Is it time to consider new leadership?

DoubleDipper wrote:I'm told the search is "going well" in that a number of very strong candidates, both assistant coaches and head coaches, have been contacted by UP or have contacted UP on their own and shown high interest. I got the impression the size of whittled-down pool is in the neighborhood of around 20 high quality candidates, give or take....

Now that initial contacts have been made and some preliminary interviews have been conducted, it's really a matter of waiting for some teams to be eliminated from the NCAA Tournament(s) before real discussions can begin...not because it would illegal, but because it is not fair to the coaches or players to be involved with the hiring process while still competing for a title.

Well there are now only two teams left in the playoffs, Stanford and UCLA, who play for the championship tomorrow. Unless our prospective coach is from one of those programs, can we assume that if the search was "going well" weeks ago, as quoted above, that an announcement is imminent?

Does the delay in announcement suggest that our top choice may not have accepted?

Where are we in the process?

wrv wrote:Does the delay in announcement suggest that our top choice may not have accepted?

Unconfirmed, but I've been told "an offer has been made."

If an offer was made, it's hard to say who the offer was made to, but a source in San Jose says Lauren Hanson "will not be leaving San Jose St. because of her husband's job."

It's all just speculation at this point....we'd have to ask the VP for Athletics to get real answers, and as he's keeping the search "close hold," I doubt he'll be talking until an official announcement is made.

Hey, what's up with all this "close hold" stuff? They should take some notes from Tennessee on how to run a coach search.

up7587 wrote:Hey, what's up with all this "close hold" stuff? They should take some notes from Tennessee on how to run a coach search.

Which, of course, resulted in a new AD at Tennessee....I'd rather UP keep quiet and keep Scott!

DoubleDipper wrote:

up7587 wrote:Hey, what's up with all this "close hold" stuff? They should take some notes from Tennessee on how to run a coach search.

Which, of course, resulted in a new AD at Tennessee....I'd rather UP keep quiet and keep Scott!

Whatever plaudits the athletic director is due for secrecy, he balances that with a deliberate pace.

We're waiting Scott.

Good to see UP is not rushing into a new hire without fully vetting the number of candidates who have come forward for the open head coach position.

In talking to Scott Leykam a while back, it was really interesting to hear some of the hiring criteria that includes personality, coaching and recruiting styles, as well as the "fit" that is so important when dove-tailing a coach with a storied program like UP's and with the UP Community of fans, friends, students, and alumni.

Unlike NCAA football, where a quick hire may be essential because of the two-day early signing period beginning December 20, soccer recruiting is in the official "dead period" between December 15 and January 5, and the NLI signing period does not begin until February 7.

The Pilots are young, as I recall, we said goodbye to only 5 players on Senior Day, and I've heard of no previous commits backing out, so it would seem that with some exceptions, most of the recruiting will be for the seasons beyond 2018.

Seems to me the Pilots and Timbers have been without a coach for about the same amount of time, give or take a week, and last I read, the "Timber hope to hire a new coach by the end of the year."

Last I heard, the list of potential coaches for UP is now very short (2 or 3), but when an actual hire or announcement is made is anybody's guess....but probably before the end of the year....

Scott's statement on timing, in November, was that his intention was to make a hire by the end of the month (i.e., by the end of November).

DoubleDipper wrote:Good to see UP is not rushing into a new hire . . .

Last I heard, the list of potential coaches for UP is now very short (2 or 3), but when an actual hire or announcement is made is anybody's guess....but probably before the end of the year....

To suggest Scott is "not rushing" to hire a new coach is actually funny--laughable after the time passed. The Timbers do not have recruits to pursue, etc. and are not a particularly good comparison.

No one has suggested that candidates should not be fully vetted--that too is funny. They should be and I trust Scott will do that.

But he has had ample time to fully vet candidates and to hire.

I am hopeful we hear soon.

UPSoccerFanatic wrote:Scott's statement on timing, in November, was that his intention was to make a hire by the end of the month (i.e., by the end of November).

I suspect he made an offer to someone for less money than they were making now.

Oddly enough it was rejected.

Sadly, it is probably going to be about the money, and they may have to work their way through their list of candidates until they find someone who is willing to accept what UP is willing to pay.

Geezaldinho wrote:I suspect he made an offer to someone for less money than they were making now.

Oddly enough it was rejected.

Perhaps.

But if you feel like doing a bit of leg-work by looking at UP's most recent 990 form and by searching the California state employee database, you can see that UP's former head coach was paid nearly 50% more in salary and bonuses than San Jose State's current head coach.

UP's former head coach was also the highest-paid women's soccer coach in Oregon, and among California state schools would rank #2 behind UCLA. (Roughly equal with UC Berkeley, to be fair.)

