Cold Look at Pernetti's Tenure

[dahammer75]

I have no skin in, and like to avoid, the great Tim Pernetti debate. In fact, I liked him when he was hired and thought his TV experience could be a template for a new breed of AD. I also can't break through all of the political RU BS surrounding his departure to determine if he was railroaded out of town.

That said, you can't debate that his two biggest hires have been tough for RU. First Rice, and now Flood have, at the least, embarrassed the school.

Hiring the head MBB and FB coach are the 2 most impactful decisions an AD will make. Love or have Pernetti, both of those decisions have backfired on the school.

 

[RU848789]

I liked the Pernetti hire, originally, but he deserved to go after the Rice fiasco blew up in his face. When given a video, the best move is to always go public with it and your plan to fix things, to get out ahead of the scandal, not cover it up like he and Barchi did, hoping it would go away - I don't give a crap what any lawyer told them, they're utlimately responsible for that horrible decision. And I was ok with the Flood hire, at the time, as he certainly helped keep the class together and had a pretty good first year, but after that horrible 2nd year, I was ready to can him. I never thought we'd have all this other embarrassing crap under him, though, and for that and his mind-bogglingly stupid actions on the Barnwell academics case, he should be fired. And to think there are still Pernetti fans out there - completely whiffed on his two most important hiring decisions and his decisions on how to handle Rice. He'll never be an AD anywhere again.

 

[Upstream]

Pernetti, despite his hiring of Flood and Rice, and his handling of Rice, was the right AD for Rutgers at the time.

It is easy to dismiss his role in the B10 invite as "just answering the phone", but in reality he was in continual communications with Delaney. His expertise in sports media business (obviously not in media messaging) helped position Rutgers to provide the data and support to Delaney's desire to use Rutgers to gain a B10 foothold in the Northeast.

That said, although Pernetti was the right AD to lead us to a B10 invitation, that doesn't mean he would have been the right AD to lead us through B10 integration, or long-term membership in the B10. If Pernetti were still at Rutgers, I think his days as AD would be coming to a close.

 

[RUSONIC]

I like to avoid the TP debate but let me start one. You Crack me up:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

 

[SHUSource]

(Y)ou can't debate that his two biggest hires have been tough for RU. First Rice, and now Flood have, at the least, embarrassed the school.

The Flood hire ought to come with an asterisk. Gary kind of pantsed Rutgers, leaving when he did, giving Pernetti two courses of action that both came with substantial risk. Hire Flood to keep the class together (which I considered short-term thinking at the time), or roll the dice on the guy Pernetti would've actually wanted to hire, which still carries the risk of losing some of the class (my feeling was that the losses wouldn't have been as bad as expected), and hiring a coach who still didn't turn out to be much good. But Pernetti would've been able to own the decision.

Rice was a gamble all the way. His temperament was well-documented. He was highly regarded by basketball folks, but I know Seton Hall took a pass on him because of that temperament (which was smart on the heels of a true sociopath, Gonzo). To me, he looked like a very good coach who came with a big chance of implosion.

 

[wheezer]

should Pernetti have detected some sort of character flaw in Flood?.... we could argue that Rice was a concern from day one....but can
you blame Pernetti for something that happened years later with Flood?

 

[BigBlockR]

I have no ill will towards Pernetti. I think he tried, but in hindsight accomplished very little at RU

Big Ten - If you believe the B1G came calling because TP was our AD, well I don't know what to say to you. That was on going to happen before he got here. He DID ink the final deal to join the B1G which is awesome because of our immediate access to all that B1G money. Wait. What? RU got a crap deal with partial shares? Well it must have been the same deal as UMD and Nebraska. NO, You say! They get more money faster. Huh?

Mike Rice - Headcase, big gamble, two big upsets and IMPLOSION

Kyle Flood - doing okay, but looks like he will never get traction. Decent first year followed by Decommit city. Good first B1G year followed the last three weeks. Has there ever been a time where less than 50% of the fan base wanted Flood gone immediately?

Donigan & Brecht - RU athletics on the upswing. Chance for a big hires. Won't cost much. ...aaaand nothing.

 

[KJ_RU]

The thing is, every body acts like that video was the first time that Pernetti saw a MR practice. If it was then he wasn't doing his job, if it wasn't then he was aware of how Rice conducted practices. Either way he had to go.

 

[derleider]

Pernetti, despite his hiring of Flood and Rice, and his handling of Rice, was the right AD for Rutgers at the time.

It is easy to dismiss his role in the B10 invite as "just answering the phone", but in reality he was in continual communications with Delaney. His expertise in sports media business (obviously not in media messaging) helped position Rutgers to provide the data and support to Delaney's desire to use Rutgers to gain a B10 foothold in the Northeast.

