Coach Gregg Marshall Investigation

[1972Shocker]

I'm not sure that Eric Sexton was so much incompetent as he was unqualified for that position. As far as that goes Eric had no experience in athletic administration. The blame for Eric Sexton IMHO is attributable to Dr. Don Beggs. Unfortunately, Eric didn't have the self-awareness to realize he would be in over his head. Not sure why Dr. Beggs thought that putting Eric in that role was a good idea.

Not sure who made the call on ADDB to replace ADES. Gregg Marshall maybe? At the very least I would think 3G had to bless that move before it was finalized.

[Kung Wu]

There never was a way to handle it "correctly". There was never a way to "handle" it - let alone do it correctly.

Handle what? A constantly changing story on what happened? It's looking more and more like Shaq at the most got angry-father slapped upside his head and nothing more.

[shock]

Handle what? A constantly changing story on what happened? It's looking more and more like Shaq at the most got angry-father slapped upside his head and nothing more.

Except there are people on here that believe victims should be believed no matter the truth, because even if what they claim turns out not to be true, their feelings matter more than justice.

[Ashockalypse]

This was a total failure of AD, WSU lawyers, Greggs lawyers and Gregg. He should have been allowed a risk free mea culpa to Shaq to move forward with his team. He got forced into prepared statements. But, all that aside, I ope RB and SM are revered in the program for a long time but these two are not seasoned D1 professional athletic administrators whose judgement about right and wrong is to be bestowed a man’s future and the decision to terminate his life’s work IF IT WAS. A good job of mediation could have yielded a less earthshaking development. I don’t believe Gregg wanted to leave.

Now, go ahead and blast me for not moving on!

[Aargh]

I'm not sure that Eric Sexton was so much incompetent as he was unqualified for that position. As far as that goes Eric had no experience in athletic administration. The blame for Eric Sexton IMHO is attributable to Dr. Don Beggs. Unfortunately, Eric didn't have the self-awareness to realize he would be in over his head. Not sure why Dr. Beggs thought that putting Eric in that role was a good idea.

Not sure who made the call on ADDB to replace ADES. Gregg Marshall maybe? At the very least I would think 3G had to bless that move before it was finalized.

I believe the ultimate responsibility doesn't lie with Morris - or Baker - or any of the other players who spoke out. I don't believe any in administration above Marshall had the ability to tell him that he needed to make some changes. The threat of not winning as many games probably kept them from doing anything.

Threaten to let him go to a football school where he's the #3 guy in the athletic department instead of being in control of the athletic department? Marshall wasn't going to go for that. When he came back from 'Bama with a $4 mill offer, just tell him no. Then give him the option of a renewed contract at a lower level of pay with stipulations that clearly eliminate the buyout if the known problems continue.

That changes the entire power structure in the athletic department and puts the AD back in control instead of the BB coach in charge.

We had another hard ass coach who berated players, exposed their weaknesses and put that in the press. That coach got a Natty and was in the hunt for several, but never had an allegation of hitting a player.

[WeWillShockU]

I believe the ultimate responsibility doesn't lie with Morris - or Baker - or any of the other players who spoke out. I don't believe any in administration above Marshall had the ability to tell him that he needed to make some changes. The threat of not winning as many games probably kept them from doing anything.

Threaten to let him go to a football school where he's the #3 guy in the athletic department instead of being in control of the athletic department? Marshall wasn't going to go for that. When he came back from 'Bama with a $4 mill offer, just tell him no. Then give him the option of a renewed contract at a lower level of pay with stipulations that clearly eliminate the buyout if the known problems continue.

That changes the entire power structure in the athletic department and puts the AD back in control instead of the BB coach in charge.

We had another hard ass coach who berated players, exposed their weaknesses and put that in the press. That coach got a Natty and was in the hunt for several, but never had an allegation of hitting a player.

The last sentence seems suspect to me. I recall that a opposing player got beaned in the on deck circle by WSU pitcher under the instruction of said coaching staff.

[bleed yellow]

I'm not sure that Eric Sexton was so much incompetent as he was unqualified for that position. As far as that goes Eric had no experience in athletic administration. The blame for Eric Sexton IMHO is attributable to Dr. Don Beggs. Unfortunately, Eric didn't have the self-awareness to realize he would be in over his head. Not sure why Dr. Beggs thought that putting Eric in that role was a good idea.

