SRU

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: SRU

No legal expert here but the fact they are paying him in full through the 2021 season ... is a massive buyout for a D2 school. Along with his salary add in benefits, etc. That in itself tells me there wasn't a smoking gun incident involved because I'm sure they tried their hardest to find one -- and avoid having to pay him all that money.

Depending what direction they choose to go (established coach or a rookie) ... they'll basically be paying two basketball coaches for the next couple years. Any established coach would want at least in the $115,000 range.

[IUPalum]

Re: SRU

No legal expert here but the fact they are paying him in full through the 2021 season ... is a massive buyout for a D2 school. Along with his salary add in benefits, etc. That in itself tells me there wasn't a smoking gun incident involved because I'm sure they tried their hardest to find one -- and avoid having to pay him all that money.

Depending what direction they choose to go (established coach or a rookie) ... they'll basically be paying two basketball coaches for the next couple years. Any established coach would want at least in the $115,000 range.

Being a union job and no real reason to "fire" him, they have to pay him his remaining benefits or it would be a class action court case. Just pay him and avoid all legal fees.
I said that months ago!

[PSACwatcher]

Re: SRU

All PSAC state school coaches are members of a union (pretty insane) and have the right to continued employment unless there is "just cause" to terminate. Proving "just cause" in the real common sense world (i.e., a much lower threshold) is much different than proving "just cause" in the world of union grievances that get decided by pro-union arbitrators. SRU would have been advised by the Attorney General's office regarding the Reynolds situation and were probably told to pay it as a business decision, even though there may have been just cause to terminate in the common sense world.

Check out pages 44-45. http://www.passhe.edu/inside/HR/LR/D...oaches_agr.pdf

A "class action" suit would not have been filed. A class action suit would be if all coaches of PSAC state schools had the same claim vs. the State of PA and they all filed a claim together, which is not the Reynolds individual situation. Reynolds may still have private breach of contract remedies to pursue in court, however, the State of PA/SRU just substantially reduced his damage claim in court by agreeing to pay him through the end of his contract into 2021.

[PSACwatcher]

Re: SRU

No legal expert here but the fact they are paying him in full through the 2021 season ... is a massive buyout for a D2 school. Along with his salary add in benefits, etc. That in itself tells me there wasn't a smoking gun incident involved because I'm sure they tried their hardest to find one -- and avoid having to pay him all that money.

Depending what direction they choose to go (established coach or a rookie) ... they'll basically be paying two basketball coaches for the next couple years. Any established coach would want at least in the $115,000 range.

Reynolds is making $110,107 in salary. I predict SRU brings in a raw rookie to offset that cost over the next two years unless SRU's employer insurance liability carrier is paying the Reynolds freight until 2021.

There is an average wage scale that the union contract follows based on experience. If SRU hires a first year head coach, they could get away with a salary substantially lower than Reynolds' $110,107 salary.

If your last name is Lombardi, your salary is $166,750. Compare that to Marcess Williams at Clarion who makes $54,239, $112,000 less than Lombardi! By contrast, a more experienced Sancomb at Cal U was hired in at $95,000. So something between $54,239 and $95,000 is doable for the next coach at SRU and will somewhat offset what SRU has to pay Reynolds. Ian Grady is making $79,786 as SRU acting head coach.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: SRU

Reynolds is making $110,107 in salary. I predict SRU brings in a raw rookie to offset that cost over the next two years unless SRU's employer insurance liability carrier is paying the Reynolds freight until 2021.

There is an average wage scale that the union contract follows based on experience. If SRU hires a first year head coach, they could get away with a salary substantially lower than Reynolds' $110,107 salary.

If your last name is Lombardi, your salary is $166,750. Compare that to Marcess Williams at Clarion who makes $54,239, $112,000 less than Lombardi! By contrast, a more experienced Sancomb at Cal U was hired in at $95,000. So something between $54,239 and $95,000 is doable for the next coach at SRU and will somewhat offset what SRU has to pay Reynolds. Ian Grady is making $79,786 as SRU acting head coach.

Had Sancomb been a real 'free agent' per se, he could have got more than the $95,000 in my opinion. How he got to Cal was just perfect timing on both of their parts. He just happened to need a job and Cal's coach happened to quit ... stars lined up for Cal. He didn't even have to move.

Grady is interesting. He's making a case for the job. However, does he get the 'guilt by association' tag as he was there with Reynolds for 8 seasons? It would be real hard to say he didn't know what was going on inside Morrow.

I have no beef with what they are paying Lombardi. His program is top-notch and also generates a lot of money. All that scholarship money doesn't grow on a magical tree on campus. He has worked very hard to recruit some real heavy donors to the program -- both corporate and private. The job he allegedly turned down at Youngstown State is paying Jarrod Calhoun more than $200,000/year base salary. Joe could have left here years ago but didn't. For his success and reputation as a coach he's fairly compensated. And, like anything else, you're worth what somebody is willing to pay you.

[PSACwatcher]

Re: SRU

I don't think SRU stays with Grady unless SRU wins the PSAC, and it won't. I see SRU fading soon. The first half of the PSAC schedule really favored SRU. I see SRU losing another PSAC road game. Don't ask me which one, but recall that Seton Hill took SRU into OT at SRU, so take your pick of @ Gannon, @ Seton Hill and @ UPJ. And I see IUP smacking SRU at IUP.

