Let the speculation begin

[long green]

watching some SEc baseball games on TV, Jake Geautreau was brought up as being a great recruiter and how he was going to be a fine coach one day. Let's not forget his recruits were the ones who helped Pierce getr into the regionals. As usual, Tulane rarely gets it right when it has a chance to hire one of it's own. Could have done it in basketball instead of Dunleavy , who I may add had a losing NBA record. (As I stated when he was hired). For such a supposedly top notch university. Tulane sure has no clue on how to run an athletic department. THE POTENTIAL OF WINNING IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ITSELF. GREAT CITY, LOCATION AND ACADEMICS. YEt the administration and those in charge are the most incompetent SOBs I have ever seen

Where do you want us to drop off the ransom again?

[FW]

I’m still baffled that we only won 32 games with such a weak schedule. Especially after hitting 89 HRs. I can’t believe he never once changed the weekend rotation. I can’t believe he just shut down Bates. The list goes on, and on, and on.

[PeteRasche]

watching some SEc baseball games on TV, Jake Geautreau was brought up as being a great recruiter and how he was going to be a fine coach one day. Let's not forget his recruits were the ones who helped Pierce getr into the regionals. As usual, Tulane rarely gets it right when it has a chance to hire one of it's own. Could have done it in basketball instead of Dunleavy , who I may add had a losing NBA record. (As I stated when he was hired). For such a supposedly top notch university. Tulane sure has no clue on how to run an athletic department. THE POTENTIAL OF WINNING IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ITSELF. GREAT CITY, LOCATION AND ACADEMICS. YEt the administration and those in charge are the most incompetent SOBs I have ever seen

Yeah, I mean, if only we'd listened to folks like you and hired a local guy instead of Rich Rodriguez in 1998 we'd have played in multiple national championships and been basking in P5 conference money by now! Oh, wait..

[GSx]

Hiring AC would be a far, far worse move that retaining TJ. And it would lead to a serious questioning of TD (whom I otherwise strongly support)

Tulane's not hiring AC.
But as I said above, the same coaches available last time, remain available. They could also scour the Southland (Deggs, at SHSU, e.g.). I suspect TD likely hired Jewett in the belief that his Vandy experience would help him manage the ongoing difficulties in managing scholarship/tuition thing (whether real or perceived, there has been boisterous squawking about it for years). The recruiting stayed about the same: not great, but not bad and good enough to make regionals.

There was no real improvement this year. The schedule was weaker so the win total inflated. When we started playing the better teams in the league, we started losing (7-16). We've seen that dog and pony show in these parts before.

[wavedom]

watching some SEc baseball games on TV, Jake Geautreau was brought up as being a great recruiter and how he was going to be a fine coach one day. Let's not forget his recruits were the ones who helped Pierce getr into the regionals. As usual, Tulane rarely gets it right when it has a chance to hire one of it's own. Could have done it in basketball instead of Dunleavy , who I may add had a losing NBA record. (As I stated when he was hired). For such a supposedly top notch university. Tulane sure has no clue on how to run an athletic department. THE POTENTIAL OF WINNING IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ITSELF. GREAT CITY, LOCATION AND ACADEMICS. YEt the administration and those in charge are the most incompetent SOBs I have ever seen

He coached here for 5 years. We never went to the post season and the program got worse while he was here and had it's first losing season in 20 years. Then he was out of coaching. Got hired by a friend at MSU , a place that recruits itself. Sure maybe he's older and wiser now but by parents accounts on this board when he was here the players liked him as a recruiter but hated him as a coach. Sorry but he's far from a slam dunk.

[tulaneoutlaw]

What would be nice is if Washington St. made the decision for TD and poached Jewett.

I agree with the thought that TJ made sense because of his Vandy private school experience along with his general success as an assistant. It didnt work out, though, and I for one would like to see us go the smaller school head coach route. How about Matt Riser as an option? Anybody have an opinion there? I know he has been brought up before

[tjtlja]

I think he stays unless Wazzu makes an offer. Going back home and feeling totally unappreciated may be too much for him to pass up. I just don’t think Dannen will pull the plug at this point, so getting another offer probably is the only way he is not here next year.

As far as the product on the field, we certainly improved from a hitting standpoint. It did slack off as the schedule became tougher, but good pitching will do that to you. If you talk to the players, a lot of the credit goes to Jarrett DeHart who is currently working with hitters in the Mariners organization. On the pitching side, not much to say. We have some quality arms, but for whatever reasons it has not manifested itself on the field.

