More On Graham betrayal of Rice

[Harry]

http://blogs.chron.com/owls/2007/01/tg_we_...ly_knew_ya.html

Wow.

Really, what more can be said? After spending the past eight hours working feverishly covering the departure of Todd Graham, we've spent the past few minutes reading clips from his introduction ceremony on Jan. 1, 2006. We won't share personal thoughts about Todd Graham - that would be unprofessional, but we will point out how often he referenced being from Texas, watching Southwest Conference games as a kid, and how Rice was a "dream come true." His words.

And just like that, Todd Graham is gone. We've been told that he will sign an 8-year deal worth $1.1 million per with Tulsa. He left for the money, plain and simple. Everything he said about Rice, its supporters, its players and its future was bologna. We can't help but wonder where he stashed his Dale Lloyd pin.

So what now? What of the recruits? Who will the new coach ink, given that he has less than four weeks before National Signing Day? What of all the people Todd Graham pushed out the door, people who had been at Rice for decades? What about all that "We Will Win" signage plastered everywhere? What about the truck with his mug prominently displayed smack dab in the center? What of all the stadium improvements that are incomplete? What about the donors who believed in Rice because they believed in Todd Graham? What of the hideous yellow on those unis and that teeny, tiny logo on the helmets? And, last but not least, what about the players who busted their humps for Todd Graham, thinking 2006 was just the beginning? Todd Graham left Rice AD Chris Del Conte quite a mess to clean up.

And you do realize that Todd Graham signed a contract extention on Tuesday, right? He bolted to San Antonio that afternoon, leaving Del Conte behind to sing his praises. When Todd Graham didn't return our phone calls seeking comment on the extension, we should have known something was up. We haven't heard from Todd Graham since Sunday evening, and probably won't hear from him again until the Golden Hurricane pays a visit to Rice Stadium later this year.

We could go on and on, but we'd rather hear from you. What do you think about all of this? How do you feel about Todd Graham? Someone likened him to a snake-oil salesman. Some of you might think a little less of him after this. He made a lateral career move, maybe because Tulsa was three years ahead in its rebuilding process. Or maybe he did it for all that jack Tulsa offered him this week.

We have a coaching search to prepare for; yep, a second one in roughly 14 months. And we hear Major Applewhite is off to Alabama, so don't get your hopes up there. Two early names? Willie Martinez (Georgia DC) and Mark Stoops (Arizona DC). Those are stabs in the dark. It's late, our back hurts, and we'd like some sleep before we read your flurry of posts Friday.

Hey: At least we don't have to call this guy OG anymore. Wonder what he thinks?

Posted by Moisekapenda Bower at January 12, 2007 12:00 AM

<H2 id=comments>Comments</H2>MK, all I have to say is I'm in shock. I can no longer wear the War Owls that I was so proud to wear just a few weeks ago. I'm not saying I won't support my team. I will be at every home game next season. I just can't be associated with Todd Graham any more. I can't believe he backstabbed us like this. I feel so betrayed and I'm not even on the team.

Thank you for your hard work MK.

Posted by: Russell at January 12, 2007 01:15 AM

Good riddance. Todd Graham's ego is unsurpassed, and he will not be missed. I bet the MOB folks are already working on the script for the game vs. Tulsa.

Bradley -- Can't wait for that. - MK

Posted by: Bradley at January 12, 2007 01:19 AM

props to you, MK, for staying up late with the rest of the distraight Rice faithful, and providing updates and thoughts on this distressing situation.

James -- Can't sleep. It's been a crazy day, and I'm still wired. - MK

Posted by: James at January 12, 2007 01:44 AM

After working with the football team all year, this doesn't surprise me in the least. The man is full of it. I feel terrible for the players, let's just hope they can retain the discipline they had this year and grow under a future coach.

At least we still have Wayne Graham.

Posted by: AJ at January 12, 2007 01:49 AM

Contract extension on Tuesday and Tulsa contract on Thursday. Amazing.

