Ash to Coach tOSU Bowl Game

[sct1111]

So I guess when you move up the corporate ranks, the rules are different? Newsflash - they aren't.

I moved in a senior position from one competitor to another in the same industry. I gave ample notice to my current employer, transitioned my work and left on good terms. Probably 90% of the time that's what happens. I know it happens at the C-level, because my manager gave a month's notice before moving to a new job as well.

Now does that happen all the time? No. I know situations where people are shown the door when they announce they're leaving, but are often specific reasons for that. I also know people who leave without notice from their positions and get away with it, but if you're in a close-knit community like college football it's probably something you don't want to be in the habit of doing.

Again, if someone has problems with Chris Ash as a hire because he lacks head coaching experience or he doesn't have the resume you're looking for, that's one thing. Reasonable people can differ on whether it's a good hire or not. (I tend to think it is.) But making a big deal out of him wanting to do the right thing as he leaves his current job is ridiculous.

This isn't a corporation, this is college football. Someone like Meyer (who btw left Bowling Green before their bowl game to take the head coaching position at Utah) understands what is it like to be hired as a new head coach. This is not burning bridges. It's not like Meyer didn't know he was interviewing for head coaching jobs. If anything Meyer should be proud of his young assistant. Meyer more than anyone should understand the importance of being devoted to your new team. The right thing here is to be loyal to the team you are signing on to be head coach from day 1.

 

[sodakboy93]

how the world works? employers never lay people off with no notice? Come on. Sorry Christmas is in two weeks, but your job has been filled by a foreigner on a work visa. Oh, and you have to train him for two weeks before we kick your a$$ to the curb.

I agree with you. You should do the right thing. The question here is what's the right thing. Seems we have different opinions of what that is. When Chris Ash gets hired by Ohio State in five years, I hope he stays to coach Rutgers in the Rose Bowl.

Employers are unfair sometimes. I get it. They can lay you off without notice, fire you for no reason, take away bonuses or cut your salary. I've been on that side of the fence and it sucks.

I still think you fulfill your obligations to the company that hired you - especially in situations where that company put you in position to get a better opportunity. You never know what's going to happen down the road and there's no reason to burn bridges.

 

[sodakboy93]

This isn't a corporation, this is college football. Someone like Meyer (who btw left Bowling Green before their bowl game to take the head coaching position at Utah) understands what is it like to be hired as a new head coach. This is not burning bridges. It's not like Meyer didn't know he was interviewing for head coaching jobs. If anything Meyer should be proud of his young assistant. Meyer more than anyone should understand the importance of being devoted to your new team. The right thing here is to be loyal to the team you are signing on to be head coach from day 1.

In other words, don't honor your agreements or fulfill your obligations on the way out. Got it. Great lessons to impart to kids.

Again, just because other guys do it, doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

 

[sodakboy93]

On ESPN Mac Brown said that when coaches take jobs at other schools before the season is over they should leave immediately, even if they were on his staff.

You want to talk about commitment? How about the commitment to his new job?

I don't hold Mack Brown up as the poster child for college football ethics.

And here's the thing - if you offer to stay and your employer says that you should go and/or walks you out the door, fine. Some employers will do that. I'm not saying I agree with it, but it happens.

But you should always offer to give proper notice, and if your employer takes you up on it, you work through your notice period.

I'm still astonished that people think that this is some awful thing.

 

[Jersey383]

Do we know meyers policy on coach's getting jobs during the season?

 

[hiwater]

On ESPN Mac Brown said that when coaches take jobs at other schools before the season is over they should leave immediately, even if they were on his staff.

You want to talk about commitment? How about the commitment to his new job?

He will be working double duty. He will work on RU relelated things while the kids are in school and OSU bowl prep after that. He will not be going on the road and recruiting for OSU while he is there. You can bet that he will talk to recruits on RU's behalf whenever he can, but he won't try to flip OSU commits while there.

This is a lot of juggling for him, but in the end it is better for both RU and OSU. The bowl game is going to be an infomercial for Chris Ash if his D does well simply because he's leaving to be the RU HC. Think how many times the camera will pan to him while talking about him as a rising star or a bright young football mind, and He's Rutgers new HC. You can't buy any better publicity . National expossure will help recruiting

 

[Jersey383]

He will be working double duty. He will work on RU relelated things while the kids are in school and OSU bowl prep after that. He will not be going on the road and recruiting for OSU while he is there. You can bet that he will talk to recruits on RU's behalf whenever he can, but he won't try to flip OSU commits while there.

This is a lot of juggling for him, but in the end it is better for both RU and OSU. The bowl game is going to be an infomercial for Chris Ash if his D does well simply because he's leaving. Think how many times the camera will pan to him while talking about him as a rising star or a bright young football mind, and He's Rutgers new HC. You can't buy any better publicity .

