Wren Baker to West Virginia

[meangreenbob]

We are losing the wrong guy. 
 

[outoftown]

I will say it: i am angry at WB. Its not that he leaves -people have a right to move up in the world and in many ways he did well- its the timing. Its the most selfish timing possible. He never hired a football coach, and he is actively avoiding having to take a decision on it . Its fleeing the responsibility and its a cowards move. He leaves the difficult part to the next guy. The right thing would have been to fire the coach and then move on, even if it means you have to wait a week to do so.

Moreover it means that if NT actually wins on Friday, and SL moves on to another program who is willing to pay for that, the buyout is even lower because there is clause for Wren baker leaving in SLs contract. I

 

Edited November 30, 2022 by outoftown

[outoftown]

6 hours ago, MGNation92 said:

If Seth gets canned I'll be happy.

If he takes Grant with him, I'll be devastated. 

Its not unlikely he'll come after grant eventually. His leaving reduces the buyout. Its why those clauses in those contracts should never have been allowed by the board, they constitute a major conflict of interest. Because of those clauses he could actually undo a lot of the good he did fairly easily.

Edited November 30, 2022 by outoftown

[Tom McKrackin]

5 minutes ago, outoftown said:

He never hired a football coach, and he is actively avoiding having to take a decision on it .

[outoftown]

7 hours ago, Pellom said:

I posted a couple of months ago that he wanted out. He’s been interviewing for every single AD job available. 
 

Look for Littrell to get a paper extension soon after the title game. 

Not sure. If I am the new AD and I am coming in from the outside, i would probably want to hire my own guy, that i get credit for if it works out, and if it doesn't at least i went down with my own guy and my own judgment. If its someone from the inside then yeah, thats another story.

[jtm0097]

23 minutes ago, outoftown said:

I will say it: i am angry at WB. Its not that he leaves -people have a right to move up in the world and in many ways he did well- its the timing. Its the most selfish timing possible. He never hired a football coach, and he is actively avoiding having to take a decision on it . Its fleeing the responsibility and its a cowards move. He leaves the difficult part to the next guy. The right thing would have been to fire the coach and then move on, even if it means you have to wait a week to do so.

Moreover it means that if NT actually wins on Friday, and SL moves on to another program who is willing to pay for that, the buyout is even lower because there is clause for Wren baker leaving in SLs contract. I

 

I mean, if you want to give me $1.1 mil a year for the next 6 years, I will be a coward and leave too.

[p_phelps]

Well this is not the news I wanted to see 

[outoftown]

5 minutes ago, jtm0097 said:

I mean, if you want to give me $1.1 mil a year for the next 6 years, I will be a coward and leave too.

its not even that big of a raise, seeing as NT already paid him 800k. If WVU is willing to pay for him, I doubt they would have balked at letting him come in a week later. Unless they want him to fire Brown that is, then they would be in a hurry. Then again, why wait for the new AD to do that if you can do it before.

[Zeleny' Orel]

Wren, thanks for stopping by our place.  We really enjoyed your stay and wish you well on the rest of your journey.  GMG

[greenminer]

34 minutes ago, outoftown said:

I will say it: i am angry at WB. Its not that he leaves -people have a right to move up in the world and in many ways he did well- its the timing. Its the most selfish timing possible. He never hired a football coach, and he is actively avoiding having to take a decision on it . Its fleeing the responsibility and its a cowards move. He leaves the difficult part to the next guy. The right thing would have been to fire the coach and then move on, even if it means you have to wait a week to do so.

Moreover it means that if NT actually wins on Friday, and SL moves on to another program who is willing to pay for that, the buyout is even lower because there is clause for Wren baker leaving in SLs contract. I

 

Or maybe there is truth to the rumor that the FB hire is made by someone else.

But ignore me and fight for your right...to be annnngrrrry.

[outoftown]

5 minutes ago, greenminer said:

Or maybe there is truth to the rumor that the FB hire is made by someone else.

But ignore me and fight for your right...to be annnngrrrry.

There may or may not be truth to that rumor I cannot tell. And I don't know how you would. But if it is the case, that too would be partially on WB. He had 6 years to change the situation, broaden the donor base so he is not overly dependent on any individual donor etc. Its actually an important part of his job.

Edited November 30, 2022 by outoftown

[jtm0097]

17 minutes ago, outoftown said:

its not even that big of a raise, seeing as NT already paid him 800k. If WVU is willing to pay for him, I doubt they would have balked at letting him come in a week later. Unless they want him to fire Brown that is, then they would be in a hurry. Then again, why wait for the new AD to do that if you can do it before.

Almost 40% raise and a lower cost of living. That's a pretty rare combination. Brown is staying put for the year, but he will have the opportunity to fire him next year. WVU apparently has a really good recruiting class coming in this year. Brown also has a dumb buyout of like 16 mil.

[Cr1028]

22 minutes ago, jtm0097 said:

Almost 40% raise and a lower cost of living. That's a pretty rare combination.

Exactly. $300k is not chump change for most folks. 