How would you start in denigrating someone like that? You couldn't start low enough.

I'm a Cougar fan but I would never wish this on the Owls. I hope your AD has a better judge of character next time than he had with Todd Graham.

From now on that name will be said as if it's a curse. "Toodddd Graahhaaam"

Michael -- Kind of like Candyman. Funny if it wasn't so sad. - MK

Posted by: Michael at January 12, 2007 01:54 AM

Yep. Definitely a Watson Brown clone. Gone in the middle of the night.

The really bad thing is this will be the second year with a late recruiting class. Even though KH left lots of talent, it's graduating fast.

Posted by: Alex Johnson at January 12, 2007 02:11 AM

No "snake-oil salesman" is worth 1.1 million per year. Period. At first, I was angered as a Rice fan but now I see that this coach with all his promises and rhetoric was not the man for this job and definitely not for that money.

Personally, I would enjoy seeing Major take over the "renaissance" but sadly it looks like he is going to Alabama either because he wasn't offered our HC or because he thought he wasn't ready for the responsibilities of this position.

The Athletic Dept. has some pretty large decisions to make that will ultimately determine the fate of Rice Football. Hopefully, they can get a driven but principled coach who can continue the successes of the past year.

Finally, it was the heart and determination of the players that made the 2006 season what it was. To think otherwise would be like falling for a snake-oil salesman's con.

Posted by: Salil at January 12, 2007 02:32 AM

Coming from a TCU fan....

Hire the guy that you should have hired last year. TCU offensive coordinator Mike Schultz.

I am very sorry about y'all's loss. To hell with Todd Graham.

Posted by: Eric at January 12, 2007 03:27 AM

If we were three years behind Tulsa, we couldn't have beaten them at their place. I think it was the money and nothing more. I could deal with that if he hadn't blatantly lied to us even after he started negotiating with them.

Posted by: Gravy at January 12, 2007 04:04 AM

What I find inexcusable is TG's failure to explain to his players why he was leaving. Cruel and gutless...

Posted by: Festus at January 12, 2007 06:11 AM

MK-This has gotta be about the money, right? I mean, even if he gets his egomaniacal butt run off from TU in 3 years (which seems to be the average tenure for a D-I coach who doesn't win), they'd still have to pay him for the remaining seven, right? And, other than the fact that he was an assistant there, what makes Tulsa such an attractive move...the Golden Hurricane's football program has been (maybe) only slightly more successful than Rice's in the last few decades.

Posted by: Kellybee at January 12, 2007 06:48 AM

MK - Unbelievable - you summed it up very well.

The players feel very abandoned this morning but everyone I talked to last night can't wait for the Tulsa game. I hope Del Conte can find a good coach with good character.

Posted by: Chris at January 12, 2007 07:07 AM

I like what Graham did for Rice did this year, but now what? I know a couple of Rice recruits, what do you think they're going to do upon hearing of this news?

Unfortunately for Rice, there's only two ways to keep a coach for an extended period of time: if it's the coach's last rodeo or he brings the program to mediocrity and Rice remains happy with that.

Rice needs to make their hire quickly to try to salvage their recruiting class. Graham was able to take option personnel and have some success in a spread offense...but yet another kind of offensive system could mean a couple more years of frustration before getting up to speed again.

But hey, being a Rice fan, I'm used to frustration.

P.S. I hope Graham gets everything he deserves in Tulsa.

Posted by: Doug at January 12, 2007 07:12 AM

After the highs of turning around a 1-10 season to a 7-6 season with a trip to a bowl game this is really an awful blow. And the guy isn't leaving for a better job, it's strictly about the cash. I don't begrudge someone making more money, we all want that, but staying only 1 year and getting those kids to give their all for you only to drop them like that is sickening. Del Conte has quite a job on his hands. Let's hope Rice can pull a rabbit out of the hat.

