[Husker] Sadler gets contract extension

[Nick Chevance]

On Wed, Apr 2, 2008 at 10:59 PM, jon johnston <jon.johnston at gmail.com> wrote:
> Pederson wasn't fired solely because he hired a coach that wasn't succesful.
> >
>  That problem was that he created an environment in which the core of the
> athletic department could no longer function.
>
>  This isn't about a failed coach. This is about a failed administrator. What
> he did didn't work. That's why he was fired.
>
>
> Perhaps Pederson's greatest accomplishment was that he reminded us that our
> beloved football team is supposed to have a soul.
> >
>  Jon Johnston

This thread has gone on a bit over the last couple of days, but I was
waiting to see if anyone would respond to Jon's post (above) from
Wednesday.  His thoughts are similar to mine.  It sounds like we may
give the AD far too much credit for wins and far too much blame for
losses from what I read.  The AD never pitched a ball, took a snap, or
spiked a ball (to my knowledge).  I think Jon really did hit the nail
on the head here.

It wasn't the success or failure of the teams on the field, it was the
failure of his administration of the Athletic Department.  Most of the
teams in his tenure were fairly stable and thankfully didn't require
"fixing."  The firing of Solich has been debated ad nauseum, but I
think the hire of Callahan was worse than poor, both from the point of
view of the process used and the ultimate outcome.  The handling of
Collier may have been done poorly, as others have suggested, but at
least at this point, the hire of Sadler is a positive (though one
wonders just how it could have been worse than Barry's last year
here).  Not exactly terrible, but not exemplary either.

We've all heard how things in the Department were immediately before
SP left, and how things were right after.  Can we say Night and Day?
I would agree with Jon (I'll let him say whether I characterized his
position well) that the job that SP did may have been no more than to
keep things going - the lights are on, money is coming in, things are
getting built, the university looks good in the press.  But what we
know now suggests that that may not have continued much longer, that
as the football program (yes, the economic engine and most visible
aspect of the department) continued to decline, the revenue may have
shrivelled, things wouldn't be getting funded or built, and all the
fine coaches and staff we now have for the "lesser" sports (and here I
only mean non-revenue generating, not unimportant) might have thought
that someplace else would be a good place to go, because there wasn't
enough money to fund salaries, facilities and equipment.  And at that
point, we would all recognize that it lays at the AD's feet, only it
might have been too late to make a correction.  Thankfully, someone
recognized that the situation needed fixing before it began to affect
other aspects of the Department.  But from what I've read, those in
the Department were breathing easier the day after SP left.  Now Dr.
Tom has to find a successor, someone who can do more than just keep
the lights on.

Nick
-- 
"If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an
infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even
considering if there is a man on base."
Dave Barry