Chip Scoggins: Najarian might have what U needs in an athletic director

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Hates Monikers said:
This sounds like Maturi.

And I agree that role is necessary. But we need a leader with great vision and (okay, not "balls") but chutzpah to think big and do things differently. To figure out why the major sports have lagged for so long, determine what is needed to fix it and formulate a plan to make it happen.

I get the sense that Najarian is that kind of person. But I'll bet you could also find that person like that who also has some experience working in an athletic department.
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It is too bad with Jerry Kill's health issues that we can't hire him as AD. He will be a great charismatic visionary with donor/alumni likability, and he is first and foremost a football guy.
 

Najarian reminds me of Matt Millen.
 


Matt Millen is more qualified and would be a better hire.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Someone with any experience whatsoever in athletics administration would be a nice place to start.

I'll say it again - the fact that he is getting serious discussion amongst anyone is disgraceful and a black mark on the intelligence level of this fanbase and local media.
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Remind me how many AD's you have hired?

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dpodoll68 said:
Someone with any experience whatsoever in athletics administration would be a nice place to start.

I'll say it again - the fact that he is getting serious discussion amongst anyone is disgraceful and a black mark on the intelligence level of this fanbase and local media.
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Teague had experience in athletic administration and didn't work out well. I agree, experience is a plus, but I don't think it is fair to rule out all candidates with zero experience. Usually successful people can be successful in multiple settings.
 

MNfootballfan said:
Teague had experience in athletic administration and didn't work out well. I agree, experience is a plus, but I don't think it is fair to rule out all candidates with zero experience. Usually successful people can be successful in multiple settings.
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I doubt the UM will be able to hire a rock star AD type for obvious reasons. So we need to get beyond that. I agree that we shouldn't just arbitrarolly(sp) rule out candidates with zero AD experience. That would be foolish.
 

We don't need another figure head AD that is just there to glad hand people. Naj is a sharpe guy, but they would need someone like Beth to run the show while he just jumps around patting people on the back and reaching into their pockets. Why have the overhead.


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So now we don't even care if the candidate has zero experience? For the AD at a major University? That is so ridiculous I don't even know where to start.
 



GoldenUMNGopher said:
Remind me how many AD's you have hired?

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Remind me what that has to do with anything?

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I doubt Kaler will hire an AD lacking current AD experience. There is too much at stake to go with a rookie and he has to make the right hire. There is no wiggle room.

That doesn't diminish my belief that a PN type would not be a good candidate and worth the risk. But Kaler won't let that happen.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
I doubt Kaler will hire an AD lacking current AD experience. There is too much at stake to go with a rookie and he has to make the right hire. There is no wiggle room.

That doesn't diminish my belief that a PN type would not be a good candidate and worth the risk. But Kaler won't let that happen.
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Well if we go with the Sid theory......."you always hire the opposite". Teague was a true outsider. The next AD will be an insider....either Goetz or some former Gopher.

Book it!...............my buddy Sid is never wrong.
 

Spoofin said:
So now we don't even care if the candidate has zero experience? For the AD at a major University? That is so ridiculous I don't even know where to start.
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Not only zero athletics experience, also zero fundraising experience, zero experience working anywhere in the public sector... Might as well just hire Goldy if you want a mascot as AD.
 



People get hired in the real world all the time based on leadership and administrative skills that aren't 100% relatable to the field they are going into. We aren't hiring a coach, we aren't hiring a compliance officer. We are hiring someone to be basically CEO of our athletic department, primary requirements will be to promote/hire good VP's (Coaches), set goals, hold everyone accountable to those goals and be active in satisfying shareholders (fans) expectations of performance (wins). Also looking for someone with a vision of where the program is going long term and how to incrementally get there through personnel, facilities and raising capital.

My knock on Beth is there is no track record of her doing any of those higher level things and she doesn't present as a leader not because she is a woman, but because she hasn't led.

Not sure why the level of disbelief is so high around here that we would take a successful CEO and trust him to do this job, seems like half the country is ready to do the same thing with the highest office in the land.
 

If we are going to go down the road of looking at former student athletes, why not go big with big Dave Winfield :) ?
 

gopherdudepart2 said:
Everything you describe above about Pete Najarian you can say the same things about Trent Tucker and he actually lives in this community. He has AD experience although it is at the High School level, so he already has an understanding of what it is like to budget for a large amount of student athletes, facilities and run a large organization. He Tucker would have the ability to make connections with alumni, community groups, and handle the travel part of it to. You want a former athlete, than how about someone that would bring some pride back to Gopher athletics and has connections. Trent Tucker has those things to, for opening up doors and at least getting in the door for meetings. He was part of our last Big 10 championship basketball program to, so he may just know a thing or two about successful coaches having a strong work ethic and giving people opportunity. Having a relationship with the coaches in the Minneapolis public schools is not a bad thing for recruiting potential student athletes either. Tucker is an alumnus, I think we could be proud of as our athletic director, because he has a lot of the attributes we are looking for, and I think has just as much claim to having the opportunity to be great in the AD role for Gopher athletics. This isn't just a diversity thing either, this dude get's people, the art of bringing a big group of people together, and the art of making deals happen, so he has just as much right to have the media like Souhan or Hartmann calling out his name as a potential candidate as Najarian. If your going to take a chance on a former alumn and athlete, at least take one that has run an athletic department. To me on day one, he Tucker would bring the positive energy back to the department, and be able to tap on people like Tony Dungy for ideas to get this mess of a department back on track. It is time to bring back pride to that M, and start winning in all sports but especially the revenue sports.
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Najarian does live here. Moved back last year. He also grew up here and has connected with the community a great deal since he left college. Running a successful multi million dollar company that he built from the ground up and being as successful as he is makes him far more qualified than someone who ran a high school athletics budget.
 