That said, although Pernetti was the right AD to lead us to a B10 invitation, that doesn't mean he would have been the right AD to lead us through B10 integration, or long-term membership in the B10. If Pernetti were still at Rutgers, I think his days as AD would be coming to a close.

The question isnt did he do anything to lead us into the Big Ten. Obviously he did. Its whether anyone else would have been worse, and I suspect that any minimally competent AD would have been in constant contact with Delaney, given the situation (both ours and the BIg Ten) and been able to provide the backing data to show that RU was at least at the minimal fan level now to get the BTN on in NJ and NY. In other words- his WAR AD (wins above replacement AD) was basically zero in the BIg Ten situation and for everything else it was negative.

And yes, his tenure would be coming to a close. HAd Mike Rice not been fired for his off the court stuff, he would have been fired for losing so much not long after. And with Flood flaming out, Pernetti would be on his way out.

 

[BigRnj]

Yawn. We need to follow Rafiki's advice "it doesn't matter, it's in the past." Move on already.

 

[NotInRHouse]

This should keep being brought up until the last delusional defender admits how much he costs RU in actual and figurative terms.

 

[greenknight]

The PAST IS THE PAST!!!! Tim P isnt playing TTFP IN 2 DAYS so why are you talking about him. You have 90+ kids that have a game Saturday

 

[bac2therac]

should Pernetti have detected some sort of character flaw in Flood?.... we could argue that Rice was a concern from day one....but can
you blame Pernetti for something that happened years later with Flood?

the blame is that Kyle is not qualified to be a head coach..thats what many of us said from day 1 and this recent mess was just another example of red flags

 

[bac2therac]

This should keep being brought up until the last delusional defender admits how much he costs RU in actual and figurative terms.

here is the problem with the TP lovers....the athletic department is festering with them.....secretaries, security, administrators, etc. They hated he was fired...ok I can understand..they immediately hated Julie and cannot get over it that she runs things differently than the last two ADs...too bad, find another job and stop with your petty vendettas

 

[bac2therac]

The thing is, every body acts like that video was the first time that Pernetti saw a MR practice. If it was then he wasn't doing his job, if it wasn't then he was aware of how Rice conducted practices. Either way he had to go.

bingo...and that includes other members of the athletic department including Mc Connell and all the rest of the employees who just counted beans all the while basketballs were being thrown...or were they

 

[saran]

Rice was a gamble all the way. His temperament was well-documented. He was highly regarded by basketball folks,

He was also highly regarded by the RU players who went public defending him. If the guy with the blackmail thing wasn't grinding his ax Rice wouldn't seem much different from a lot of coaches. When you have access to hours of practice video its easy to assemble a lowlights reel, Its not like he was throwing chairs like Bobby Knight.

I had a coach in HS who got tired of "explaining" to me how to pick up the blitz. One day he showed me how and put me on my butt in the process. That was the single best day of coaching I ever got. I can still pick up blitzes from the living room

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...-rutgers-players-defend-fired-coach-mike-rice

 

[BigEastPhil]

Plus Pernetti was a pompous ass...he got what he deserved....was not right for the job....no experience whatsoever.....being an alum; an analyst and a TV Exec does not qualify you to be an AD......and his decisions and/or lack of them have a lot to be desired........

 

[bac2therac]

Pernetti's big mistake was not releasing the tapes to the media back in December when Rice was initially suspended and been forthcoming and had Rice apologize. I guess they didn't want to make a giant spectacle. Its hindsight but if was released in a way where RU controlled their narrative that out of say 100 practices we only have footage of a few times...at least even if the backlash was totally against Rice, Pernetti and RU could have fired Rice and TP would have a job

 

[NotInRHouse]

Thankfully he was fired. Could you imagine if we had to have him replace Flood and Donigan? Who would interview, Butch Davis, George O'Leary and the ghost of JoePa?

 

[RUMBA-JK]

with Rice, Pernetti thought he had snagged the next "hot coach" a rising star - and the giddiness over getting the guy who took Robert Morris to the NIT and the NCAA (twice) in his first three years likely made it difficult to hear any of the whispers about 'self-control' issues - as far as the end of Rice - Pernetti kind of got screwed - multiple minds contributed to the way it was handled - but when the wheels came off it was Pernetti who got squeezed - but so it goes - in this situation Pernetti was the one who had the "you get fired" job.

as far as Flood - it was almost as though there was no other choice - a few outsiders were interviewed - and supposedly either said "no" right away or wanted far more $$$ - he could have waited to see who might become available - but Pernetti was not some seasoned old veteran who could get away with that because everybody would think he had a trick up his sleeve - no Pernetti would have gotten killed for waiting too long.

bottom line - it is in the past - it is over

 

[rutgersdave]

You have fans from other schools putting out negative threads on everything Rutgers and idiots continue to discuss it and become brainwash. YES, why talk about TP? The other fans are laughing how easily Rutgers fans are manipulated.

