1) Gene DeFilippo thought he had his man and feels betrayed
Brian: Makes sense. This was Gene's first head football coaching hire and he wanted it to last. Wanted to find that BC guy. As soon as he caught wind of Jags having cold feet at the altar, GDF went all vindictive, crazy bride on Jags' ass. I can't say I blame him, but the ultimatum that was leaked to the press was certainly unnecessary and handled poorly.
2) We might have the 109th ranked recruiting class this year
Brian: I'm going to come straight out and say I don't give a rats ass about saving this year's recruiting class if we can hire a guy like Charlie Strong to lead this team (100% agree with Brian Cook of mgoblog fame ... do it, Gene! Do it!).
Hiring Frank Spaziani would be short-term fix to save this season's recruiting class. The school would be much better off taking the hit this year (which odds are they are going to anyway) and hiring the right guy Gene is looking for. A guy that will turn this program into a college football destination school. And a guy that recruits better than any of the in-house candidates. Also, there must have been a reason Spaziani was passed over for the head job two years ago.
3) Gene made the correct decision to have a full coaching search; and will make the wrong decision if he decides to go internal
Brian: If Gene truly wants to find his man, he needs to look outside the program. Spaziani has been always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Plus he's 63 years old, not that this blog condones age discrimination or anything.
Advice for DeFilippo: hire young, hire enthusiastic, hire a college guy (and not a guy who has an NFL itch to scratch). The media not very close to the program (cough: Heather Dinich) think Spaziani is the right choice. I definitely don't agree with that.
Jeff: Spaz is not the guy long term. IF for some reason we cannot find a guy we want I have no problem hiring Spaziani and giving him a 2-3 year contract, but that's a big IF.
4) Recent football success at BC has clearly been profitable for the school
Jeff: Probably similar to the Flutie effect except we were already on a higher rung of the ladder. NO WAY BC fires a guy and pays him that kinda money if donations and such were not going well.
Brian: In other words, the decision to fire Jagodzinski appears to be recession proof OR several prominent boosters actually didn't mind if Jags was let go, and were willing to foot some of the bill for that. I actually don't think, after the ultimatum was leaked, that Gene had a choice but to pay up. Even if we don't have the money, he'll find a way to raise it.
5) (Verdict is still out on this, but) Gene DeFilippo is a hard person to work for
Brian: First we had Tom O'Brien, then Cathy Inglese, and now Jeff Jagodzinski. Is something in the water in Chestnut Hill? Does GDF really wield all the power on the Heights? Is he in general just an a-hole to work for? Who knows. I think the only reason we haven't had a run-in with either Al Skinner or Jerry York is that Gene loves those guys and generally they have free reign to do whatever they want with their programs?
Jeff: Like you said, the verdict is still out. TOB said as much after he left, but Jags hasn't said so yet and supposedly everything will be OK between the two of them.
6) Unless Herzlich pulls a Jags (what, too soon?), he will be back next season
Brian: As reported in the latest AP article on the situation.
But his [Jags] departure "really doesn't affect my decision" about whether to return for his senior season and play for his third coach in four years. [Herzlich] said he expects to announce this week that he will be back, cooling speculation he might enter the NFL draft.
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