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| (above) Terry Frei finally has some answers but more questions need to be asked |
From: Denver Post
by Terry Frei
So why was George Gwozdecky fired? That's the question University of Denver vice chancellor for athletics and recreation Peg Bradley-Doppes addressed only cursorily in a news release two weeks ago — before declining interview requests since.
She finally talked about it with me Monday, in a conversation after the news conference introducing Jim Montgomery as DU's eighth head hockey coach [read entire article].
30 comments:
For the past three years DU [PBD] had been telling everyone they would re-sign Gwozdecky.
Until we hear otherwise, he was never told his job was in jeopardy or that he had to win NCAA games.
Two events most likely cost George his job.
1). Ritchie and/or some Board members, reeling from the conference musical chairs fees, decided to cut George loose.
2). Coombe told PBD to cut the Athletics budget by $500,000 ASAP.
Time to move on DG...Let's get behind Monty as coach
So, DG, you've been demanding (in the harshest possible terms) that you deserve to hear an official "reason" for the decision that was made.
Now you have one...and it's pretty much what we suspected all along: The combination of the contract impasse and the lack of success in post-season play made the prospect of working out an extension with Gwozdecky less appealing to the University.
But, that's not good enough for you, is it?
No...I didn't think so. You want conspiracy. You want BOT minutes. You want Coombe's personal cell phone number, ATM pin code, and triglyceride counts. YOU WANT THE TRUTH!!!
But...no. You really don't want that, do you? What you REALLY want is George Gwozdecky to be the head coach of the Denver Pioneers hockey team, regardless of the other factors in play.
Right?
I mean, if we're being completely honest here, I doubt if ANY stated reason for Gwoz's dismissal would EVER be good enough for you.
I've gotta say...in some ways, you're just as bad as the North Dakota fans that virtually fellate Hakstol at every presented opportunity...
Sounds simple: God-zecky wanted to be paid like one, but hadn't been performing like one. Monty is probably paid in six-packs.
PBD and her staff are certainly busy posting on this blog today.
10:15, most of us are capable of getting behind our new coach while still questioning what happened with our previous coach. He was here for 19 years. I don't forget the last 19 years in two weeks.
10:31, DU should have given it's reasons for firing Gwoz two weeks ago. It's not inappropriate to request a response from DU after they fire a 19 year coach that has had tremendous success. The rest of your post is basically non-sensical (I guess you are trying to be sarcastic). One thing I personally agree with you on, is that no answer DU gave would have convinced me that this was the right decision (baring Sandusky-like actions). Still, that doesn't mean that DU shouldn't give their reasons. Now I've heard them. I'm glad they finally said something.
10:34, another Monty drinking joke. Is that 13 now? You are clever.
Gwozdecky should not have been fired. I'm hardly alone in thinking that.
Compare DU's handling of the Gwozdecky firing to Rutgers firing of the hoops coach. Different situations, but Rutgers handled the firing far better.
No coach with Gwozdecky's accomplishments has been fired "without cause" in the history of college sports.
Factor in the WCHA hardware, leading the league year after in WCHA scholar athletes, the Top 10 recruiting classes, his popularity both in the community and reputation nationally.
If you're going to fire a coach with Gwozdecky's record you better be ready to answer some serious questions.
Chambers has four Blog posts from yesterday. I'll get them up on the site ASAP, but for now.
http://blogs.denverpost.com/colleges/author/mike-chambers/
Why all the guess work guys?It's simple! Gwoz kept holding out for more money. The amount paid to B ball coach was significantly higher then what George was getting. Hockey was bringing in a cool million plus . B ball was bringing in zilch. After years of looking at each other across the table the board and Peg finally said enough. I think that a coach constantly making money for the school should be at least even up with a constant revenue draining coach but they don't.
If Gwoz. had made it to the frozen four they would have had to fold their hand and pay up. Like the song goes--That's life!
Jesus Christ, Damien, you don't get it, do you?
I honestly thought someone had to try to be this obtuse, but you've proven me wrong.