Yup its a shame that some people cant see this though.

 

[rucoe89]

Do you think 17 and 18 year olds are reading nj.com?

sure - they're at least talking to the reporters.

 

[Caliknight]

Understand your point but with our fans & media attention and NJ coaches, this will be a major issue that will never be forgotten at least till he wins here.

Part of the problem. Our fans need to grow up.

 

[sodakboy93]

Do you? In the world of college football that's hardly burning bridges. It's usually a mutual understanding between coaches. Meyer left Bowling Green before their bowl game before he became the head coach at Utah. It happens pretty much all of the time. In fact most of the other head coach hires this year have done that exact thing. DJ Durkin is not coaching in Michigan's bowl game. Dino Barbers is not coaching in Bowling Green's bowl game. So why is Ash?

I have no doubt it's because he is a loyal guy. But his loyalty from Monday on should be with Rutgers and Rutgers only. It's just not a good look on his part.

You do realize Urban Meyer coached Utah in their bowl game before went to Florida, right? I mean, he was going to Florida in the SEC - he could've just left and gotten right to work for his new school in a power conference but chose not to.

 

[SanFranRutgers]

Great. Another thread about this.

 

[ru66]

it never stops--the complaining, as predicted--and bac needs to throw in his AD comment--email julie

 

[Blitz8RUCrazy]

OP shows how disconnected he is from the corporate world.

In the corporate world if you get a job offer from a direct competitor and you accept, the moment you give your 2 week notice to your employer, they will tell you to pack all your shit up and will march you out the door with security in 20min flat. They will make it clear that they don't want you working there after your 2 week notice since you're going to work for a direct competitor, they will still pay you those 2 weeks though. That's how it works in the corporate world.

Urban Meyer should have a ton of issues with this. This is a major conflict of interest. It is interesting that he doesn't seem to care. Either way if Ash's contract with RU starts Monday, he should be at RU PERIOD (since he's being paid by RU). If his contract starts after the OSU bowl game that's a different story (and it's then on our AD for not getting him to join sooner).

 

[rurichdog]

Where I work, if you tell HR you are taking any position with a competitor, you are done immediately. Full stop. Your stuff will be shipped to your home, security will escort you out.

 

[sharkunit]

"do the people who think that Chris Ash should just quit Ohio State immediately also think it's ok to just quit their job without notice?"

YES IT IS OK.and you here should all be doing it every 2 - 3 years as well !!! have you never been fired before? is it ok that a company just fires you without notice and gives you a week of severance and a 2k a month cobra option?? this is life. you don't owe your previous employer anything. you were getting paid for whatever it was you brought to the table. it was a fair trade. the trade is now OVER.

it is a travesty and insult to RUTGERS that he doesn't sever ALL ties with ohio state as soon as the ink dries...and not just sever the ties.. but START the rhetoric about how he is going to do whatever it takes in NJ to grind and build and eventually BEAT the disgusting Ohio State U.

those that think otherwise are absolutely lost

 

[ru66]

unless the client want/demand otherwise and really, HR is usually clueless and will cave when the CEO tells them a client is at stake

 

[ru66]

making a mountain out of an ant hill--typical

 

[RUtrumpet92]

Where I work, if you tell HR you are taking any position with a competitor, you are done immediately. Full stop. Your stuff will be shipped to your home, security will escort you out.

This is what I've seen at my company with possibly one exception, and that was for an upper level guy who had almost the most seniority in the office. At the middle and lower levels, anyone going to a competitor is done as soon as they tell management.

No point in continuing to beat the dead horse about Ash. I am sure it will come up in the press conference, he and Hobbs will give their take, and we move on.

 

[RUinPinehurst]

So the CEO at RU Football Inc is fired and a replacement is hired. However, that new CEO elects to remain in his current VP position at OSU Football Inc for a few weeks as a courtesy to his former boss and former employer while his new employer is leaderless? OK. I can see this happening. But it is highly unlikely. And highly inappropriate.

 

[newell138]

While I'm annoyed he isn't starting today, whatever, I'm over it. In the long run, does it really matter? I'm sure the same people who are screaming and yelling are the same ones who killed Schiano for bolting right before signing day.

 

[B0ski]

He needs to get his ash in Piscataway and keep it there. He is the RU coach for crissakes.

 

[RUtix4me]

Where I work, if you tell HR you are taking any position with a competitor, you are done immediately. Full stop. Your stuff will be shipped to your home, security will escort you out.

Same here, every situation is different. Every industry is different.

 

[Rutgers25]

He will be working double duty. He will work on RU relelated things while the kids are in school and OSU bowl prep after that. He will not be going on the road and recruiting for OSU while he is there. You can bet that he will talk to recruits on RU's behalf whenever he can, but he won't try to flip OSU commits while there.