And I think Lombardi is worth every penny at IUP. He raises alot of money and gets big guarantee games to help pay his freight.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: SRU

A few of us have spoken in private messages that we think Gannon can give SRU some fits. Gannon is one of the few teams that can not only muck it up and get physical -- but actually thrives in those type of games. They are very difficult to shoot three-pointers against and this Rock team loves to launch them. Gannon also plays extremely aggressive, in-your-face defense.

SRU struggled big time against East Stroundsburg's 40-minute press -- and then against IUP's press for the second half. I'd suspect old JR to have some tricks up his sleeve and apply some heavy pressure.

Now, can GU score enough to actually win the game ... big question.


These 'fast' lineups IUP has been experimenting with these past few games ... let's just say it's not for the fun of it. They're going to try and run SRU out of the building next week.

[IUPalum]

Re: SRU

Slippery Rock will fade. Second time through they will see schemes that will work against them. What they lack in transition will absolutely be their down fall. Gannon on Wednesday will out hustle them in transition all night, hence, the possible upset.

[PSACwatcher]

Re: SRU

It would not shock me if Gannon's style of play made it more difficult for SRU than any other team SRU has played, except for IUP.

However, if Gannon can't score more than 40 points (its average from the last two games), then Gannon's hard nosed defensive style won't matter. In Gannon's win vs UPJ, for example, Gannon made ten three pointers en route to scoring 64 points (high scoring for Gannon!), while holding UPJ to just four made threes. So, Gannon will have to make threes against SRU to win and prevent SRU from making threes.

I think its more likely that UPJ beats SRU at UPJ or Seton Hill shoots 60% and pulls out a fluke win at Seton Hill.

[IUPTrackMan]

Re: SRU

....Grady is interesting. He's making a case for the job. However, does he get the 'guilt by association' tag as he was there with Reynolds for 8 seasons? It would be real hard to say he didn't know what was going on inside Morrow.......

[IUPTrackMan]

Re: SRU

I don't think SRU stays with Grady unless SRU wins the PSAC, and it won't. I see SRU fading soon. The first half of the PSAC schedule really favored SRU. I see SRU losing another PSAC road game. Don't ask me which one, but recall that Seton Hill took SRU into OT at SRU, so take your pick of @ Gannon, @ Seton Hill and @ UPJ. And I see IUP smacking SRU at IUP.

And I think Lombardi is worth every penny at IUP. He raises alot of money and gets big guarantee games to help pay his freight.

I agree with you that SRU will lose some games down the stretch and not finish first but I think there is a 95% chance that Grady gets the job permanently,

He has done nothing but impress. Every night he faces coaches with far more experience and he has beat every one of them.

[IUPTrackMan]

Re: SRU

.....I have no beef with what they are paying Lombardi. His program is top-notch and also generates a lot of money. All that scholarship money doesn't grow on a magical tree on campus. He has worked very hard to recruit some real heavy donors to the program -- both corporate and private. ......

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: SRU

I agree with you that SRU will lose some games down the stretch and not finish first but I think there is a 95% chance that Grady gets the job permanently,

He has done nothing but impress. Every night he faces coaches with far more experience and he has beat every one of them.

I'm a little torn on it looking from the outside. He's on a great run, no doubt, but they were awful in November (2-5). That said he pulled things together and that definitely deserves credit.

Other side of that is he has an incredibly talented roster headlined but a legitimate All-American. Granted, it's full of mercenaries and guys on their 2nd, 3rd and 4th schools. I think any coach in the league would do well with that talent level.

Grady is an extremely nice person and was the perfect fit in the immediate post-KR era. Night and day difference.

Will the new president link him to Reynolds? That's probably the biggest question. My hunch is they open the position and see who sends in a resume. They will get a lot of good candidates. As mentioned getting in to the PASSHE is a good 'union' job -- pay, benefits, etc. Giving him the job during a big winning streak could be an emotional decison.

He's handled a really odd situation very well. The October 'mutiny' is a pretty rare thing. Will they prefer to seek an experienced type with a history of running a clean program and strong high school recruiting as a total image makeover? Maybe.

This season has got Grady a head coaching job somewhere -- be it SRU or somewhere else.

Of course, if they don't hire him ... will next year's team walk out, too?

They have a tough decision to make on this one.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: SRU

Lol ... great story

[Dozsa2]

Re: SRU

No legal expert here but the fact they are paying him in full through the 2021 season ... is a massive buyout for a D2 school. Along with his salary add in benefits, etc. That in itself tells me there wasn't a smoking gun incident involved because I'm sure they tried their hardest to find one -- and avoid having to pay him all that money.

Depending what direction they choose to go (established coach or a rookie) ... they'll basically be paying two basketball coaches for the next couple years. Any established coach would want at least in the $115,000 range.

A common theme I notice on here is that Slippery Rock doesn't care about basketball. I'm a graduate and I wouldn't care if they dropped the sport tomorrow (I donate to our football and baseball programs). But it begs the question: if the school doesn't care about basketball, why did it keep a coach around who may not have committed any crimes, but was doing some questionable things in terms of the players he was bringing in, etc. And now they have to pay this guy through 2021? Seems someone up there cares about basketball. And if it's Lueken, I hope he follows this guy out the door.