Mercalius Posted November 30, 2012 Report Share Posted November 30, 2012 Hargis was just on the Tony B show 100% standing behind his story, putting his 23 years of reporting credibility on the line, saying if anyone can track down a story he'd ever posted that wasn't factual - he'd go to Knoxville and personally apologize. Flat out said Knoxville media needed to get off their asses, stop being lazy and only reporting what they were spoonfed. Went on to further say that if this deal falls through, it's not on Gruden's part - completely on the AD/money side of things. Said again, as of last night, JG wanted to be the head coach of the Vols. Checked again with his source this morning after the negative press started coming in. Dude wouldn't back down, calling out Hyams and Rucker, and stood firmly behind his source. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiskeyAlphaBravo Posted November 30, 2012 Report Share Posted November 30, 2012 yep..dead as door nail. Ho hum...back to mediocrity... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercalius Posted November 30, 2012 Report Share Posted November 30, 2012 I don't think it's dead, although Gruden's agents comments are basically putting a nail in it. So weird that it conflicts with credible reporters other statements though. Something doesn't add up in this whole thing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercalius Posted November 30, 2012 Report Share Posted November 30, 2012 LaMonte's comments: The agent for former NFL coach Jon Gruden said reports that his client had received an offer from Tennessee were from a “fantasy world” and that Gruden had no interest in the Vols’ head coaching job. “I haven’t said anything (about the ongoing rumors) because there’s been nothing to say,” said Bob LaMonte, the Reno, Nev.-based representative for Gruden. “This, to me, is just a fantasy world.” LaMonte said he spoke to Tennessee Athletic Director Dave Hart for the first time this morning. “He just said there had been a lot of rumors and he just wanted to clear the air,” LaMonte said. “I said, ‘Thank you for the call. I appreciate it.’ He said thank you and that was it.” LaMonte said Gruden has no plans to leave ESPN, where he is in his fourth season as a commentator for Monday Night Football. “Jon has made it clear he’s committed to ESPN,” LaMonte said. LaMonte disputed reports that Gruden had been offered a contract or been negotiating terms to take the Tennessee job. “I don’t know Dave Hart,” LaMonte said. “I’d never met him or talked to him. (Today) was the only time I talked to anyone from Tennessee.” A source close to the Tennessee search who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media told the News Sentinel that Tennessee reached out to Gruden directly last week, but Gruden ultimately declined to pursue the job. The source supported LaMonte’s stance that no negotiations took place. LaMonte said Hart’s call today was apparently a formality. “He said, ‘I just wanted to do due diligence,’” LaMonte said. “I said, ‘Thank you but Jon has made it clear he’s committed to ESPN. He thanked me and said goodbye.” Something stinks really badly in this whole mess. Someone has to be lying. If the above comments are all true, which I'm not saying they are, Hart's position needs to be re-evaluated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitansGuru Posted November 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2012 Sounds like boosters were driving the hype. Hart half arsed pursued it. Both sides leaking what they wanted out there with the AD being closer to the truth. Time to move on and hope we get someone better than Larry Fedora. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercalius Posted November 30, 2012 Report Share Posted November 30, 2012 Jon's agent could just be taking the fall here to look like the dick so that Gruden comes out looking good, but this press release pretty much implies that David Hart is a fucking lazy moron who could've/should've put this to bed weeks ago. Instead, if this is true, he let the frenzy build to a fever-pitch over one candidate then it comes out that he hadn't even contacted that candidate's agent until today - despite a week and a half's worth of "leaks" from the AD stating otherwise. Either this is playing out like the Saban to Alabama/Meyer to Ohio sagas and we're in for a massive rollercoaster ride, or David Hart needs to be replaced. A week and a half without a murmur of any real coaching interviews and the only thing that comes out is how you last-minute tried to talk to Gruden but got shot down? Again, something isn't adding up in all of this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercalius Posted November 30, 2012 Report Share Posted November 30, 2012 Hargis still sticking to his original story. Also of all people, the king of douches, Wes Rucker (who's said this was a no-go the whole time) is actually verifying that the agent's comments are bullshit. Again, something crazy must have went on behind closed doors or there's still something going on. Too many contradictions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercalius Posted November 30, 2012 Report Share Posted November 30, 2012 FWIW Hargis has been all over the TN radio channels today and hasn't strayed an inch from his story (I've listened to 4 different interviews) - says he has 3 confirmed sources for everything he released, and one of them is an active college coach with ties to Gruden and his agent and he visited him in person and saw text messages exchanged between him and JG's agent. He even got his story fact checked by his editor before he released it, both of them knowing this would blow the lid wide open on the story. The Agent's release earlier today, was verbally true if you just go by the wording, but completely misleading on how things have actually been going. Says the only hangup is on the money the assistant staff gets. Gruden's been looking forward to coaching here and has acquainted himself to the NCAA rules and even came up with a plan to fix the recruiting problem here in TN, but there's a standoff on his assistant's money. Says Gruden was ready to sign on last night, but if this isn't resolved, he's going to walk. Says the deal isn't dead, but the window is closing. No clue why that would happen. If you even sniff an opportunity to land Gruden, you go all in. However, this is playing into a theory I read a few weeks ago that things would look bleak but things would change to make it look like Hart pulled it out at the end. If the money really is the issue, even a trivial amount for assistants...that's a booster issue. If the money becomes available, it could appear as though Hart convinced them to chip in the last bit, thus landing our coach and making Hart look good in the process. I don't trust news sources often, but I don't think Hargis is making this up. You can tell how passionate he is about his story and how upset he was that local media in Knoxville have been trying to discredit it all day. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitansGuru Posted November 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2012 Not sure if true but Hart and Jimbo Fisher might meet early next week. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinman Posted November 30, 2012 Report Share Posted November 30, 2012 Anything short of Gruden at this point is a fail in the public eye...If Gruden wants to coach the vols there should be no hang ups.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titansfan920 Posted November 30, 2012 Report Share Posted November 30, 2012 Anything short of Gruden at this point is a fail in the public eye...If Gruden wants to coach the vols there should be no hang ups.. This seems to be a Tennessee thing in general doesn't it? Going after a big name and falling short...didn't we do something like that this offseason? I forget. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 1, 2012 Report Share Posted December 1, 2012 This is just the latest example of how out of touch Division I schools are about their status. Gruden has reached the pinnacle of his profession. Unless he has personal reasons to downgrade to the College game, He will be back in the NFL when he decides the time is right. Every year schools like Tennessee Texas, USC, etc... think they are on par with the NFL. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 1, 2012 Report Share Posted December 1, 2012 It's the Gruden silly season. His agent gets most of this stuff going. They seem to do it for shits and giggles. It's more a sign of Christmas than Christmas trees at this point. Read this and try not to get sucked in next time (like when Munchak gets axed): http://www.torontosu...-season-is-here Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitansGuru Posted December 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2012 Vegas odds have Tressel as the favorite. I had not considered him a possibility but would be thrilled if that was the choice. Yeah, there is some baggage, but absent a great younger coach he would provide that bridge back to when Tennessee was an elite program. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 1, 2012 Report Share Posted December 1, 2012 Vegas odds have Tressel as the favorite. I had not considered him a possibility but would be thrilled if that was the choice. Yeah, there is some baggage, but absent a great younger coach he would provide that bridge back to when Tennessee was an elite program. Tressel is a much more realistic target as he is strictly a College coach. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.