LakerFan said:
My knock on Beth is there is no track record of her doing any of those higher level things and she doesn't present as a leader not because she is a woman, but because she hasn't led.
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Huh? She has literally been doing the job for the past several months. There is no argument to be made that Beth Goetz has the same or less experience as Najarian.
 

Spoofin said:
Matt Millen is more qualified and would be a better hire.
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Matt Millen wouldn't be a good hire for door greeter at Walmart. He is as dumb as a box of rocks, uninteresting, and a very poor decision maker. I don't know Najarian very well, other than to say that building the business he built takes many many times the talent and intelligence that Millen displayed as Lions GM (Abject and total disaster in all respects) and my dog can articulate more unique insights than Matt Millen on a broadcast. He is the worst, a dumb dumb moron, no talent hack.
 

Golden_Sloth said:
Not only zero athletics experience, also zero fundraising experience, zero experience working anywhere in the public sector... Might as well just hire Goldy if you want a mascot as AD.
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he has athletics experience, of course. I'm quite certain that he has fundraising experience, and I don't know about the public sector but also don't see why that would be a key qualification for AD?
We aren't hiring a nuts and bolts guy, we're hiring a decision maker at the top. We want someone who is going to make great decisions and push the U to change where it needs to change, and rally public and donor opinion. I don't think of that as a mascot, and I'm not saying PN is for sure the guy, but not only are you wrong, you're focusing on the wrong things.
 


dpodoll68 said:
Huh? She has literally been doing the job for the past several months. There is no argument to be made that Beth Goetz has the same or less experience as Najarian.
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The jobs we need the AD to do have not been done by Beth as Interim AD. It's not her fault, that's the definition of interim, she's a place keeper and every important decision is on hold until we hire an AD. Time spent as assistant or interim AD don't count as leadership experience only administrative experience. Signing checks and showing up at sporting events doesn't make her a leader. I'm not stumping for Najarian specifically, don't know details about him but i don't think your and others arguments that he lacks "AD" experience hold much weight. Plenty of examples in the business world of successful CEO's transitioning across different industries. Even the way Beth announced that she was interested in the job left something to be desired. If she really believes she is right for the job she should be explaining her vision and be committed enough to say that if she doesn't get it she is moving on to pursue an AD position somewhere else. Hard to get behind someone who says they want to be top banana but they are ok with remaining second banana if that doesn't work out.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
At the risk of being politically incorrect, I suspect some people would prefer Najarian over Goetz based on anatomy. Personally, I don't think a penis is a pre-requisite for the job.

Seriously, running a D1 sports department has more to do with administration than it does with sports. Every few years, an AD may have to hire a coach for one of the major sports. The rest of the time, the job involves budgeting, scheduling, compliance, dealing with the NCAA's 6-billion pages of rules, and other administrative functions.

Is Najarian suited for this role? If he wants to be a figurehead and fund-raiser, the U would need a very strong #2 person who could work well with Najarian, and handle a lot of the day-to-day duties. That hire (if it's not Goetz) would be just as key as the AD.
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Opener should read: "at the expense of being politically correct"
I would love to love Goetz. I just don't find her very dynamic or engaging. I like her, I like her visibility, but it's like listening to a lawyer speak.

Given his job managing a business and as an options trader, I would say budgeting, admin and scheduling are very much a part of the deal. he would be more than a figurehead and fundraiser, but of course, every AD has strong #2s and probably #5s. It's not a one person job.

Who was best Gopher AD of all time when it comes to budgeting? Who was the best ever at scheduling? Who was really lousy at the administrative functions?
When you get a chance, give me a ranking, or top two in each category.
 

dpodoll68 said:
He does? When and where would he have acquired that?
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Do you believe that Beth would be better at fundraising for the U than Najarian? If so, based on what? I'm not sure 'experience' doing so means much. It's much more about personality and presentation.

Obviously she's probably stronger at the Administrative parts of the job, but there's no good reason she can't be retained to oversee that.
 

LakerFan said:
and every important decision is on hold until we hire an AD.
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Outside of facility groundbreaking, Claeys hired fulltime, Limegrover/Coach Z fired, MBB players suspended (& extended), John Anderson contract extension
 

dpodoll68 said:
Right, as a professional football player. When has he ever been paid for his expertise in athletics?