Posted by: Robert at January 12, 2007 07:19 AM

I always thought it was a bit strange that Graham had his own website to tout Rice football. Of course now it's "under construction": http://grahamfootball.com/

But if you want to see what's behind the door you can go here: http://grahamfootball.com/main.htm

and relive some of our brief memories.

Posted by: Robert at January 12, 2007 07:27 AM

"Wow" pretty much sums it up. What a jerk.

I could justify and almost forgive if it was a Big 10 or SEC school that came calling, and you really couldn't hate the man if that was the case. We will lose Art Briles that way one day. But to Tulsa???

Wow...

Posted by: uhsigep96 at January 12, 2007 07:33 AM

Can't Rice sue this guy for violating his contract? What a first-class jerk! And to do this days after signing a contract extension. The guy has no class. I hope the Owls obliterate Tulsa when they meet.

[GreenBlooded1]

Wow... no hard feeling there and I can hardly blame them.... Is Tulsa on our schedule again next year???

If so, let's pound them for ourselves... for Rice and for the good 'ole Lone Star State!!!

[DeepGreen]

Think I'll mosey over to the Tulsa board and see what they think about their new coach. They damn sure better be looking over their shoulders with this guy Graham. He's liable to accept some other job before the weekends out.

[SilverEagle]

Well, Kraigthorpe was saying the same things as Graham, right before he bolted to Louisville. Geezzz, this is getting crazy.

[GreenBat]

When Graham was hired at Rice, I told you that he was an A$$ho1e. He was an A$$ho1e when he was at Allen and Leopard's don't change their spots.

Good luck to Tulsa. If what Graham considers a higher profile job comes open next year. He'll bolt from there the first chance he gets.

[untStein]

When Graham was hired at Rice, I told you that he was an A$$ho1e. He was an A$$ho1e when he was at Allen and Leopard's don't change their spots.

I've heard the exact same thing from other sources.

[GrandGreen]

The coaching carousel continues to get more ridiculous, contracts are meaningless to coaches and salaries are outrageous. It is well passed time for the NCAA to step in and try to establish some kind of control. It is difficult to maintain that university's primary and foremost focus is education when coaches are now routinely paid many times what obstentially their bosses, college presidents and chancellors are compensated. In the same vein, as pro sports has been able to legally establish salary caps and revenue sharing to enhance competition; it seems to me that the NCAA should be able to find a method to establish a binding coaches' contract and curtain excessive athletic expenditures.

[Eagle1855]

The coaching carousel continues to get more ridiculous, contracts are meaningless to coaches and salaries are outrageous. It is well passed time for the NCAA to step in and try to establish some kind of control. It is difficult to maintain that university's primary and foremost focus is education when coaches are now routinely paid many times what obstentially their bosses, college presidents and chancellors are compensated. In the same vein, as pro sports has been able to legally establish salary caps and revenue sharing to enhance competition; it seems to me that the NCAA should be able to find a method to establish a binding coaches' contract and curtain excessive athletic expenditures.

totally agree. even before this deal with Rice, a friend of mine and I were talking about this. It's certainly got out of hand. I don't know what the answer is, however.

[MeanGreenZen]

You guys need to get off your high horse. Every single one of you would leave your current job if a competitor offered you the same stability, more money, a better work environment and a better chance to win at whatever it is you do. If you wouldn't, you are crazy.

If loyalty is so important to you, you must think Todd Dodge should have stayed at Southlake with all the kids who grew up dreaming of playing for him.

Rice is a small fish in one of the largest media markets in the country. Tulsa is in a much smaller media market and is a much bigger deal there. Graham took Rice to their first bowl game in forever and secured tons of donations for the program. Rice is much better off for his having been there. The Owls have nothing to complain about.

If Todd Dodge leaves UNT for the same reasons next year, the only ones to blame will be ourselves for not being able to provide a better opportunity here. Graham wishes to climb the NCAA coaching ladder. Tulsa represents a step up for him. I hope he is a miserable failure there because I love UNT, but I understand why he took the job.