This is a lot of juggling for him, but in the end it is better for both RU and OSU. The bowl game is going to be an infomercial for Chris Ash if his D does well simply because he's leaving to be the RU HC. Think how many times the camera will pan to him while talking about him as a rising star or a bright young football mind, and He's Rutgers new HC. You can't buy any better publicity . National expossure will help recruiting

Lol...I'm so ready to drop this topic but seriously STOP this nonsense about free publicity. They will mention it once for a minute.

 

[rutgersal]

OP shows how disconnected he is from the corporate world.

In the corporate world if you get a job offer from a direct competitor and you accept, the moment you give your 2 week notice to your employer, they will tell you to pack all your shit up and will march you out the door with security in 20min flat. They will make it clear that they don't want you working there after your 2 week notice since you're going to work for a direct competitor, they will still pay you those 2 weeks though. That's how it works in the corporate world.

Urban Meyer should have a ton of issues with this. This is a major conflict of interest. It is interesting that he doesn't seem to care. Either way if Ash's contract with RU starts Monday, he should be at RU PERIOD (since he's being paid by RU). If his contract starts after the OSU bowl game that's a different story (and it's then on our AD for not getting him to join sooner).

You're the one disconnected from the corporate world. If his employer walks him out the door after giving notice, then he is free to work for RU. But if his employer wants him to remain, then that is what he should do. My guess is he agreed to this when he was hired, and is merely fulfilling an obligation. RU probably agreed to his working the bowl game, when they were negotiating.

 

[RUtix4me]

Now Politi is saying he should come now and skip the bowl game. Looks like some here will need to admit they agree with Politi on something.......

 

[rutgersal]

More like Politi read the board and has taken this editorial position so that it grabs attention.

 

[RUinPinehurst]

You're the one disconnected from the corporate world. If his employer walks him out the door after giving notice, then he is free to work for RU. But if his employer wants him to remain, then that is what he should do. My guess is he agreed to this when he was hired, and is merely fulfilling an obligation. RU probably agreed to his working the bowl game, when they were negotiating.

Sure. That he, OSU, and RU agreed to this is the problem that many RU shareholders have with it. We can certainly move on from it. But Ash's presence at OSU and his role in its bowl game benefits OSU, not RU, and, in fact, may hurt RU to some degree in terms of recruiting players and staff.

 

[Upstream]

Thanks for posting this.

I wasn't really sure where I stood on this, mostly because I don't really know what Ash is planning on doing. I don't know if he is going to be splitting his time over the next 4 weeks between Rutgers and OSU, or if he is going to be 100% on Rutgers except for 2-3 days bowl prep and the actual bowl game where he will be on the sideline.

I was going to wait until I heard from Ash, and then form an educated opinion.

But now that Richard Politi has expressed his opinion, I know that the right answer is the exact opposite.

Thank you.

 

[carolina scarlet]

Thanks for posting this.

I wasn't really sure where I stood on this, mostly because I don't really know what Ash is planning on doing. I don't know if he is going to be splitting his time over the next 4 weeks between Rutgers and OSU, or if he is going to be 100% on Rutgers except for 2-3 days bowl prep and the actual bowl game where he will be on the sideline.

I was going to wait until I heard from Ash, and then form an educated opinion.

But now that Richard Politi has expressed his opinion, I know that the right answer is the exact opposite.

Thank you.

Weak.

 

[carolina scarlet]

I've said this in a couple of threads, but I'm going to make my own thread because I'm riled up about it.

I do not give a damn what some people (who I'm convinced have no clue about how the world works) thinks Chris Ash should do. Chris Ash wants to honor his commitments to Ohio State and the kids he coaches there. That's the right thing to do, both personally and professionally.

Yet there's a bunch of people on this board who think that's ridiculous, that the athletic director is being taken for a ride, and all sort of utter and complete nonsense.

So let me ask this - and be honest...do the people who think that Chris Ash should just quit Ohio State immediately also think it's ok to just quit their job without notice? You know, "screw my employer I got a better offer and they want me to start as soon as possible, so I'm just leaving tomorrow".

Sure, some people will do that. Some *coaches* will do that. But does that make it right, or better, or does it just reek of unprofessionalism? It does to me.

I rarely like to make value judgments on people on a message board, because often times it's unfair, but if you really want to bash Chris Ash for staying with Ohio State through their bowl game then you're the one with the problem. And I sure as heck wouldn't want you to work for me.

Loyalty above all, except ...honor.

Don't know if Ash did this but the right way to handle this would have been to go to Meyer and ask for his release from the bowl game; that is because once hired by Rutgers his obligation is then to his new school. If he intended to coach the bowl game then the honorable thing to do would have been to tell Hobbes that he would have to inform Rutgers of his decision after the Bowl. That would free up Rutgers to continue to search and allow Ash to stay with OSU until after the bowl.