I'm not really sure where the narrative is coming from that UP didn't pay its former coach well, but I don't think it's accurate unless I'm totally misreading the reports.

Now, what they are willing to offer the new coach... I have no idea. Maybe it is indeed significantly less than they paid the previous coach.

My2cents wrote:Sadly, it is probably going to be about the money, and they may have to work their way through their list of candidates until they find someone who is willing to accept what UP is willing to pay.

I certainly respect your opinion and your freedom to post your opinion here, but I can say without reservation that UP has in the past, and will again in the near-future pay a very respectable and highly competitive salary with benefits to UP's women's soccer coach.

Yes, there are some coaching positions at UP that are not paid as well as maybe they should be, but that does not apply to either the men's or women's soccer head coaches.

DoubleDipper wrote:Yes, there are some coaching positions at UP that are not paid as well as maybe they should be, but that does not apply to either the men's or women's soccer head coaches.

Does that apply to assistant soccer coaches that are not paid well?

During the College Cup the number of head coaching positions in men's and women's soccer was mentioned by the commentators, and it turns out there were 22 D1 women's head coaching positions open at the end of the season, and as of this past weekend, only one, Youngstown St., has been filled.  Lots of schools and candidates checking out the various opportunities available.

With regard to recruiting, the women's team will lose 5 seniors, but they already have 6 commits for next fall....none have changed their minds so far, and UP intends to honor all the commitments....regardless of who the new coach is.

DoubleDipper wrote:During the College Cup the number of head coaching positions in men's and women's soccer was mentioned by the commentators, and it turns out there were 22 D1 women's head coaching positions open at the end of the season, and as of this past weekend, only one, Youngstown St., has been filled.  Lots of schools and candidates checking out the various opportunities available.

With regard to recruiting, the women's team will lose 5 seniors, but they already have 6 commits for next fall....none have changed their minds so far, and UP intends to honor all the commitments....regardless of who the new coach is.

Interesting info. Thank you.

DoubleDipper wrote:During the College Cup the number of head coaching positions in men's and women's soccer was mentioned by the commentators, and it turns out there were 22 D1 women's head coaching positions open at the end of the season, and as of this past weekend, only one, Youngstown St., has been filled.  Lots of schools and candidates checking out the various opportunities available. ....

As of today, 24 positions have come open. 5 have of those positions have been filled.

It was also pointed out during this year's women's final between UCLA and Stanford (won by Stanford), that it was only the third all-West Coast Women's College Cup final ever....the other two, of course, being UP's defeat of Santa Clara in 2002 and the Pilots thumping of UCLA in 2005.....I hadn't realized that!  

DoubleDipper wrote:Seems to me the Pilots and Timbers have been without a coach for about the same amount of time, give or take a week, and last I read, the "Timber hope to hire a new coach by the end of the year."

Pilots had better hurry up if they are to beat the Timber at hiring their next coach.

The rumor is the Timbers are set to name Giovanni Savarese as their next head coach.  Savarese has spent the last five seasons as the head coach of the North American Soccer League's New York Cosmos, posting a regular season record of 65-26-51 during that time and leading the Cosmos to three league championships.

DD wrote:Pilots had better hurry up if they are to beat the Timber at hiring their next coach.

Looks like that race was lost.

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/savarese-leaves-cosmos-to-coach-portland-timbers/5at539e24gw41gecuzsahcs1l

It was pointed out to me that Nick Carlin-Voigt wasn't hired until January, and that has worked pretty well so far....

DoubleDipper wrote:It was pointed out to me that Nick Carlin-Voigt wasn't hired until January, and that has worked pretty well so far....

Was it also pointed out to you the Announcement with Bill didn’t occur until November 24, and that Carlin voight’s hire announcement was January 11, or just about 48 days later?

By that timeline from Nov 7, a hire should be be by Christmas.

That takes  into account that the Men’s season was  later than the women and CV was still busy with the tournament.

The women’s hiring cycle for coaches is earlier. January 11 is starting to sift through the leftovers.

Boom. http://portlandpilots.com/news/2017/12/15/michelle-french-returns-to-the-bluff-as-womens-soccer-head-coach.aspx

Believe me, an announcement is imminent.

I think everyone will be pleased that the new coach is a former UP player, a professional player, and has coaching experience with the US National Team.

EDIT: Oops, you beat me to it!

Very excited to know that "Frenchie," someone who was at UP in the early days of the team's successes, will help write the next chapter in returning to those successful times.

Ok, things look better than an hour ago.



http://portlandpilots.com/news/2017/12/15/michelle-french-returns-to-the-bluff-as-womens-soccer-head-coach.aspx

And who said you only release bad news on Friday afternoon!?!?

Welcome (back) Michelle!!!