Edited January 12, 2007 by MG Insurance Pro

[NTPhiKap99]

Regardless of the way this happened all we need to be looking at is this list

COMMITTED/NOT YET SIGNED Pos Stars Ht Wt 40 RR Video Hometown

3* Nathan Dick QB 6-4 200 4.8 5.5 Allen, TX

Taylor Dupree LB 6-0 204 4.7 5.2 Mesquite, TX

3* Kody Emmert TE 6-6 235 4.92 5.5 Liberty Hill, TX

Terrance Ganaway ATH 6-0 199 4.64 5.2 DeKalb, TX

Justin Hill RB 6-0 192 4.5 5.2 Dallas, TX

Chris Jones DB 6-2 175 4.4 5.2 Arlington, TX

Anson Kelton K 6-4 250 - 5.1 Aledo, TX

Wil Norris ATH 6-1 210 4.56 5.1 Plano, TX

Chima Nwachukwu DB 5-10 192 4.5 5.1 Allen, TX

Tyler Parish OL 6-4 281 5.49 5.1 Ardmore, OK

Rashad Robinson LB 6-1 215 4.58 5.3 McKinney, TX

Tanner Shuck LB 5-11 225 4.84 - Jenks, OK

Reid Singleton DB 5-9 168 - 5.2 Crowley, TX

Cameron Thompson DE 6-1 275 - 5.0 Cedar Hill, TX

Aaron Williams ATH 6-3 210 4.6 5.4 Mesquite, TX

The rest are 2 star but most all of them are from DFW instabilty could lead them here.

[MeanGreenZen]

Regardless of the way this happened all we need to be looking at is this list

COMMITTED/NOT YET SIGNED Pos Stars Ht Wt 40 RR Video Hometown

3* Nathan Dick QB 6-4 200 4.8 5.5 Allen, TX

Taylor Dupree LB 6-0 204 4.7 5.2 Mesquite, TX

3* Kody Emmert TE 6-6 235 4.92 5.5 Liberty Hill, TX

Terrance Ganaway ATH 6-0 199 4.64 5.2 DeKalb, TX

Justin Hill RB 6-0 192 4.5 5.2 Dallas, TX

Chris Jones DB 6-2 175 4.4 5.2 Arlington, TX

Anson Kelton K 6-4 250 - 5.1 Aledo, TX

Wil Norris ATH 6-1 210 4.56 5.1 Plano, TX

Chima Nwachukwu DB 5-10 192 4.5 5.1 Allen, TX

Tyler Parish OL 6-4 281 5.49 5.1 Ardmore, OK

Rashad Robinson LB 6-1 215 4.58 5.3 McKinney, TX

Tanner Shuck LB 5-11 225 4.84 - Jenks, OK

Reid Singleton DB 5-9 168 - 5.2 Crowley, TX

Cameron Thompson DE 6-1 275 - 5.0 Cedar Hill, TX

Aaron Williams ATH 6-3 210 4.6 5.4 Mesquite, TX

The rest are 2 star but most all of them are from DFW instabilty could lead them here.

Wonder how many of these kids will follow Graham to Tulsa? Cedar Hill's Cameron Thompson would be a great land for UNT. I hope Dodge and co. are doing everything they can do to get that kid.

Edited January 12, 2007 by MG Insurance Pro

[Eagle1855]

You guys need to get off your high horse. Every single one of you would leave your current job if a competitor offered you the same stability, more money, a better work environment and a better chance to win at whatever it is you do. If you wouldn't, you are crazy.

If loyalty is so important to you, you must think Todd Dodge should have stayed at Southlake with all the kids who grew up dreaming of playing for him.

Rice is a small fish in one of the largest media markets in the country. Tulsa is in a much smaller media market and is a much bigger deal there. Graham took Rice to their first bowl game in forever and secured tons of donations for the program. Rice is much better off for his having been there. The Owls have nothing to complain about.