George and the University couldn't come to an agreement on a contract extension, so he was let go. This was made easier by the fact that, since 2005, he has not shown the ability to win in the NCAAs, even with teams that were clearly superior to their competition.
I mean, seriously, do you need someone to draw you a diagram?
The one factor - ONE - you point to that makes me really and truly tip my hat to Gwoz is the whole scholar-athlete thing. That is an almost unfathomable accomplishment - particularly in the college sports landscape today. Jim can only hope to duplicate half of George's success here....
But, the WCHA hardware, the reputation crap, the recruiting coups...while all nice, mean precisely DICK!
Conference titles and regular season trophies are consolation prizes for teams that can't point to success on the national stage. You're happy with this. I am not.
George's reputation in the community and nationally? Really? Who gives one of Old Pio's loose stools? As long as the kids stay out of trouble and don't embarrass the University, WINNING will take care of that reputation. And George did win. A lot. But, over the last 8 years he didn't do it when it really counted.
And recruiting? What does recruiting mean without on-ice success? When you have a team with Rhett Rakhshani, Tyler Reugsegger, Joe Colborne, Patrick Weircoich, and Mark Chevrie all on the ice at the same time, YOU CAN'T LOSE TO FUCKING RIT IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE NCAA TOURNAMENT!!!
You. Just. Can't.
And, in the last 8 years, DU has had that happen FAR too many times.
Really, Damien, are you a DU fan or a Gwoz fan?
The WCHA hardware is important.
Wisconsin has won six National Championships and only won the MacNaughton Cup three times.
Colorado College has NEVER won a Broadmoor Trophy.
Why?
Because in both cases its damn hard to do. Gwozdecky has more MacNaughtons than Wisconsin and three more Broadmoors than CC.
Red Berenson took Michigan to 22 straight NCAA Tournaments, including 11 Frozen Fours and won it all only twice.
Single elimination Tournaments are a bitch.
11:11/PBD, there's only one team that hasn't consistently under-performed in the national tournament over the last 8 years, Boston College. Have fun firing every other coach in the country.
Also, are you to obtuse to understand that there's a difference between disagreeing with someone's conclusion and not understanding their reasons for the conclusion?
No he wants the truth. Did PBD cut $500,000? Why? Obama show. Hard questions, easy answers. Tell the TRUTH
Edit: DU has won three MacNaughtons under Gwoxdecky the same number as Wisconsin has won all-time.
OK.
I'm not sure what is more annoying....
"The Obama Show" guy
Or the "DUI" guy
Obama is a winner, rmoney is a loser and it was a Presidential Debate for crying out loud.
Thousands upon thousands of people get DUI's.
Get over it all, stupid pricks.
D.U.I. is a significant revenue raiser for the municipalities.
dggoddard said...
Edit: DU has won three MacNaughtons under Gwoxdecky (sic)...
Technically DU won 2.5 under Gwox (I like it!)
Several comments both on this Blog and over at USCHO have stated "Employees in the State of Maine can't have felony convictions."
The link below seems to refute that.
A quick search over at the University of Maine's Human Resources website finds no mention of it either.
http://www.maine.gov/bhr/rules_policies/policy_manual/5_7.htm
So until someone provides a link, it appears to not be true.
I am looking forward to a change to our playing style - more up-tempo and less dump and muck.
The change is done. It looks like Gwoz and his family will be fine. We will lose a familiar face and a good man.
When an organization has been led for 19 years by the same individual, sometimes change is a good thing for all parties.
My biggest interest now is how do we fill the holes from early departures so we give our new coach a good start? It will be interesting to see who we bring in. A fast tempo game is qoing to require three full lines so we need help.
It shows well that Montgomery is staying with his current team until the end of the playoffs instead of moving immediately to DU. It speaks volumes about his leadership. Even though this will probably hurt DU in the short run, it is the professional thing to do.
Its amazing the amount of "fans" that come on here and throw stones at Damien - the one person who puts his actions where his words are.
When you ask classmates, coaches or student-athletes, there's no shortage of people who will line up to speak for him - unlike you idiots.
DU guy or Gwoz guy?
