She seems very low key. Might not be her style to put something like that out there.
There is nothing in their history that would suggest hostility or even an uneasy relationship between the two coaches, and failing to acknowledge Cunningham's departure with at least a few nice words would be strange for everyone involved.
I'm starting to think that Cunningham isn't leaving Notre Dame. Swarbrick said Muffet McGraw would be working on some projects for Notre Dame. Will Cunningham continue to work with McGraw on some of those projects? Will she move into athletics administration at ND?
The staff directory on UND.com lists Matt Weldy as Associate Director of the Monogram Club. The Monogram Club page lists him as the Executive Director which would be a recent promotion. Is the Associate Director position open? It would be a really nice entrée into administration.
Let's see what happens before we decide to be pissed.
I think the disconnect that many of us have is that there seemed to have been time to do this the right way... and if it had been done the right way, I would have thought there would have been a more formal announcement by this point.
If Niele was in fact the known heir apparent, once Muffet made up her mind or was leaning heavily toward retirement, she and Jack and Niele herself should have figured out what the plans were for the assistants. If Niele wanted to replace Beth, then Jack and Muffet should have worked on getting her a soft landing spot.
At many big law firms, that's what they will typically do for an associate who ultimately isn't partner material, unless the associate has done something truly egregious. For someone who has given so much to the University, Beth was owed at least that much.
Again, I hope you are right...maybe all of this was done and Beth just needs more time to think about it...the whole thing just seems odd.
So it isn't a matter of being right or wrong.
What I am saying is that we should wait to see what happens before we get pissed off because there are options that might be satisfactory for everyone involved. Why get upset before there's a reason to get upset?
We'll learn what's next for Ms Cunningham soon enough. If it turns out thay she hasn't been treated well at that point, I'll join in the criticism.
and, as goIrish says, it seems likely that it's not Beth's style to seek publicity, but the first line of the ND Insider/South Bend Tribune article on May 18 reads "Beth Cunningham and Notre Dame are parting ways." I can't vouch for the accuracy of Anthony Anderson, but he's been pretty good in the past.
- IrishRudy sets a very plausible scenario and MPG is with him on that
- WrathofSorin does a much better job than I did of addressing the assistant part of the succession plan: the rest of this was handled very smoothly (hell, even Boneyarders were impressed), so this lag is drawing attention to itself.
- Kayo's thoughts on the situation (perhaps) needing some time and air are good ones, too. (I've used the word hopefully). In this day and age where news cycles come and go in shorter time frames, I guess most of us expect instant solutions. In reality, the right solution sometimes takes time, particularly for the right person.
- Beth is a right person and I think there is vast agreement on that.
Let's hope the "right thing" comes about...
The bed wetters need to post emotionally without the facts. Has Cunningham gone public with any vitriol against the school that she attended/coached to this date? Two highly rated guards just accepted scholarships, and the bed wetters still need something to whine about.
The handling of a ring of honor player with dishonor is a terrible mark on the Ivey tenure. I am ashamed of ND, Ivey and especially Muffet!!! You never should treat anyone who has given as much as Beth has the way they have apparently treated her! I have thought about taking a break from this board, letting my season tickets go, and not following them for the year. That said - I’m not angry enough to become a UConn fan - lol
Ivey and BC. I’m saying regardless of why the change is made - and I believe it is Ivey’s choice on who she has on her staff - ND, Ivey and Muffet should be out there thanking BC for her contributions & wishing her success etc.... Character and Integrity matter at ND and ND/Ivey/Muffet have failed to show theirs. They have allowed the information void to fester and have been complicit in all of the rumors. In absence of truth & fact the void gets naturally filled with supposition & conjecture.
Did that thought ever cross your mind?
Announcement. So again I ding ND, Ivey, and Muffet. Which for me is not easy to do because I became a ND fan because Ivey chose to play there, just like I became a Fever fan when she played there so I’m not inclined to be quick to criticize her. I don’t know Beth nor did i watch her play yet I do know she has been a integral part of the community and we should never treat family with disrespect.
Comments and then thoughts:
Entire staff knew MM was in the process or thinking of retirement. There was no surprises there. Also, the staff knew Niele would be the replacement. This wasn't about Beth feeling spurned she didn't get the job. Two media outlets reported Beth was wanting to stay on the staff. Quite frankly, Beth was very comfortable and loved being on the staff.
This is not being critical of Niele because I do feel she has the right to change the staff as the HC but she didn't handle the question well about her and the staff, and that was the 3rd interview she did prior to someone actually asking her. When I heard her response, I knew she was making a change even though she didn't outright say it.
This was an awkward departure. Lou Somoygi, the historian of all things Notre Dame even has said so.
In repeat from me, the Cunningham's didn't buy and restore the house they have if she was hoping to go somewhere else. ( and not as head coach) They felt very much a part of Notre Dame and wanted to be in SB. To me, the fact there wasn't a statement from Notre Dame women's basketball announcing the departure from Notre Dame, your 3rd leading scorer, a ring of honor inductee, an all american, associate head coach on national championship team and multiple final fours.....there is more to the story. How the story leaked was because WBB twitter shared a Niele post that showed Ruth talking to the team and the only person that was missing was Beth.
She deserves better.
