[Husker] About that whole Altman - Arkansas thing ...

[Pat Gaule]

Bob Beach wrote:

>
>     I an not criticizing him.  You gotta do what you gotta do.  But, 
> some things on the surface don't add up.  The reasons almost have to 
> be something Altman doesn't want to make public.  One would think you 
> would have the pulse of your family before you ever make a decision 
> like that.  I don't know.  Creighton will be glad to have him back but 
> it will be different. They now know if given the right offer he is 
> gone.  There had to be some reason he thought he needed to leave 
> Creighton in the first place.
>
>

Altman said he now wants to retire at Creighton, and you can call me 
naive, but I believe him.  I was absolutely shocked when I heard he was 
going to Arkansas as I never thought he would leave Creighton.  You 
could tell that he was very uncomfortable at the press conference 
(especially during that ridiculous pig suey chant), so while I was 
surprised to hear of his return to Creighton, I wasn't completely 
floored.  Altman knew on Monday night that he had made a mistake (the 
very same day he accepted the job).

My honest opinion is that his decision was somewhere in the middle 
between family/loyalty to Creighton and issues at Arkansas.  The 
Arkansas athletic department is in a mess right now, and their coaching 
search is becoming a debacle (not unlike NU's search for a head football 
coach in 2004).  There are several rumors floating around about player 
ineligibility, and players failing drug tests, and Frank Broyles failing 
to live up to promises he made to Altman.  Of course, Altman has denied 
that there were rumors, but he isn't the type that would air Arkansas' 
dirty laundry either.

This definitely isn't a typical situation, but I don't think Altman is a 
typical coach.