Who should be Wichita State's Head Coach?

[SubGod22]

Hiring a coach fired for abuse is probably off the table .. even if it was domestic abuse and not player abuse.

Also ADKS seems like an EXTREME family man. His wife and kids are always mentioned and part of everything. I do not think he would even remotely entertain someone with domestic abuse issues.

And unfortunately, even if Chris Beard is found innocent or charges dropped the first part still probably prevents him from being a serious candidate. PR nightmare for a school really needing positive PR.

That's an indictment on our society. I'm not sure if I've missed some updates, but it sounds as if what he said from the start might actually be true in that she essentially attacked him and he defended himself and did what was necessary to deescalate the situation, within reason. It appears that with her recanting her initial claim and the physical evidence, more or less would support that theory. I believe it is still to be investigated by police in Texas and we will see what happens.

I care more about reality than public perception personally, and I'm not actually advocating for Beard to be the next guy, but we also hired IB based on public perception and not reality and look where it got us. If things continue to point towards Beard not being in the wrong, as they do from the last things I've seen, then there is zero reason not to consider him. If people that defend themselves are now guilty of domestic violence, I don't know if I want to be a part of society anymore.

I'm more of a wait and see type of guy when it comes to accusations. People sometimes do stupid things when they're mad or upset, and it's very possible that she was mad about something, instigated it and then called the police knowing it would hurt him regardless if he was in the wrong or not. Emotions can be a *****. We're seeing that with the saga with the USMNT right now and mommy Reyna mad that her little boy wasn't playing so she dug up some very minor dirt on the coach from over 30 years ago and now his job is in jeopardy and he's getting the wrath of the online outrage mob. We need to stop letting those people dictate so much in all aspects of society.

If the legal process finds that Beard did attack and beat her and choke her then this all changes. If it doesn't, there's absolutely no reason he shouldn't be considered for this or any other job. So until there's evidence of him truly being in the wrong, I think he's fair to discuss. I do think he'll probably end up sitting out a year or two because our society sucks, but he will get back in the game and be successful, assuming he isn't charged or found guilty of actual domestic abuse.


Unless Texas knows more than the rest of us, I think they've jumped the gun and overreacted by firing him now. I'd be curious to see/hear the evidence Beard says he has that proves his side of the story. We may not see that until the legal process concludes or ends up in trial though,

[Stickboy46]

That's an indictment on our society. I'm not sure if I've missed some updates, but it sounds as if what he said from the start might actually be true in that she essentially attacked him and he defended himself and did what was necessary to deescalate the situation, within reason. It appears that with her recanting her initial claim and the physical evidence, more or less would support that theory. I believe it is still to be investigated by police in Texas and we will see what happens.

I care more about reality than public perception personally, and I'm not actually advocating for Beard to be the next guy, but we also hired IB based on public perception and not reality and look where it got us. If things continue to point towards Beard not being in the wrong, as they do from the last things I've seen, then there is zero reason not to consider him. If people that defend themselves are now guilty of domestic violence, I don't know if I want to be a part of society anymore.

I'm more of a wait and see type of guy when it comes to accusations. People sometimes do stupid things when they're mad or upset, and it's very possible that she was mad about something, instigated it and then called the police knowing it would hurt him regardless if he was in the wrong or not. Emotions can be a *****. We're seeing that with the saga with the USMNT right now and mommy Reyna mad that her little boy wasn't playing so she dug up some very minor dirt on the coach from over 30 years ago and now his job is in jeopardy and he's getting the wrath of the online outrage mob. We need to stop letting those people dictate so much in all aspects of society.

If the legal process finds that Beard did attack and beat her and choke her then this all changes. If it doesn't, there's absolutely no reason he shouldn't be considered for this or any other job. So until there's evidence of him truly being in the wrong, I think he's fair to discuss. I do think he'll probably end up sitting out a year or two because our society sucks, but he will get back in the game and be successful, assuming he isn't charged or found guilty of actual domestic abuse.