He's seen the good and the bad of DU for decades.
I don't fault him asking for answers OR trying to make sense of them.
Coombe stands up and says DU athletics stands for 3 things. The first is integrity. Is integrity saying he resigned and then saying an hour later he was fired? Is integrity saying for last 3 years that he'd be signed but having no talks for past two plus years? Is integrity hiding from the media and then providing answers that don't match with the coach's press conference?
Nothing wrong with trying to connect the dots.
If DU told the coach, he was being fired for contract impasse, we'd all have heard that a week ago and all can move forward. When you have the John Wooden of lax crying over the firing, the media, alumni, the fans trying to understand what happened and no transparency, WTF is wrong with asking the questions?
Damien invests more each day to try to support the school that know it all/win and shut up false fans who have never invested enough in a student-athlete's life to be recognized by one.
I think Peg addressed the situation adequately. If she addressed it any more, it would be crapping on Gwozdecky, which no one wants to do. The way I see it, here's the summary--contract impasse (80%), lack of success in the NCAA tournament lately (10%), current state of university finances (10%). Whatever you feel about Gwoz's firing (I didn't like it), the reasons are evident now, and I don't see any more need to question why he was fired. Seriously, time to move forward with the new coach, and wish Gwoz much success in his next endeavor.
Coach Gwozdecky called me a half hour ago to thank LetsGoDU for all the fan support over the years.
He also mentioned that there were many times he, the hockey program or the Athletic Department couldn't comment on an issue and the Blog provided a forum for clarity for the fans.
I thanked him profusely for his service to to the University and that his teaching methods not only impacted his players but the students, fans and alumni as well.
I said that PioNation wished him nothing but success in the future and we'd be cheering for him where ever he end up.
He's a class act and he'll never be forgotten at DU.
So finally some sort of closure.
DG--very cool post about the call from Gwoz. He is certainly a class act, and the rest of us appreciate the blog very much, as well. So thanks Gwoz, and thanks, DG!
DU needs a ton of depth on the forward lines. Without knowing the scholarship situation, DU may have two players in the 2014 class that might be old enough to bring in early. Tyler Pham & Cody DePourcq [Pretty sure Gamez will still be in high school next year].
Would Pham & DePourcq be willing or could they afford to come in on partial scholies?
Both guys are also very small. Will they fit into the new up-tempo style of play being proposed?
Monty needs to seriously beef up the roster with some USHL veterens. Here's the catch ... they need to come up with $50,000 tuition, obtain loans, qualify for financial aid or have grades good enough to get an academic scholarship. Tall order indeed.
2014 Recruiting Class
F Tyler Pham (Indiana Ice, USHL) - 46 games, 4 goals, 13 assists
F Jared Fiegl (U.S. Under-17) 44 games, 4 goals, 9 assists
F Garrett Gamez (Tri-Cities, USHL) 30 games, 6 goals, 5 assists
F Cody DePourcq (Penticton, BCHL) - 49 games, 11 goal, 8 assists
DePourq is a 4th liner at best...Saw him play a few times in Penticton, and he's undersized, afraid to take a hit, and doesn't have a strong shot. Don't pull any comparisons to LaLeggia because they both played for the same program.
Loose stool? Anybody got some Lomotil?
After pessimistic's comments, Monty better be on the phone daily we DePourq. CC is gonna be all over this guy.
With someone who's been in multiple leagues like he has, I would think Jim will probably have more than a couple guys follow him here to DU; or at least want to or show interest. It might not be in July 2013; but doesn't common sense tell you that he has "believers" out there .... somewhere? Kids he mentored; kids who know someone on his team, or played with them at lower levels, yada yada.
I don't think Minty needs to place an ad on Craiglist looking for players....... we'll be OK
Agreed.
Of the four coaching candidates Montgomery was probably the best candidate to restock the shelves with USHL talent, late bloomers and last minute additions who might contribute right away.
Man, how long are we going to suffer from the defections of the Mermis brothers?
Pio, didn't you hear. They are now leading the development of a new hockey league in Mongolia
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