Not sure who made the call on ADDB to replace ADES. Gregg Marshall maybe? At the very least I would think 3G had to bless that move before it was finalized.

The move to the AAC is what's got me confused.. I mean, if you're not going to focus on bringing football back and leave Marshall in charge of the athletic department then why bother making the move at all? WSU has a lot of work ahead of them going forward. They are going to have to decide which direction the Athletic Department is truly moving at some point

[MikeKennedyRulZ]

The move to the AAC is what's got me confused.. I mean, if you're not going to focus on bringing football back and leave Marshall in charge of the athletic department then why bother making the move at all? WSU has a lot of work ahead of them going forward. They are going to have to decide which direction the Athletic Department is truly moving at some point

It’s not confusing at all. The move to a higher profile conference has done wonders financially and from an exposure perspective. Regardless of football it was a fantastic move. Staying in the dump known as the valley would have been a disaster.

[atlwsu]

The move to the AAC is what's got me confused.. I mean, if you're not going to focus on bringing football back and leave Marshall in charge of the athletic department then why bother making the move at all? WSU has a lot of work ahead of them going forward. They are going to have to decide which direction the Athletic Department is truly moving at some point

I am sure I am wrong here, but i think associating with the type of schools (academic, research, environment, visibility) in the AAC vs the Missouri Valley is at least if not more important than athletics.

There are some fine schools in the MVC but the exposure and prestige is far less.

Anyway, that's my thoughts.

[pinstripers]

There never was a way to handle it "correctly". There was never a way to "handle" it - let alone do it correctly. Try to fire Marshall "for cause" in 2015? Absolute total fan revolt. Try to tell Marshall he needs to straighten up his act and apologize to a player? I'm going to speculate that was suggested, but never happened.

Anybody remember The Incredible Hulk. The really nice, gentle-natured guy who everybody loved - until he got angry. "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry". AD probably didn't want to cross that line with Marshall.

There was one way to handle it. When Marshall went on job interviews and came back demanding a raise, let him go. Say it wasn't in the best interests of the athletic department to attempt to match the salary he was offered. The problem that was known is gone, and there's no buyout involved, Then go hire someone who wants to coach a team coming off some great NCAA runs. Probably lose some players and not win as many games the next year,but the smoldering issue in the locker room is gone. That would upset some boosters, but how upset are those guys now that they are forking up $7.75 million for Marshall to not coach the Shox.

In any business, you don't want incompetent or inexperienced people in critical positions. Sexton was incompetent. Boatright was inexperienced. Neither had the chops to handle the situation they found themselves in.

Try to compare, "there's only so many hamburgers" and "you gotta pay me a million more"

[Dan]

Try to compare, "there's only so many hamburgers" and "you gotta pay me a million more"

hamburgers - what he says in public
a million more - what he says behind closed doors

[ShockerFever]

Why are there still people out there that think we’d be in a better position right now if we were still in the Valley?

[ShockTalk]

hamburgers - what he says in public
a million more - what he says behind closed doors

"Hamburgers" - what he said to the public, fans, and supporters of WSU.

$7.75 million - when he corrected himself to the public, fans, and supporters of WSU.

Not making a judgement here, but "can only eat so many hamburgers" implied one thing. "Only" settling for $7.75 million may not appear as any kind of penitence or responsibility to that same public. Also not making any judgement on what the athletic knew or didn't know.

[1972Shocker]

In Coach Marshall's defense, while he did say there are only so many hamburgers you can eat, he never said how many hamburgers it would take to fill him up.

[Kung Wu]

Or maybe it's the "no more hamburgers required" mentality that prevented him from going after the full $15M he was owed? Maybe not wanting to put his family, a community he loves, and players he loves through a potentially nasty and very public court process was worth $7.5M to make it go away?

Regardless, there's a massive difference in being satisfied with your SALARY, ie income with more to follow, ie predictable future cash flow, ie knowing you have time to make lifestyle adjustments if the floor falls out; versus being satisfied with a severance check, ie no further income, ie no future earnings, ie no future cash flow, ie the floor has fallen out.