retirer". That's why he did what he did here. He would never quit, never take no for an answer.

So yes, we fired him. It was the only way to keep him from destroying that which he created.

[William]

I fear that this post and like minded individuals lack perspective on this issue, imagine for a minute that the success of the 80s and 90s are a cherished history, not to ever be consistently attained at WSU again, Why treat this hero this way? He was not failing, far from it, I don't believe we will be better off, more likely to go the wrong direction. Gene
is a uniquely talented individual, one of the greats of all time, probably the only dude on the planet that could have accomplished what he did here. How do we repay him? I am
embarrassed tonight.

[GoShockers89]

.

[wsushox1]

*Runs and checks for occupants in my Kitchen*

[SB Shock]

I fear that this post and like minded individuals lack perspective on this issue, imagine for a minute that the success of the 80s and 90s are a cherished history, not to ever be consistently attained at WSU again, Why treat this hero this way? He was not failing, far from it, I don't believe we will be better off, more likely to go the wrong direction. Gene
is a uniquely talented individual, one of the greats of all time, probably the only dude on the planet that could have accomplished what he did here. How do we repay him? I am
embarrassed tonight.

Guess you should have wrote bigger checks. You should feel embarrassed - you failed your hero in his time of need.

[ShockerFever]

I think things could have been handled differently. I'm not particularly a big fan of how this went down. I understand the need to move on, but it seems like the man was treated like dog poo. I don't think he deserves that, no matter what your feelings are of him. He only gave us 36 years and the 2nd most wins of all time.

If some of you think we're gonna have a run like that again, well, I hope you're right. Otherwise, this isn't gonna look good.

[ISASO]

Gene himself said he couldn't take the program any further. We finally took him seriously.

[rrshock]

Sure it could have been handled differently, but it needed to be done. There was no way to please everyone. But more people than not are happy that a change is happening.

[vancedave56]

We cannot be sure it was acutally handled poorly. If Gene was given choices, possibly even more early on that we know of, there could have been a way to "save face" and bow out gracefully. We all appreciate the sweat and blood he put into this program...but nothing is forever...not even this life.

[GoShockers89]

.

[vancedave56]

+1

[Shocker85]

I fear that this post and like minded individuals lack perspective on this issue, imagine for a minute that the success of the 80s and 90s are a cherished history, not to ever be consistently attained at WSU again, Why treat this hero this way? He was not failing, far from it, I don't believe we will be better off, more likely to go the wrong direction. Gene
is a uniquely talented individual, one of the greats of all time, probably the only dude on the planet that could have accomplished what he did here. How do we repay him? I am
embarrassed tonight.

Yes, I guess you have lost touch (as if you ever had a grasp on reality).

Quick, William, when was WSU's last CWS appearance?

The most telling statistic I have seen posted: 44 teams have made it to the CWS since WSU's last appearance. Making the NCAA tournament from a weak-assed league like the MVC is no accomplishment. Winning games in NCAA play is. WSU Baseball had stopped winning at the NCAA level.

I suppose noone really knows if there is widespread fan support for the firing. The fans have been staying away in droves, so we couldn't ask any of them.

The past is passed. The future begins now.

[ShockerFever]

Gene himself said he couldn't take the program any further. We finally took him seriously.

Can you go much further than a national championship?