He does? When and where would he have acquired that?
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DPO, you are the last person to reply to that post. He said he has no athletics experience, and that statement is false.

It's an educated guess. He's been the president of businesses, raising money is almost always a part of that deal. I would also guess that he is involved with one or more charities, so again I would bet he has been involved in fundraising for charity. Put two relatively high probability events together, and I'm sure he has some experience. In any event, Teague was supposed to be the world's greatest fundraiser and he was not good. What you're looking for is not "fundraising experience" you are looking for people who have the personal skills to be effective fundraisers. does he have that? Why or why not?

You guys think about this like a computer recruiter looking through on which boxes are checked. Instead of looking for the skills and traits you want in an AD and going after that. Again, I'm not pushing for PN, I just think your thought process is severely flawed.
 

howeda7 said:
Do you believe that Beth would be better at fundraising for the U than Najarian? If so, based on what? I'm not sure 'experience' doing so means much. It's much more about personality and presentation.

Obviously she's probably stronger at the Administrative parts of the job, but there's no good reason she can't be retained to oversee that.
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This is the best post of yours I've ever read, nice job.
 

Maximus said:
Outside of facility groundbreaking, Claeys hired fulltime, Limegrover/Coach Z fired, MBB players suspended (& extended), John Anderson contract extension
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Groundbreaking was on schedule prior to her being Interim. They won't be naming this the Goetz Athletic Training facility, she had a minor role in it.

Claeys hired fulltime, to a near term deal with low buyout. That was the non-decision decision to help his recruiting but leave our options open to hire an new football coach once we get an AD.

MBB players suspended, politically correct move not leadership. leader might have insisted that video's posted of our players having consensual sex were bad taste but not worth more than a slap on the wrist, or if there is more to the story that they know would have insisted on expelling kids if the behavior was criminal.

John Anderson- non revenue sport, non issue
 

howeda7 said:
Do you believe that Beth would be better at fundraising for the U than Najarian? If so, based on what? I'm not sure 'experience' doing so means much. It's much more about personality and presentation.
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I'm no advocate of Goetz. If she gets the job, it's at least defensible. The Najarian "candidacy" is laughably absurd on its face.

And yes, experience (not sure why it's in scare quotes) in fundraising is essentially a prerequisite for an athletics director. I'm going to go ahead and assume that you have never worked in advancement if you believe that it's a game of personality and presentation. It's an actual professional job just like any other with its inherent training and experience factors - it's not something that you can just walk off the street and start doing. Working in corporate America gives you no experience commensurate with professional advancement - raising capital in a corporate environment is not even close to the same thing.

howeda7 said:
Obviously she's probably stronger at the Administrative parts of the job, but there's no good reason she can't be retained to oversee that.
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I'm sure they would love to keep her here as the #2, but I highly doubt that would happen from her perspective. How often do you see somebody stick around when they're passed over for a job they want? She'll be out the door in a hurry for a mid-major AD job somewhere if she doesn't get the job.
 

dpodoll68 said:
I'm no advocate of Goetz. If she gets the job, it's at least defensible. The Najarian "candidacy" is laughably absurd on its face.

And yes, experience (not sure why it's in scare quotes) in fundraising is essentially a prerequisite for an athletics director. I'm going to go ahead and assume that you have never worked in advancement if you believe that it's a game of personality and presentation. It's an actual professional job just like any other with its inherent training and experience factors - it's not something that you can just walk off the street and start doing. Working in corporate America gives you no experience commensurate with professional advancement - raising capital in a corporate environment is not even close to the same thing.



I'm sure they would love to keep her here as the #2, but I highly doubt that would happen from her perspective. How often do you see somebody stick around when they're passed over for a job they want? She'll be out the door in a hurry for a mid-major AD job somewhere if she doesn't get the job.
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Ohh!! I just love when a standard phrase like fundraising gets an upgrade in the naming department! Professional Advancement! Now THAT sounds important. Kind of like going from cashier to professional customer service transaction experience professional!
So professional advancement is an ACTUAL professional job? Ok, that's good. It requires training and experience factors. That sounds important.

Corporate America gives NO experience commensurate to professional advancement. Ok.

Well, I for one have never heard the term professional advancement, and I don't know what it entails. I thought we were talking about fundraising, getting wealthy donors to write big checks for the U, but that's not it at all. I'm lost. This is all very much over my head, but I do know George Carlin would have loved reading your post.
 

Section2 said:
Ohh!! I just love when a standard phrase like fundraising gets an upgrade in the naming department! Professional Advancement! Now THAT sounds important. Kind of like going from cashier to professional customer service transaction experience professional!
So professional advancement is an ACTUAL professional job? Ok, that's good. It requires training and experience factors. That sounds important.

Corporate America gives NO experience commensurate to professional advancement. Ok.

Well, I for one have never heard the term professional advancement, and I don't know what it entails. I thought we were talking about fundraising, getting wealthy donors to write big checks for the U, but that's not it at all. I'm lost. This is all very much over my head, but I do know George Carlin would have loved reading your post.
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Just because you have no clue about it doesn't mean it's not real. Sorry to burst your bubble.
 

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