Unless Texas knows more than the rest of us, I think they've jumped the gun and overreacted by firing him now. I'd be curious to see/hear the evidence Beard says he has that proves his side of the story. We may not see that until the legal process concludes or ends up in trial though,

He will absolutely end up coaching elsewhere ... I don't think that's up for debate. I just don't see how it will be here for the reasons I listed. If we didn't have the 3G situation and we were just replacing an underperforming coach, we could probably ride out the PR storm. But the way the 3G situation went down where there was a notion that WSU tried to hide it (and semi backed up by giving a severance agreement vs just straight termination) makes it way worse.

Also the HCIB situation is a bit different. We were backed into a corner where HCIB was the only option due to public perception. This is different, we have unlimited other options. Can we afford the other options? I don't know, only ADKS does.

Also a decent chance the legal aspects wont be resolved until after we need to hire a new coach anyways.

[MikeKennedyRulZ]

That's an indictment on our society. I'm not sure if I've missed some updates, but it sounds as if what he said from the start might actually be true in that she essentially attacked him and he defended himself and did what was necessary to deescalate the situation, within reason. It appears that with her recanting her initial claim and the physical evidence, more or less would support that theory. I believe it is still to be investigated by police in Texas and we will see what happens.

I care more about reality than public perception personally, and I'm not actually advocating for Beard to be the next guy, but we also hired IB based on public perception and not reality and look where it got us. If things continue to point towards Beard not being in the wrong, as they do from the last things I've seen, then there is zero reason not to consider him. If people that defend themselves are now guilty of domestic violence, I don't know if I want to be a part of society anymore.

I'm more of a wait and see type of guy when it comes to accusations. People sometimes do stupid things when they're mad or upset, and it's very possible that she was mad about something, instigated it and then called the police knowing it would hurt him regardless if he was in the wrong or not. Emotions can be a *****. We're seeing that with the saga with the USMNT right now and mommy Reyna mad that her little boy wasn't playing so she dug up some very minor dirt on the coach from over 30 years ago and now his job is in jeopardy and he's getting the wrath of the online outrage mob. We need to stop letting those people dictate so much in all aspects of society.

If the legal process finds that Beard did attack and beat her and choke her then this all changes. If it doesn't, there's absolutely no reason he shouldn't be considered for this or any other job. So until there's evidence of him truly being in the wrong, I think he's fair to discuss. I do think he'll probably end up sitting out a year or two because our society sucks, but he will get back in the game and be successful, assuming he isn't charged or found guilty of actual domestic abuse.


Unless Texas knows more than the rest of us, I think they've jumped the gun and overreacted by firing him now. I'd be curious to see/hear the evidence Beard says he has that proves his side of the story. We may not see that until the legal process concludes or ends up in trial though,

Here here...100% agree.

[shocker43]

I don't believe we will get rid of IB at the end of the season. We don't have the money, and the lack of ticket sales isn't helping. I think the buyout after next year is much easier for the university.

But, if we were to fire him, my unlikely, near zero percent chance pick, is Rick Pitino.

I know our fans have a lot of nostalgia for the past, and as another poster has mentioned, the old WSU guys are who we're most familiar with, but I would really like to see someone from outside WSU. I feel like the program needs a total reset. Let someone else come in, establish their own culture, and be proud of the program they've built.

[BostonWu]

If Beard is convicted he's looking at doing time and his career is over.

[WuDrWu]

Fogler - no national search (mixed results but overall not the right hire, bolted early)
Cohen - no national search, bad hire
Thompson - national search, bad hire
Smithson - no national search, bad hire, but he was so successful at JUCO he had to be given a shot
Turgeon - national search, great hire
Marshall - national search, home run hire
Brown - no national search, bad hire

we’re 2 for 7 since Smithson

I guess I'm going to have to go to my grave while constantly dying on this hill, but Eddie Fogler was absolutely NOT a bad hire. He wasn't Marshall, no doubt. 3 years, 2 NCAAs 1 NIT.

Gene Smithson 8 years 2 NCAAs. Again, 3rd on that list, but not bad. Carry on.

[WuDrWu]

I don't believe we will get rid of IB at the end of the season.

What is it that Ted Lasso says?

