Pitino is free to do whatever he chooses, but it would be highly disappointing to see him leave Iona for an inferior program like SJU after the chance we gave him.
The honorable thing to do would be to respect his commitment and stay true to his word, stay five years and hand the program over to fresh blood after he has put us in a better position than what he inherited. If he leaves right now he would basically be running in place from Cluess and he would be leaving the program in disarray, much worse than when he took over. That is not what this deal was all about IMO.
If he leaves, Anderson and Grasso should be the only names on the list and let’s keep this train rolling.
Disagree. Grasso took a step back this season. Would I hate it if he's hired? Not at all. But shouldn't just be considered frontrunner.
Anderson obviously is the hot name, but you do realize you want him to do what you're knocking Pitino for? He would be bailing on FDU after 1 year.
Have to call Kimani Young. Very good chance his staff could be Johns, Brown and Stanley.
Iona will draw lots of strong candidates. We were spoiled by Cluess and him not looking to leave. Though he did eventually try to leave at one point.
Anderson was not a second chance hire coming off disgrace and scandal. If we offer him 3X his current salary and a place he can retire at, I don’t think that is the same thing as Pitino bolting 3 years into a job that he said would be his final destination and leaving the program in disarray.
I don’t have anything against Young and I am sure he will be at the head of the line, but just speaking personally I am not a fan of the young unproven assistant profile who is likely to bolt in a few years from now at the first sign of a moderately better offer.
I think our program has evolved beyond that point and I believe we deserve more than that. We need someone who can be here for the long term, just like what we were told Pitino would be.
Disagree. Grasso took a step back this season. Would I hate it if he's hired? Not at all. But shouldn't just be considered frontrunner.
Anderson obviously is the hot name, but you do realize you want him to do what you're knocking Pitino for? He would be bailing on FDU after 1 year.
Have to call Kimani Young. Very good chance his staff could be Johns, Brown and Stanley.
Iona will draw lots of strong candidates. We were spoiled by Cluess and him not looking to leave. Though he did eventually try to leave at one point.
Anderson was not a second chance hire coming off disgrace and scandal. If we offer him 3X his current salary and a place he can retire at, I don’t think that is the same thing as Pitino bolting 3 years into a job that he said would be his final destination and leaving the program in disarray.
I don’t have anything against Young and I am sure he will be at the head of the line, but just speaking personally I am not a fan of the young unproven assistant profile who is likely to bolt in a few years from now at the first sign of a moderately better offer.
I think our program has evolved beyond that point and I believe we deserve more than that. We need someone who can be here for the long term, just like what we were told Pitino would be.
I hear ya. As much as I love Iona. I just don't see it as a destination job. Would love to be wrong. Just as important this next hire, getting this NIL collective up and running is just as important
Anderson was not a second chance hire coming off disgrace and scandal. If we offer him 3X his current salary and a place he can retire at, I don’t think that is the same thing as Pitino bolting 3 years into a job that he said would be his final destination and leaving the program in disarray.
I don’t have anything against Young and I am sure he will be at the head of the line, but just speaking personally I am not a fan of the young unproven assistant profile who is likely to bolt in a few years from now at the first sign of a moderately better offer.
I think our program has evolved beyond that point and I believe we deserve more than that. We need someone who can be here for the long term, just like what we were told Pitino would be.
I hear ya. As much as I love Iona. I just don't see it as a destination job. Would love to be wrong. Just as important this next hire, getting this NIL collective up and running is just as important
It’s not a destination job. Grasso & Anderson would leave at the next best offer just like Young. It’s about who you think would give you the best three years and then find that guy again, unfortunately.
I hear ya. As much as I love Iona. I just don't see it as a destination job. Would love to be wrong. Just as important this next hire, getting this NIL collective up and running is just as important
It’s not a destination job. Grasso & Anderson would leave at the next best offer just like Young. It’s about who you think would give you the best three years and then find that guy again, unfortunately.
I disagree. I think Grasso would be loyal to Iona, he knows the program, it is home for him, he would come in and win right away, and he would potentially bring Cluess with him in some capacity.
As for Anderson, he has an identical profile to Cluess, except for the fact that he has a year of D1 experience under his belt, and now an NCAA Tournament win to boot. He is 51-years old, I have to believe he is more settled and his priorities will be different than a hot shot young assistant looking to make a name for himself.
I think guys like this would jump only for a job worth leaving for — high major, huge salary, etc — as they should. But I don’t see them jumping at the next best offer.
Before we “settle” on the fact that Iona is not a destination job, consider the following.
Brand name mid majors who have elevated from provincial programs with moderate success to nationally ranked programs who have achieved sustained success and won in the NCAAs all have one thing in common…continuity and long-term vision from head coaches.
Randy Bennett has been at Saint Mary’s for 20+ years, Greg McDermott has been at Creighton for almost 15 years and took them from a quality MVC program into a national brand in the BE. Even on a smaller scale, programs like ORU and Loyola Chicago have all had coaches who stayed for several years to build (ORU’s coach has been there for 6 years and Loyola was there for 10 years before taking a B12 job).
Iona is now a university, it has a respectable endowment, it has a serious commitment from leadership both academically and athletically, it has adequate facilities at least for us to take the next step, it has a winning tradition, it has a credibility and a foundation that is superior to most programs in the country, and it now has a budget that can afford to pay competitively with many programs who are winning consistently in the NCAAs.
Do you know which program pays its coach the highest salary out of all mid majors in the country and a higher salary than Saint Mary’s, New Mexico, Davidson and UNLV? The answer is Iona University. theresourcenexus.com/coaches-salary/
The program has evolved and the school has evolved in my opinion, and we deserve better than a rental coach at this point in our development. I believe if coach Pitino leaves, the next coaching hire should reflect the vision and the current profile of the program, which is completely different than it was years ago.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I would never lower the bar or settle.