On Jewett as a manager, I would ask the following -

1. You have been here three years and the pitching has never improved. Why? You have certainly had enough time to allocate the money around to get AAC pitchers. What went wrong?
2. We dumb down the schedule in year 3, and you have one of the most prolific offenses in Tulane history and we end up at 32-26. Why? How many games do you think you lost by mismanaging the game?
3. The AAC, even though ranked 5th in overall RPI, was down. We may be a two bid league. You had the easiest route ever to get to the AAC championship and could not take advantage of it. Why? Were the players at the beach, or did Keagan not show up as you said. Please explain.
4. We understand that you will be bringing in a boat load of new pitchers and running off quite a few guys. Please provide a breakdown of each pitcher you signed and tell me why we will be better next year.
5. Do you understand we have not sniffed a regional in three years. You were boasting after the Ole Miss series that Bianco praised how good we would be. What happened?
6. Do you understand Tulane baseball and it’s history? Do you understand our popularity at the gate is the lowest it has been in 20+ years. Show me how that will change next year. Break it down position by position. Are we recruiting players that will turn this thing around immediately? Where do we rank in recruiting nation wide? Why aren’t we consistently in the Top 30. Why are schools like Dallas Baptist, USM, Sam Houston State, ECU, Rice, SLU, ULL, Coastal Carolina, UNC Wilmington, Liberty, UCSB, Fullerton, etc., in more regionals this decade than us? Explain. Is it the tuition? How are spreading the money around, and show me who is, or could be getting need based income.
7. Do we have assistant coaches that know how, and what type of player is needed to win at Tulane. Give me a breakdown of each player on the team currently and who recruited them. How much money is being allocated to that player?
8. During the exit interviews next week, show me the money allocation for each player coming back and explain how you came to that figure.
9. Have you improved as a manager on the field since you were hired? Give me examples. What was your thinking last week in Houston as you used Roper and Gillies for half of game one and threw Solesky in game three for six or seven innings - how did they play out in your mind with the AAC tournament starting on Tuesday?
10. We have replaced your entire staff in three short years. Why? We have given you resources to recruit nationally. What else do you need? Have we lost any recruits that are difference makers? Why? What could we have done differently to help you? Was money the issue? What was your offer? Explain.

Dannen should grill him on everything. The answers should decide his fate, not the money.

[Wavemania]

watching some SEc baseball games on TV, Jake Geautreau was brought up as being a great recruiter and how he was going to be a fine coach one day. Let's not forget his recruits were the ones who helped Pierce getr into the regionals. As usual, Tulane rarely gets it right when it has a chance to hire one of it's own. Could have done it in basketball instead of Dunleavy , who I may add had a losing NBA record. (As I stated when he was hired). For such a supposedly top notch university. Tulane sure has no clue on how to run an athletic department. THE POTENTIAL OF WINNING IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ITSELF. GREAT CITY, LOCATION AND ACADEMICS. YEt the administration and those in charge are the most incompetent SOBs I have ever seen

Yeah, I mean, if only we'd listened to folks like you and hired a local guy instead of Rich Rodriguez in 1998 we'd have played in multiple national championships and been basking in P5 conference money by now! Oh, wait..

Pete, reread what I said- Tulane misses the ball when it has a chance to hire one of its own. RR was a Tulane guy who got passed over. Chris Scelfo never was a Tulane guy. His brother was, but not him. So my point is spot on. Thank You

[randymc]

excellent post TJTLJA;
I would add could Tulane do a better job picking up one or 2 two-way players -- pitcher/1B or outfield?
what can be done to improve team speed and defensive speed especially in the outfield?
what can be done to improve small ball efficiency; you've talked about scoring in multiple ways but advanced runners, stole bases rarely this season.
base running mistakes were not as plentiful as in the first 2 years but still reared their ugly head at inopportune times; are you pleased with 3rd base coaching? do you have plans to assign that to someone else or take it over yourself next year?

[visualmagic]

Hiring AC would be a far, far worse move that retaining TJ. And it would lead to a serious questioning of TD (whom I otherwise strongly support)

The AC issue isn’t about morality or deserving second chances blah blah blah It’s about judgment. If he wants to try to work his way up from the dregs of D3, fine. We ain’t gonna be taking those chances.

You can not want AC, but man some of this stuff is ridiculous.
He’ll be at Holy Cross for probably 1 year and then he’ll be back in D1 as a HC or top assistant. There will be no stop at D3.

[PeteRasche]

I know nothing about them but I would assume the coaches at schools like Coastal Carolina and Dallas Baptist are making less than Jewett and could be enticed for even less than we're currently paying. They obviously have figured out how to get good kids to a "tiny, nonpower" school and coach them up to be great. Why not look to places like that (rather than lower division schools)? Is it all because our tuition is is so much higher that recruiting at schools like that is even easier than at Tulane?