[Dannymacfan]

I think this was posted earlier on but for those who still feel sorry for Wren ---

West Virginia: Wren Baker's contract begins on December 19th and is a six-year deal through 2028 that will pay $1.1 million per year, plus incentives, per Hoppy Kerceval.

[NT93]

I’m burying the lead, but I didn’t realize he was from Valliant.  Small town boy makes it big.

[TheColonyEagle]

The only thing that might make me raise an eye brow....

What kind of situation is here waiting for the next guy? We think (and I've said many times) this is a great job and one of the best in the G5. He was making $800K....he was basically untouchable and had a really good gig. He DID leave for a P5 but it's not like it was a blue blood. WVU is a big 12 school but it's about to be a watered down big 12 with UT and OU leaving. He did get a little raise but he was already making big bucks. If what some have said are true about how decisions are made here and he was trying his hardest to get out...gives me a little pause. Besides, hasn't he had opportunities in the past that he was rumored to pass on? Then all the sudden he's mass emailing his resume and jumps on WVU?...a situation with a similar head coach issue...but on an even larger, higher pressure scale. What's the Risk/Reward?

Is he more jumping ship than taking a bigger job?

What is going on in Denton, TX?

[Got5onIt]

Explains why he never fired SL. 

[xyresic]

24 minutes ago, TheColonyEagle said:

The only thing that might make me raise an eye brow....

What kind of situation is here waiting for the next guy? We think (and I've said many times) this is a great job and one of the best in the G5. He was making $800K....he was basically untouchable and had a really good gig. He DID leave for a P5 but it's not like it was a blue blood. WVU is a big 12 school but it's about to be a watered down big 12 with UT and OU leaving. He did get a little raise but he was already making big bucks. If what some have said are true about how decisions are made here and he was trying his hardest to get out...gives me a little pause. Besides, hasn't he had opportunities in the past that he was rumored to pass on? Then all the sudden he's mass emailing his resume and jumps on WVU?...a situation with a similar head coach issue...but on an even larger, higher pressure scale. What's the Risk/Reward?

Is he more jumping ship than taking a bigger job?

What is going on in Denton, TX?

No merit to these rumors in the thread. The donors, and school are in agreement on the direction of the program. He wanted the job at Ok State which filled in mid 2021. Their hire is young and under contract through mid 2025. He got a base salary increase from 625k to 1.1 million. Almost 500k more not 300k and most importantly to him success at WVU will have him primed for a premier gig at an Oklahoma school if one shows up in a few years. In the mean time he is going to make 6.6 million plus incentives.

Edited December 1, 2022 by xyresic

[TheTastyGreek]

Nobody respects a commitment anymore, and nobody wants to work through adversity. 

The transfer portal is killing college sports. 

[Cr1028]

1 hour ago, TheColonyEagle said:

He was making $800K....he was basically untouchable and had a really good gig.

In what way was he untouchable?

[Side.Show.Joe]

Wren is the best AD we have ever had at UNT. Aside from the still unresolved issues with our football program, Wren has hit it out of the park with most of the other sports. I can't fault the guy for moving to a school that will pay him $1.1 million a year. No married man has a wife that would let them turn down that kind of money. 

He is leaving so we must wish him the best and move on. Hopefully Wren will sign a nice home and home with us as a parting gift. And, hopefully Jared Mosley gets serious consideration for the AD job. He knows the current plan for growth as we transition into the AAC. 

[VideoEagle]

9 hours ago, MeanGreenTeeth said:

 I guess we are going to a better conference, but not because of anything he did..

According the SMU's President, he recommended UNT to the AAC because of the leadership and overall direction of the Wren Baker and the athletic department. From what Turner wrote, because of Baker and Smatresk working together, UNT was the first school Turner thought should be added! So, according the the head of the AAC's expansion committee Baker was a major reason we got to move up. I'm not sure who from the AAC leadership that says otherwise.  

[MeanGreenGlory]

1 hour ago, xyresic said:

The donors, and school are in agreement on the direction of the program.

Thanks for all of your insight, @xyresic. I’m curious about your sentence quoted above. Can you shed any light on what the agreed direction looks like? What goals would you say the administration and donors have for the program? Is G5 the ceiling, or is there any ambition to secure a P5 spot?

[southsideguy]

8 hours ago, golfingomez said:

the timing definitely could have been worse. We could have been involved in negotiations with a major sponsor for the remaining athletic facilities that would have brought in $500,000,000 to the athletic program and then Wren gets hired away and the deal falls through. 

Or what if there was a 5 star recruit that was Wren's nephew and he had promised his uncle he would play wherever his uncle was and then Wren leaves right before signing day?

Or what if Wren had was on the cusp of curing cancer and then he got hired away by West Va, and he decided to stop working on the whole 'cancer thing'?

wow I didn't know WB was involved in all that.  Especially the part about curing cancer while being an AD.

[Aquila_Viridis]

I'm concerned about the hire from within mentality. This is an opportunity to take the situation to a higher level. Get someone from a smaller program that has done amazing things. I'm thinking like Coastal or MadDog (JMU). Then let them make similar moves on FB HC.