If Todd Dodge leaves UNT for the same reasons next year, the only ones to blame will be ourselves for not being able to provide a better opportunity here. Graham wishes to climb the NCAA coaching ladder. Tulsa represents a step up for him. I hope he is a miserable failure there because I love UNT, but I understand why he took the job.

thats a very black and white, all-business way to look at it. I guess things like loyalty, keeping your word, finishing the job, etc dont get factored into the equation? Is there no differentiation in the position of a head coach of a college team and a Marketing Director or CEO? Just thinking out loud, feel free to contest

And I still maintain going from Rice to Tulsa is a lateral move AT BEST.

Edited January 12, 2007 by Eagle1855

[MeanGreenZen]

thats a very black and white, all-business way to look at it. I guess things like loyalty, keeping your word, finishing the job, etc dont get factored into the equation? Is there no differentiation in the position of a head coach of a college team and a Marketing Director or CEO? Just thinking out loud, feel free to contest

And I still maintain going from Rice to Tulsa is a lateral move AT BEST.

The responsibilites of being a D1 head football coach are very similar to being a CEO. College football IS a business.

Loyalty is important. And if all things are equal, loyalty should be the tiebreaker. But Tulsa is a step up from Rice. Todd Graham wouldn't have moved if he didn't think it was.

As far as Graham finishing the job... he took them to a bowl game. I'm sorry but that's as good as it is going to get at Rice. What do you want a freaking national title?

[GreenBat]

What do you want a freaking national title?

That's what they said about Rice baseball, a few years ago.

Of course they have a tournament, but why pick nits.

[Eagle1855]

The responsibilites of being a D1 head football coach are very similar to being a CEO. College football IS a business.

Loyalty is important. And if all things are equal, loyalty should be the tiebreaker. But Tulsa is a step up from Rice. Todd Graham wouldn't have moved if he didn't think it was.

As far as Graham finishing the job... he took them to a bowl game. I'm sorry but that's as good as it is going to get at Rice. What do you want a freaking national title?

well, they were one point away from playing in the C-USA championship, I think that would have been an attainable goal.

I personally would never be pleased with a 7-6 season and call that "as good as its gonna get" at a school like Rice, but thats just me.

And we'll just have to agree to disagree on the "step-up thing", as Rice is one of the better academic institutions in the nation, has a huge media market and a wealth of talent in its backyard. Graham showed in ONE season Rice could be a player. Meanwhile, Kragthorpe's Tulsa team, with all the advantages one could have in the hotbed that is Tulsa, OK lost 4 of their last 5 games (3 of 4 in a mediocre C-USA league).

So what if Graham thinks it's better? I don't always take what a coach says to be gospel, otherwise I would still be saying North Texas has one of the toughest situations in America. Personally, I think if he had stayed at Rice a couple more years, he could have hopped to an actual big program with no problem, for MORE money, and no one would have questioned it.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

Betrayal? Give me a break. A football coach can be fired at any time, for any reason. There is no lifetime guarantee given to him by a school.

So, to act sanctimonious when one coach leaves a school is hypocritical. No school promises to take care of a guy's family for life. Coaches get too much credit for winning and too much blame for losing. If a guy gets a better chance to take care of his family, no one should begrudge him - least of all fans, whose fickleness would have him canned in three seasons or less, if they didn't like his results.

Graham went to college in Oklahoma and was a former TU assistant, so him going to Tulsa isn't some "out of the blue" proposition. Some of you need to step away from the sports boards and collegiate athletics for a month or so and regain your grip on reality. And, I mean, seriously.

Edited January 12, 2007 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

[AnotherEagleFan]

Betrayal? Give me a break. A football coach can be fired at any time, for any reason. There is no lifetime guarantee given to him by a school.