[SubGod22]

I don't believe we will get rid of IB at the end of the season. We don't have the money, and the lack of ticket sales isn't helping. I think the buyout after next year is much easier for the university.

But, if we were to fire him, my unlikely, near zero percent chance pick, is Rick Pitino.

I know our fans have a lot of nostalgia for the past, and as another poster has mentioned, the old WSU guys are who we're most familiar with, but I would really like to see someone from outside WSU. I feel like the program needs a total reset. Let someone else come in, establish their own culture, and be proud of the program they've built.

And you want to establish a new culture with a guy in his 70s? I have zero issue going outside of the WSU tree, but I would hope we would bring someone in who is younger than that.

[Kel Varnsen]

A lot of good points about innocence and waiting for the facts to come out, for sure.

Unfortunately, the affidavit she provided the day/night of and the fact that UT fired Beard for cause today seems to indicate her "retraction" wasn't quite sincere. To be clear, legally, you might have to go off of that, but my read is that she saw her relationship with Beard, and as a result, her lifestyle slipping away and wanted to prevent that from happening.

[SubGod22]

A lot of good points about innocence and waiting for the facts to come out, for sure.

Unfortunately, the affidavit she provided the day/night of and the fact that UT fired Beard for cause today seems to indicate her "retraction" wasn't quite sincere. To be clear, legally, you might have to go off of that, but my read is that she saw her relationship with Beard, and as a result, her lifestyle slipping away and wanted to prevent that from happening.

I'll have to go back and find it, but I believe she's claimed that she never told the police that he choked her. I don't know if I've misread something on Twitter about it or if that's what she's actually said and would need to verify that. Was she misquoted by the police in her initial allegation or has she just taken back that accusation?

You could be right and she took things back because of what you indicate. But it is also possible that she said things while angry that weren't really true. That's not unheard of at all either.

Texas says they fired him for cause. I'm not sure how the contracts are written, but if everything is dropped or proven that the accusations are false, I think they're not going to get away with that.

It is all interesting and could go a lot of different ways. I just hate that we let Twitter mobs dictate so much with so little actual knowledge.

[Shock Top]

IF he is proven innocent, America, and the sports world, has already proven they don't care if/where/when you get a second chance, as long as you were fired from your original job.

Hell, they might even cheer for them to come good.

[Shock Top]

They better be at least kicking the tires on Beard and doing their due diligence.

(Again) IF found innocent, he would be a slam-dunk, home-run, hat-trick of a hire.

[WstateU]

A lot of good points about innocence and waiting for the facts to come out, for sure.

Unfortunately, the affidavit she provided the day/night of and the fact that UT fired Beard for cause today seems to indicate her "retraction" wasn't quite sincere. To be clear, legally, you might have to go off of that, but my read is that she saw her relationship with Beard, and as a result, her lifestyle slipping away and wanted to prevent that from happening.

"Champagne dreams and caviar wishes.”

Chris Beard

Texas

- Salary = $5,255,000

Buyout = $21,000,000

Top College Basketball Head Coach Salaries: Highest-Paid Coaches | BetMGM

[Maizerunner08]

I'll probably get some hate for this take but here's reality: In the sports realm, public perception only matters for 5 minutes. Once some time has passed people only pay attention to winning/losing. IF public perception was all that mattered and the ultimate arbiter, Rick Pitino, Kareem Hunt, Tyreek Hill, Urban Meyer and countless others in sports would be unemployed.

Simply put, people care about winning and losing. They might get mad or upset but it quickly goes away when the games begin.

[Shock Top]

I'll probably get some hate for this take but here's reality: In the sports realm, public perception only matters for 5 minutes. Once some time has passed people only pay attention to winning/losing. IF public perception was all that mattered and the ultimate arbiter, Rick Pitino, Kareem Hunt, Tyreek Hill, Urban Meyer and countless others in sports would be unemployed.

Simply put, people care about winning and losing. They might get mad or upset but it quickly goes away when the games begin.

That's why WSU needed to weather the storm with fHCGM.

There was less evidence on him than a lot of others in the past, yet he paid a bigger price.

America, and the media in particular, would have focused on the new shiny thing to be outraged about.