 

[RUChoppin]

Actually, one of the negatives of Ash coaching in the bowl game was that it was a 100% chance that the SL would write a negative slanted piece about it - and that they'd likely hold onto that story and bring it back time and time again. And as someone said in another thread, even if he were to change his mind and start tomorrow, the SL would harp on his initial instinct being to coach OSU in the bowl.

There's no winning - SL will almost always take the position that paints RU Football/athletics in a bad light. Given that several posters also instinctively criticize the team/program, that means they'll often come into alignment.

Personally, I don't know if I care one way or the other. Coaching in the bowl game will definitely get Rutgers mentioned plenty during the Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame, which will likely draw a lot of eyeballs in NJ because of the matchup. That may very well make up for any time lost in the first few weeks of his tenure here.

 

[kennyschiano]

Haven't seen his contract at osu, but leaving now may cost him a few hundred grands. Just saying.

I don't think him staying is an issue in any case. Dead period anyway.

 

[Upstream]

Weak.

What is weak? Is it weak for me to want to wait to hear from Ash and then form an educated opinion? Or is it weak that I should expect newspaper columnists to also wait until they have the facts (rather than a few tweets) and form an educated opinion.

 

[vkj91]

Wow is that misinformed., "every top coach and recruit" has had contact with him? Really?

They were all on campus at OSU--and were defensive players? Sure.

I get wanting to be blindly positive on the hire. I do too, but there's a giant red flag that may--or may not be something of substance. But either way what's relevant is that if the AD allows there to be a near month gap before full time at RU it will continually be brought up to question whether he wanted a head job or wanted to be at RUTGERS, and if he was ready to do more than coach me up and actually be the CEO and understand all that requires.

As with any negotiations there are always issues that come up until finalized. This is a giant one and Hobbs has some serious thinking and decision making to do in short order.

No, not misinformed at all but if it makes you feel better. He has made the rounds in NJ, he has met the top coaches, and had some type of contact with all the big names. Then again, I could be wrong and the coaches and recruits I spoke to this weekend could be lying to me.

 

[cubuffsdoug]

More like Politi read the board and has taken this editorial position so that it grabs attention.

You are correct. He's only seeking attention and we all know Politi gets a lot of his topics from this board.

 

[Upstream]

Haven't seen his contract at osu, but leaving now may cost him a few hundred grands. Just saying.

I don't think him staying is an issue in any case. Dead period anyway.

I have no idea. I tried searching for his contract last evening, but was unable to find it. Depending on what is in the contract, there could be contractual reasons that he would coach the bowl game, and Rutgers would agree to it. Or not.

At this point, I haven't seen any details of what it even means for him to coach in the bowl game. This could be anything between a commitment for a couple hours that puts him on the sideline at the game to a commitment that takes most of his time over the next four weeks. Without knowing what the commitment is, and without knowing his reasons for coaching OSU in the bowl game, I really don't know if this is an issue or not.

 

[ruready4somefootball]

I feel Ash is doing what he feels is right to his contract. At some point, I think Urban Meyer should tell Ash, thanks for all you've done, I'll make sure you get your bonus, and good luck. That would be a class act move on Meyer's part.

 

[czxqa]

Brian Kelly left Cinncinnati weeks before the Orange Bowl, and took many of his assistants.

Didn't most people think he was a douche for doing that?

 

[carolina scarlet]

No, not misinformed at all but if it makes you feel better. He has made the rounds in NJ, he has met the top coaches, and had some type of contact with all the big names. Then again, I could be wrong and the coaches and recruits I spoke to this weekend could be lying to me.

You mean in the capacity of selling Meyer and OSU?

 

[Akron Buck]

The condescension in that post is hilarious. Neither that poster nor Ash seems to be aware of the NJ culture and our media. It's a different beast than practically anywhere in the country.

He is supposed to sign on to be our head coach on Monday. As Rutgers fans it's not unreasonable to expect him to be devoted to RU and only RU. We shouldn't have to kiss Meyer's ring and neither should he. We're in the same division for God sake. Meyer will be a competitor starting Monday. Meyer should not expect him to stay with his staff for a meaningless bowl game.

First thing he is going to have to do is change your culture to understand a new years bowl game against Notre dame is never "meaningless". Talk about short sighted.

Most of his tOSU work will be during the dead period, while he is doing double duty he won't be "kissing myers ring" he will be asking him questions, bouncing things off him, and using his experience to help put together the building blocks of his program.

Read some of the articles on Tom herman that have come out this year, he turned Houston into a version of tOSU south using the same kind of philosophies Myer does, and during the time he was still with tOSU after being hired used the resources around him to help put together his program.

Your guys problem is that you don't realize Ash will be using this time to leverage Myer's experience not skulk around kissing his ass.

My biggest worry is not only do we lose Ash, but what possible assistants might he take with him leaving more openings at tOSU to fill.