Murphy was every bit as good (and i'd entertain the argument that he was better)
Maineri replaced Murph - a great hire - no debate
and both those guys moved on to programs higher on the college baseball pyramid...
the problem is that following those two great coaches have been: aoki and schrage
it's no different than replacing Lou with Davie, willingham, weis and then Kelly
I think he was a good man/coach caught in the worst situation any of us can imagine. The man has seen success since leaving ND. Horrendous timing. Aoki doesn't have that excuse. He has simply sucked balls.
he's a CU grad to boot
he was a panic hire after pat casey backed out
but - he's been about .500 since leaving ND
he was in first year at butler last season - so i'll keep an eye on him. we'll see what happens there.
We had such a rare and valuable find in Mainieri and treated him far, far worse.
It's more understandable (and I guess that's where you derive "forgivable") from an optics perspective (i.e. being promoted to more high profile job with much higher pay), but it's actually more frustrating when you realize it wasn't necessary.
Blaming the departed White for his past failures only deflects blame from the guy who is currently screwing up what once was one of the proudest programs in the country.
Paul turned down 6 jobs before relenting with LSU. And he only relented because ND screwed him over (and no, not compensation). Once they did, Mainieri determined the school wasn't as loyal to him and he was to the institution.
And as appreciation for all of his contributions, White enforced the the full extent of Paul's buyout clause causing him to have to personally take out a loan to pay it off.
Swarbrick has neglected ND baseball. And there's really no doubt about that. But he has a ways to go before he is in Kevin White's league as ND's shittiest athletic director.
Which jobs did PM reject and how was he screwed?
Are at least 3 of them.
Not to be too vague, but it was a personal matter that I'd prefer not to repeat but it's been discussed before. But the issue wasn't about pay, and frankly it wasn't even about him.
....tells you how much the school has lost its way. Fucking embarrassing.
Don't forget that White and Jenkins thought they could hire Urban Meyer by just offering him the head coaching job.
EDIT: White also "negotiated" the Weis the contract extension.
What started him to have wandering eyes was his daughter not being accepted to to ND I believe the story goes.
I say bring Javi Sanchez out of retirement and make him HC. Dude is an ND guy through and through. Hell, he's responsible for the recruitment many of LSU's upperclassmen in the CWS this year!
A quick Google search shows that Mainieri was hired Aug. 25, 1994, and Rosenthal was the AD into 1995.
Dick Rosenthal was the last somewhat competent AD at Notre Dame.
EDIT: Rosenthal was still not as good as his predecessor, Gene Corrigan. Roger Valdiserri should have been hired to replace Corrigan.