[gerryb323]

I know nothing about them but I would assume the coaches at schools like Coastal Carolina and Dallas Baptist are making less than Jewett and could be enticed for even less than we're currently paying. They obviously have figured out how to get good kids to a "tiny, nonpower" school and coach them up to be great. Why not look to places like that (rather than lower division schools)? Is it all because our tuition is is so much higher that recruiting at schools like that is even easier than at Tulane?

I can't imagine Dallas Baptist is cheap, unless they have some kind of deal like Rice has going.

[DrHullabaloo]

Hiring AC would be a far, far worse move that retaining TJ. And it would lead to a serious questioning of TD (whom I otherwise strongly support)

The AC issue isn’t about morality or deserving second chances blah blah blah It’s about judgment. If he wants to try to work his way up from the dregs of D3, fine. We ain’t gonna be taking those chances.

You can not want AC, but man some of this stuff is ridiculous.
He’ll be at Holy Cross for probably 1 year and then he’ll be back in D1 as a HC or top assistant. There will be no stop at D3.

Here's the deal with AC that I read about which gives me pause. I wasn't in the dug out, the locker room facilities, or the hotel room, so I cannot vouch if this information is anything more than allegations. But none of these gossip details scream to me "D1 Coach Material" a mere 18 months from when they took place:

- allegedly used University credit card to pay for the hotel room liaisons
- allegedly spent entire game sexting on his phone with the girlfriend.
- his social media behavior was bizarre and self-absorbed
- he would allegedly spend copious time in the weight room, video-ing himself to share on social media and with recruits, and was described as completely out of his element managing the program day to day.

The sexting on the phone episode I read was described as follows: As USM is sweeping State, he was so absorbed in his phone that he would barely notice if someone was dying on the mound or what was actually happening with the management of the game. At one point something needed his attention so he parted with the phone and walked away from it. The screen contained interesting information which was allegedly captured by one of the student athletes who then shared it with the appropriate powers that be at Mississippi State and then the fallout ensued.

I am not saying that AC can never not be on our staff at Tulane, but given the precarious situation that we are currently in where this can go up or spiral downwards, his name is not the one that jumps out at me as someone to trust to right the ship.

Matt Riser, heck yes.

[gerryb323]

I, for one, am proud to arrive in this thread late in page two and find that no one has (at least seriously) argued for AC to get the job yet. There are folks on social media who have already declared "everyone deserves a second chance" and "lots of people have affairs". Said folks apparently are willing to overlook the fact that he was so consumed that he actually coached very poorly and it rubbed off on the team to the point where the locker room was apparently becoming toxic (see the postseason story about how much better it got after he was let go).

Anyway, keep up the good work. There are lots of very good choices out there without dipping into scandal-rehab-land just because someone once played for your school.

Pete you need to go back over page one again. He was brought up. Pictures count.

I was, in no way, advocating for AC. In fact, the exact opposite.

[noladave]

Weather Jew stays, or goes, I don’t know. I will support the Baseball Coach, regardless of his name.

That being said, and please take this with a grain of salt, as I do not divulge any inside information - my guess ss to roster changes (based on graduation, draft, or other reason)

Acy Owen - graduated
Kobi Owen - still has 2 years of eligibility, but is draft eligible.
Jonathon Artigues - coming back, going for his MBA....
Sal Gozzo - 1 year eligibility left ??
Trevor Jensen - graduated
Brendan Power - back in fall ball
David Bedgood - should be full time player next year
Grant Mathews - should be drafted, not likely to be back
Hudson Haskin - future high draft pick, be back with his brother (a catcher)
Collin Burns - back at fall ball
Brendan Cellucci - Chooch - I believe is a draft eligible sophomore, could be drafted - ??
Kody Hoese - Top 50 draft pick. Not coming back.
Aaron McKeithan - should be back, but we are adding at least 2 catchers next year
Kaleb Roper - graduated
Josh Bates - don’t know, a mystery - eligibility left, but did not pitch much.
Ryan Green - graduated
Ethan Groff - redshirted. If he decides to stay at Tulane, could be a good player.
Frankie Niemann - should be back.
Ty Johnson - if he gets medical reshirt, says he will be back. No redshirt, no eligibility left
Ross Massey - graduated
Luke Glancy - possibility he could be drafted (lefty bat).
Chase Solesky - draft eligible. Guessing he gets drafted, and goes, but anything could happen.
Justin Campbell - big part of pitching next year.
Tyler Heinrichs - graduated
C.J. Whelan - should be back. (Draft eligible)
Stephen Sepcich - hopefully be back
Keagan Gillies - draft legible - gone if drafted.
Robert Price - not sure, hopefully back next year. Performed well at the end of the year.
Michael Slatten - ?? back for fall ball
Landon Boeneke - ?? back for fall ball
Grant Segar - ?? Fall ball
Connor Pellerin - not sure about draft eligibility. If not drafted, back ??
Trent Johnson - 1 year left, back??
Logan Stevens - should be back
Krishna Raj - should be back

At least 10 definitely won’t be back.
another 5 to 10 are questionable

Expect to have another 40ish guys back for fall ball, and then cut down to 35 next January.