Before we “settle” on the fact that Iona is not a destination job, consider the following.
Brand name mid majors who have elevated from provincial programs with moderate success to nationally ranked programs who have achieved sustained success and won in the NCAAs all have one thing in common…continuity and long-term vision from head coaches.
Randy Bennett has been at Saint Mary’s for 20+ years, Greg McDermott has been at Creighton for almost 15 years and took them from a quality MVC program into a national brand in the BE. Even on a smaller scale, programs like ORU and Loyola Chicago have all had coaches who stayed for several years to build (ORU’s coach has been there for 6 years and Loyola was there for 10 years before taking a B12 job).
Iona is now a university, it has a respectable endowment, it has a serious commitment from leadership both academically and athletically, it has adequate facilities at least for us to take the next step, it has a winning tradition, it has a credibility and a foundation that is superior to most programs in the country, and it now has a budget that can afford to pay competitively with many programs who are winning consistently in the NCAAs.
Do you know which program pays its coach the highest salary out of all mid majors in the country and a higher salary than Saint Mary’s, New Mexico, Davidson and UNLV? The answer is Iona University. theresourcenexus.com/coaches-salary/
The program has evolved and the school has evolved in my opinion, and we deserve better than a rental coach at this point in our development. I believe if coach Pitino leaves, the next coaching hire should reflect the vision and the current profile of the program, which is completely different than it was years ago.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I would never lower the bar or settle.
Nothing wrong with finding a great coach for 4 or 5 seasons as long as they leave it in good hands for the next coach. If Iona was going to elevate out of the Maac it would be one thing but Iona has a a great chance of winning the Maac year in year out. History repeats itself for Iona over and over. It's a very good college basketball story. Iona will never be a Big East program. It's often said the key to happiness is wanting less.....
Before we “settle” on the fact that Iona is not a destination job, consider the following.
Brand name mid majors who have elevated from provincial programs with moderate success to nationally ranked programs who have achieved sustained success and won in the NCAAs all have one thing in common…continuity and long-term vision from head coaches.
Randy Bennett has been at Saint Mary’s for 20+ years, Greg McDermott has been at Creighton for almost 15 years and took them from a quality MVC program into a national brand in the BE. Even on a smaller scale, programs like ORU and Loyola Chicago have all had coaches who stayed for several years to build (ORU’s coach has been there for 6 years and Loyola was there for 10 years before taking a B12 job).
Iona is now a university, it has a respectable endowment, it has a serious commitment from leadership both academically and athletically, it has adequate facilities at least for us to take the next step, it has a winning tradition, it has a credibility and a foundation that is superior to most programs in the country, and it now has a budget that can afford to pay competitively with many programs who are winning consistently in the NCAAs.
Do you know which program pays its coach the highest salary out of all mid majors in the country and a higher salary than Saint Mary’s, New Mexico, Davidson and UNLV? The answer is Iona University. theresourcenexus.com/coaches-salary/
The program has evolved and the school has evolved in my opinion, and we deserve better than a rental coach at this point in our development. I believe if coach Pitino leaves, the next coaching hire should reflect the vision and the current profile of the program, which is completely different than it was years ago.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I would never lower the bar or settle.
Then MG should make that a priority in his next hire and President Carey should not just dismiss the next coach’s buyout for no reason
Before we “settle” on the fact that Iona is not a destination job, consider the following.
Brand name mid majors who have elevated from provincial programs with moderate success to nationally ranked programs who have achieved sustained success and won in the NCAAs all have one thing in common…continuity and long-term vision from head coaches.
Randy Bennett has been at Saint Mary’s for 20+ years, Greg McDermott has been at Creighton for almost 15 years and took them from a quality MVC program into a national brand in the BE. Even on a smaller scale, programs like ORU and Loyola Chicago have all had coaches who stayed for several years to build (ORU’s coach has been there for 6 years and Loyola was there for 10 years before taking a B12 job).
Iona is now a university, it has a respectable endowment, it has a serious commitment from leadership both academically and athletically, it has adequate facilities at least for us to take the next step, it has a winning tradition, it has a credibility and a foundation that is superior to most programs in the country, and it now has a budget that can afford to pay competitively with many programs who are winning consistently in the NCAAs.
Do you know which program pays its coach the highest salary out of all mid majors in the country and a higher salary than Saint Mary’s, New Mexico, Davidson and UNLV? The answer is Iona University. theresourcenexus.com/coaches-salary/
The program has evolved and the school has evolved in my opinion, and we deserve better than a rental coach at this point in our development. I believe if coach Pitino leaves, the next coaching hire should reflect the vision and the current profile of the program, which is completely different than it was years ago.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I would never lower the bar or settle.
Then MG should make that a priority in his next hire and President Carey should not just dismiss the next coach’s buyout for no reason
Iona caught lightning in a bottle with Cluess. Iona fans have been spoiled.
Sure a couple similar instances were mentioned by I05. But that's only a couple out of 365 D1 programs. Iona needs to hire the best possible coach they can get. Whether that's Young, Anderson, Grasso or like Super has mentioned another coach who shows interest (there will be many). You don't make this next hire based off the thought of whether or not he might want to stay a long time. That's the definition of "settle".
Would be a huge mistake to hire a coach based on how long he might stay
BTW. speaking of Cluess and buyouts. I get it's a new president, but if Iona didn't waive the buyout for Cluess, you sure as hell don't waive it for Pitino.
Even if it was down to 1M, that money could have been used to raise the salary pool for assistant coaches. Which would have made Iona an even more Attractive job than it already is