 

[Abro1975]

Only 1 Rutgers AD in the entire history of RU has been nominated for Athletic Director of the year....- Tim Pernetti

Keep on Hating, you F'n haters. PS- I think Julie is doing a good job now.

Those of you who hate Schiano, Pernetti, Gary Waters, Mike Rice, Fred Hill jr, Julie Herman , Bob Mulchay......... I hope you all stop coming to our Rutgers games, and go root for Syracuse or any other team. True Rutgers fans HATE YOU !

 

[ruhudsonfan]

here is the problem with the TP lovers....the athletic department is festering with them.....secretaries, security, administrators, etc. They hated he was fired...ok I can understand..they immediately hated Julie and cannot get over it that she runs things differently than the last two ADs...too bad, find another job and stop with your petty vendettas

Add that they love Greg in here. That reared its ugly head in what has just transpired.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

TP did well.

He handled Rice well, I thought. It was Barchi who blew that. TP had suspended and fined Rice, got him therapy and it seemed it all worked. Then the media got a video to play with. Barchi took the easy route when he should have simply said the above. It has been handled, its over, next question.

And we have no idea if Flood would have been kept the job if TP had been here longer. We do know that 90% of why Flood is still HC is his relatively cheap salary while we have so much pressure from politicians about speeding on athletics and while we await the B1G payout. That has not changed. And we see that JH still has Flood as HC. So why saddle TP with that legacy?

Hell, we should blame GS for Flood. He could have taken him with him, right? He has Flood as co-OC in charge of the run game and Flood failed miserably. So GS promoted him to associate head coach to get him away from the playbook. And when GS split we got stuck with Flood to keep the recruiting class and Hamilton. Hey.. lets blame Hamilton.

TP did virtually everything right and we are in the Big Ten at least partially because of his expertise spinning the media market angle.

 

[RUSK97]

There so much hate here. Did you boys not get enough love from your mommies? Rehashing old stories - go work for the Ledger or something.

 

[RCTrooper]

The thing is, every body acts like that video was the first time that Pernetti saw a MR practice. If it was then he wasn't doing his job, if it wasn't then he was aware of how Rice conducted practices. Either way he had to go.

Pernetti specifically told Rice to toughen up the players, because they were too soft for BE Basketball.

 

[BoroKnight]

There are two separate issues here. Pernetti was not fired for hiring two coaches. He was fired for reasons that are unacceptable in the way they played out. If Barchi views that video in December, and they decide to fire Rice right then and there, Pernetti survives. To be thrown under the bus after advocating his firing was not fair, and Barchi performed horribly.

That does not change the fact that Rice was known as a risk and that at least one other school (was it Fordham?) backed off of him because of the character issue. At the same time, most of this board wanted Rice over the "safe" and "retread" pick Fraschilla. Or have we forgotten that?

One other thing: You don't want to blame Flood for the actions of his players, but you want to blame the AD for an action of a coach NOT related to wins and losses? How does that work exactly?

And much like the way Pernetti was fired was worse than his actually getting fired, the same goes for the way Julie was hired. And her mouth. And her past. Can she do a good job here? Yes, she can. But the reasons people aren't thrilled with her hiring were valid. But she's here, he's not, and we should be moving on.

 

[oldtimer67]

This thread is a great example of what usually happens on this board and is a microcosm of what happens in politics nationally. Both extremes are well stated and both are, well, extreme. The truth, as it usually is, is somewhere in between.

First, TP was the wrong hire for the job. His experience was not up to what is required of an AD. An AD is first and foremost a manager. TP had no significant management experience. Second, an AD is an image maker. TP had no significant experience in this capacity either.

On the other hand, he is not totally responsible for the Mike Rice fiasco (much of the way it played out was out of his control, although I think he could have fired him earlier if he really believed in it), and GS leaving did not leave him a lot of choices (although it is reasonable to question if he made the right choice). One question I never see mentioned is whether GS leaves if TP is not AD. GS had lots of offers previously but did not take them. Some seemed to be as good or better than the TB job. Did the TP hiring result in GS finally taking an offer to leave RU? We will never know.

On the issue of the B10 invite, it is also a mixed bag. On the one hand, as the AD at the time, TP did what was necessary to get it done and did not screw it up; on the other hand it is likely that any other competent AD would have accomplished the same thing and MIGHT, repeat MIGHT, have gotten a better deal.

Just my opinion.