To me, the fact there wasn't a statement from Notre Dame women's basketball announcing the departure from Notre Dame, your 3rd leading scorer, a ring of honor inductee, an all american, associate head coach on national championship team and multiple final fours..... is as likely to be suggesting that she isn't leaving Notre Dame (role TBA) as it is suggesting that she is has been unceremoniously kicked to the curb without so much as a public acknowledgement or thank-you.
from second hand sources at ND.
dismissed”, so I don’t have an opinion on that. However, I do not believe that length in the job as an assistant coach or being an ND legacy should alone have either made her the next NDWBB head coach or preserved her place on the coaching staff. This type of thing happens in every business, especially when there is a change at the top, and at many universities. I have no problem with the decision, and have no idea how it was handled, nor will I give credence to speculative rumors. Two different issues, IMO.
...in regards to ND thanking Coach Cunningham for the contributions she has made to the women's basketball program and the university as a whole.
As a player, assistant coach and associate head coach, she's been a class act the whole way along.
As many have eloquently stated, Niele most certainly has the right to choose the staff she thinks can best help her attain her goals. At the end of the day, she's done that and it's been announced.
However, at the very least, I can't see how including a few paragraphs/quotes/twitter posts thanking her for her contributions would take thunder away from the new staff.
While Coronavirus has made communications operate in different ways, MM's resignation and Niele's appointment was made under these circustances, as has the addition of Coquese Washington. Shouldn't be that difficult. However, the longer crickets are heard, the more awkward a late(r) announcement seems....
An added on thought: Swarbrick seems to have thought this transition out for awhile and MM was undoubtedly in on it. You'd think some kind of Plan A, B or C would come up in regards to the assistants. On the other hand, maybe not.
Stay tuned...if nothi
1. Beth may have wanted the head job and is disappointed. The replacement move was fast from a public standpoint. Clearly the official position is she is looking for other coaching opportunities. Neither ND, Niele nor Beth would want anybody to think there is sour grapes.
2. The posting process may have been set up to try to give Beth time to find a job which she didn't. Keep in mind lots of folks on the Bench even thought Carol was on the chopping block. To me the Coquese replacement of Beth was the best for the program given Niele felt a need for some other change than just her replacing Muffet. As I noted earlier I agree with her.
3. The ambiguity still leaves the possibility that Beth gets an assigment at ND in administration, assistant coaching role with Brey (just a wierd thought), something else in fundraising, etc. My feeling Beth is still beloved and respected at ND and if she needs a job something could come up. Still it's a bad time for movement with the shutdowns & the virus. If they say goodbye, then they have to say hello if she has a different role at ND. Seems awkward.
Just my 2 cents.
Jack's comments outline that the "succession plan" was in place for some time, based on end of season conversations between Jack and Muffet ("if you were run over by a bus tomorrow"). I find it impossible to believe that Muffet would not have let her assistants know that Niele was "the chosen one." I think pretty much everyone on this board, if asked to chose whether Beth or Niele would succeed Muffet, would logically have picked Niele. To suggest that Beth was caught off guard seems unlikely.
It is quite possible that Beth was ultimately caught off guard by Muffet's announcement, thinking that there was no way Muffet would go out after such a disappointing season. But even then, why would Beth think she would be head coach? To me, it presumes that Niele and Beth must have very different opinions as to how things should be run, to the point where either Beth couuldn't work for Niele or Niele didn't want to try it out.
One other possibility: Niele knew she wanted CW but feared losing her to a similar position within another program and was forced to accelerate her hiring decision, leaving Beth less time to transiton out of the program?
Assuming there was a position for her at Notre Dame and you would think it might have been discussed with her retirement.
Of course if in your point 1 that Beth was disappointed, she may not want to remain at ND in any capacity
so in a sense it's hard to do more to recognize her accomplishments then that. Let's hope when we win our next NC in short fashion Niele thanks Beth.
still honoring Muffet. In my opinion if someone comes in and keeps the staff entirely the same, it seems like it still is the old coach's program. Niele replaced one Muffet player and an assistant who had head coach experience with another Muffet player, former assistant who also had head coach experience. The differences I see is Beth is 44 and Coquese is 49, so older with a little more experience overall. Coquese is someone Niele has looked up to as a coach while Beth was always a peer. Thus she provides a relationship which replaces a little what she had with Muffet which Beth wouldn't provide. Coquese also has more recent experiences from outside ND (PSU/Oklahoma) so has added perespective whereas Beth's recent experience set was the same as Niele's except she experienced last year's bad team while Niele was in Memphis. By keeping Mikaela and Carol, Niele already has 2 assistants who were at ND last year.
Frankly without some change (and I think she made a smart one), I believe folks would have seen Niele coming in with little change at all and that Muffet might still be pulling the strings. That would be good for noone. I applaud the move as the most prudent. I am sorry Beth paid the price, but she will certainly land on her feet and find a great opportunity if she leaves South Bend. If it hadn't been for Covid 19 I think she would have already had a job when they announced the change, but there was no way she would have got a job in the current situation. I also think ND will keep her on in an administrative capacity if she wants or needs to stay in South Bend unless they have to cut costs. She will always be an ND legend.
The "Ivey Era" has begun and it is her program.
But any new coach coming in gets to pick his/her staff
Another coach from outside the ND circle might not have kept any of the coaches.
Kelly didn't retain Weis' staff - this is the nature of the coaching business.
My hope is that Notre Dame retains Beth in some capacity in the Athletic Department or wherever she can be of service.
It's a tough situation for everyone letting someone you worked with for so long go because you wanted your own staff. It's especially tough given Beth's stature and MM success. I don't believe any new coach should be handcuffed to her predecessor staff, regardless of their success. They should do what is necessary for the program. That said, the pressure is on CW to produce.
It's certainly an awkward transition. I'm not sure statements make it any better or worse. And unfortunately, stating that she is pursuing other coaching opportunities indicates that she won't have an administrative role at ND. Of course, things could change I suppose.