Cougars fail Hiring 101By Gene Sapakoff (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
 Rumor has it the College of Charleston changed a light bulb this week. But not before forming a committee. Hiring a head baseball coach should not require three people holding a ladder and three others reading instructions while an athletic director waits to flip the switch. Unfortunately, the College of Charleston has made a mess of replacing John Pawlowski, who left for Auburn ... What has it been now, six or seven weeks ago? Monte Lee has been hired as the Cougars' new head baseball coach, but the process should have been smoother. The wounds it caused might take a while to mend. Lee, the 31-year-old South Carolina recruiting coordinator and former Cougars outfielder, makes sense. Great guy. Knows a lot about hitting baseballs. Full of energy. Hit three home runs in a 5-4 loss to South Carolina. Comes with a zealous seal of approval from Gamecocks head coach Ray Tanner. He probably will make a very good head coach. But this should have happened a week or so ago. It's not like secret negotiations with Terry Francona were holding things up. Scott Foxhall, whether named to succeed Pawlowski or not, deserved more respect than a drawn out search involving an oddly composed committee full of people who apparently do not have "baseball" listed anywhere on their resumes. Saw it coming Foxhall, Pawlowski's longtime pitching coach, was the heir apparent all these years. It was thought Foxhall's choices eventually would come down to following Pawlowski or accepting Charleston's promotion offer. "Maybe I'll stay here a long time," Pawlowski said when asked about leaving Charleston. "But if the time does come, Scott will have an option." That was in 2006, during the third of three straight NCAA Tournament appearances for the Cougars under Pawlowski and Foxhall. The 36-year-old former Cougars pitcher and star recruiter withdrew his name from Charleston consideration Monday and will join Pawlowski at Auburn. While the College of Charleston is older than our country, its callow athletic department hasn't had much experience when it comes to major hires. But it's not like Pawlowski's departure was a surprise. A former big league pitcher and big-time college pitching coach who builds a program into a perennial NCAA Tournament contender is always in play. Fan base Most athletic directors have a short list of potential replacements in the office drawer. The thumbs up or thumbs down call on Scott Foxhall should have been ready the second Pawlowski called to say goodbye. Making a popular guy twist in the summer breeze hasn't gone over real well with many of the former Cougars players and fans who make up much of the school's small but loyal fan base. Sure, maybe Foxhall remained a leading candidate until he withdrew. Maybe it was his call all the way. Maybe, too, a guy decides a job isn't worth taking without something resembling hearty commitment. Pawlowski, miffed at Charleston's indecision, obviously was recruiting Foxhall to join him at Auburn, a sleeping giant Baseball America just picked as one of 12 favorites to reach the 2009 College World Series. See, now there's a guy who knows baseball, and realizes this is an important recruiting period loaded with high school "showcase" tournaments full of prospects. Maybe the College of Charleston should have put John Pawlowski on its search committee. Or asked him to screw in the light bulb. Reach Gene Sapakoff at gsapakoff@postandcourier.com. |
Article tools |
|
Notice about comments: Charleston.net is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. Charleston.net does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not charleston.net. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "suggest removal" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website. Full terms and conditions can be read here. |
Comments
This article has 7 comment(s)
Posted by sl57 on July 2, 2008 at 7:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
You absolutely nailed it! Cougar AD takes strike three right down the middle.
Posted by Tulane75 on July 2, 2008 at 8:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Sapakoff is being too nice! I never thought I would have to say that.
Just because Joe Hull has the power, doesn't mean I have to buy his made-up explanations. At least tell the truth! Hull didn't like Scott Foxhall from the moment he arrived, despite what he says.
By contrast, Jerry Baker understood why Foxhall was the man to succeed JP. His loyalty wasn't blind, however. Baker understood why baseball is important at a school like the College of Charleston and why Foxhall's special talent combined with his love of the school would benefit Charleston for years to come. Charleston was one step away from the CWS two years ago. In baseball, Charleston can be an elite team like Rice and Tulane. Also, Pawlowski and Foxhall engendered loyalty so that people like me who have no connection to the school other than geography, wanted to support the program. JP understood (understands) what SF brought to the table. Hull neither understands this, nor cares.
On the other hand, the College is probably paying the new coach less than they would have had to pay SF.
The new coach has nowhere near SF's experience, but that doesn't really matter to the new AD, as he comes from a school that has the same blueprint as C of C. At Maryland, basketball is important and baseball is not. At Maryland, they are happy for the baseball team to go through the motions, with the understanding that it really doesn't matter if they can't win a weekend conference series against Duke.
So Hull should at least tell the truth. He hired a less experienced man for probably less money. If you want to give Hull the benefit of the doubt, he is like the guy who, despite dating the sharpest and coolest girl around, always thinks that there is somebody better and so he treats the one who loves him like crap. Hull has not earned the benefit of the doubt, however.
Baseball just doesn't matter that much at the College of Charleston, or at least not as much as it should.
Posted by Rebel_Yell on July 2, 2008 at 11:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
dribble, complete dribble by a poor sportswriter
Posted by follygurl on July 2, 2008 at 11:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Welcome to the politics of the College of Charleston. The faculty get worse treatment than anyone in the Athletic Deptartment. They make those poor folks wait 4-6 months to find out if they have gotten certain promotions. Talk about bad feelings! That's a lot of time to sit and realize how much you dislike your employer and their process.
Posted by yellgirl on July 2, 2008 at 3:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Joe Hull leaves a lot to be desire as AD at the CofC. His snail's pace selection of JP's replacement is indicative of his demeanor. The best and most logical choice, Scott Foxhall, was allowed to "bow out" just within a day or so of selecting Monte Lee as new head baseball coach. The hiring of Scott would have more or less guaranteed a smooth transition with the players and recruits. Don't know that will happen with Lee. Best of luck, Scott. You will be missed. My condolensces to Monte Lee - You now have to deal with Hull.
Posted by expat on July 2, 2008 at 11:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Sapakoff rehashes a trite little light bulb joke to shed light on a problem in Athletics. The truth is that Sapakoff is really on to something, but it's not just the people in Athletics that can't seem to make a decision. It has become a problem throughout the college. Follygurl is absolutely right. Nobody can make a decision in a timely manner. Nobody gives a darn either.
Posted by CharlestonJim on July 4, 2008 at 11:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I must disagree with all comments and with Gene. First, getting someone like Lee with national experience is a good hire. Lee being a former student helped, of course, as well.
I don't know the man they passed over. But I do know he was the pitching coach of the worst staff in the Socon. The same staff that kept them out of the playoffs this year, and last. Is he a great coach with bad players? I have no idea. Should he be blamed and passed over? I have no idea. Should C of C have hired him within 48 hours and not seriously consider other people? If they wanted to the ripped people who actually think, maybe.
Recapping.... the school is ripped for making a serious, detailed search and for hiring the best qualified coach.
I am sure the pitching coach is a great guy and coach. He is actually better off at Auburn, in fact.
The way people are reacting to this though is confusing. It shows they have a bone to pick with the C of C (which I do not like) instead of accepting this for what it is. Gene is usually better than this, esp in baseball. C of C does plenty to be made fun of, lets keep our mocking of them on actual issues.
Is everyone saying they should have hired him quickly, after the last 2 seasons, and passed over Lee and other people? That is a very weak statement, and not something I would want my team to do.