All of this is speculation, and we really won’t know anything until post-season interviews occur, the MLB draft happens, and scholarship monies are discussed.

And if there is a coaching change (my complete guess is NOT a change), all of this goes out the window.

[DrHullabaloo]

I know nothing about them but I would assume the coaches at schools like Coastal Carolina and Dallas Baptist are making less than Jewett and could be enticed for even less than we're currently paying. They obviously have figured out how to get good kids to a "tiny, nonpower" school and coach them up to be great. Why not look to places like that (rather than lower division schools)? Is it all because our tuition is is so much higher that recruiting at schools like that is even easier than at Tulane?

Agree.

I'm not jealous of the pressure that Dannen is under, and I pray that the next decision is the right one.

There has got to be another David Pierce caliber coach out there waiting for his chance, looking to improve his salary until the big shots come calling.

Gautreaux was a great recruiter, but people are having short term memory about that season where he coached while Jones was sick. This past season was a roller coaster of emotions, but that last final season of Gautreaux was just sad. I remember a lot of silent games just watching us die painfully. The only silver lining that season was having beat LSU at home, in the freezing cold.

[visualmagic]

I know nothing about them but I would assume the coaches at schools like Coastal Carolina and Dallas Baptist are making less than Jewett and could be enticed for even less than we're currently paying. They obviously have figured out how to get good kids to a "tiny, nonpower" school and coach them up to be great. Why not look to places like that (rather than lower division schools)? Is it all because our tuition is is so much higher that recruiting at schools like that is even easier than at Tulane?

Those 2 guy in particular are not leaving. Gilmore at Coastal is an alum and 61 years old. Heefner at DBU has turned down offers from bigger schools like Baylor in the past. Matt Deggs at SHSU would be a terrific option.

As to whether or not it’s harder to recruit at Tulane or lower tuition schools that are in smaller conferences, you might get different answers depending on who you ask. There are pros and cons to both but I personally believe that you’re more likely to pull in a highly regarded guy that’s wanted by everyone, like a Jake Rogers or Stephen Alemais ,at Tulane.

[MattK]

I find it odd that Gautreaux and how his recruiting set up pierce is always brought up.

But the fact that he was hitting coach and we couldn’t hit our way out of a paper bag is ignored.

Ok, maybe it’s not that odd.

[Radio Wave]

Whether coach goes or stays won’t be because of a buyout. There’s more rights dollars flowing in from the new AAC deal.

[long green]

Kaare Johnson endorses AC for the job. He must want to finish poor Andy off properly.

[Johnny Mac]

show him the door... it's not like we have a top 10 recruiting class coming in next year loaded with 3 weekend starters and a sure fire closer.. baseball is the dumpster fire Toledo and CJ got football into and Dunleavy started in hoops. Only way to extinguish is to purge.

[TUPF]

Kaare Johnson endorses AC for the job. He must want to finish poor Andy off properly.

“...finish poor Andy off properly”...made me chuckle. Made me think of bar girls in Subic Bay lo those many years ago. Thanks for lightening the day.

[FW]

There’s no X in Jake’s name

[MattK]

There’s no X in Jake’s name

Oops. It auto filled in and I wasn’t paying attention.

[tjtlja]

excellent post TJTLJA;
I would add could Tulane do a better job picking up one or 2 two-way players -- pitcher/1B or outfield?
what can be done to improve team speed and defensive speed especially in the outfield?
what can be done to improve small ball efficiency; you've talked about scoring in multiple ways but advanced runners, stole bases rarely this season.
base running mistakes were not as plentiful as in the first 2 years but still reared their ugly head at inopportune times; are you pleased with 3rd base coaching? do you have plans to assign that to someone else or take it over yourself next year?

Randy, thank you.

You make some excellent points too. Two way players at Tulane is certainly a way to work around the cost. Coach Jones certainly understood this and used it so effectively during his career. And team speed must be improved. How many balls could we have gotten to that would have helped our struggling staff.