But their salary is guaranteed. This guy just signed an extension. What is his penalty for not fulfilling his commitment? You can bet that had he gotten fired he would want his money. That has to be why saben went to Bama. The guarantee. he knew that his career in the NFL was going to be short. So take the money and the guarantee while the gettin is good.

[UNTLifer]

Betrayal? Give me a break. A football coach can be fired at any time, for any reason. There is no lifetime guarantee given to him by a school.

Kind of like DD getting fired and receiving $500,000. I wish I could get fired a couple of times with this set-up.

So, a coach can leave when the feeling strikes without owing the school he's leaving a dime, but a coach fails at his job, is fired, and gets paid off!? What's wrong with this picture?

What Graham has done stinks. Sign an extension on Tuesday and walk out the door on Thursday without saying a word to those you have asked to trust you to lead them to the promise land? Yes, he betrayed Rice, his players and the people that support the program. I hope Tulsa becomes the new Temple.

[AnotherEagleFan]

Kind of like DD getting fired and receiving $500,000. I wish I could get fired a couple of times with this set-up.

So, a coach can leave when the feeling strikes without owing the school he's leaving a dime, but a coach fails at his job, is fired, and gets paid off!? What's wrong with this picture?

What Graham has done stinks. Sign an extension on Tuesday and walk out the door on Thursday without saying a word to those you have asked to trust you to lead them to the promise land? Yes, he betrayed Rice, his players and the people that support the program. I hope Tulsa becomes the new Temple.

I AGREE... That is what I tried to say... Yours reads much better...

[SilverEagle]

I would think that after a while, some of these coaches who go from school to school would end up with a credibility problem with recruits. That would/could seriously compromise their effectiveness as recruiters.......which is a big part of their jobs.

I could be wrong however.......I sometimes am.

[GreenBat]

I could be wrong however.......I sometimes am.

Name one time you've been wrong?

[GrandGreen]

The responsibilites of being a D1 head football coach are very similar to being a CEO. College football IS a business.

Loyalty is important. And if all things are equal, loyalty should be the tiebreaker. But Tulsa is a step up from Rice. Todd Graham wouldn't have moved if he didn't think it was.

As far as Graham finishing the job... he took them to a bowl game. I'm sorry but that's as good as it is going to get at Rice. What do you want a freaking national title?

Actually the college sports to business comparison is not all that valid. Business goals are largely making a profit and being a socially responsible entity while doing it: providing jobs, needed goods or services, etc. Universities are largely tax exempt organizations with stated missions of providing education, research and development, etc. There are few universities that actually generate cash flows from their football teams. Many lower and mid programs don't cover expenses and rely on student fees and other fund transfers to even exist. Other teams up the chain quickly increase their football budgets to absorb any available funds.

At the top of the college football pyramid are the college pro-like teams such as Ohio State, UT, USC etc; who are actually generating huge positive cash flows. They are what is driving the current college arms race as others attempt to remain competitive. Because these teams are able to not only pay enormous salaries and build Taj Mahal level facilities for football, they are pouring big money into the so call minor sports. This of course has made the same handful of schools dominant in all sports that they want to fund.

If football was truly a business in a relatively short time you would have a complete collapse of college sports. Most teams do not make money and they would quickly disappear. The remaining schools might be able to survive in some form, but college sports as we know it would be gone.

[Go_UTA]

There is a certain odor to it, but I wouldn't call it a betrayal, either.

These guys do make a ton of money compared to most of us, but the job security is also very poor. If things don't go so well, the gravy train they are on is over in a few years. So, one has to make the best of it.

If the guy was offered a lot more money at Tulsa, as was reported, and Rice, given the chance didn't match it, then he would be absolutely nuts not to take it. In fact, I say he has a responsibility to his family to take it. As regretable as it would otherwise be, that's the decision I would make.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

Folks,

These are contracts - nothing more, nothing less. There are stipulations to every contract about who gets what depending on who breaks it before it ends. Rice won't be paying Graham for his decision to bolt. Nobody offers that kind of deal.

We pay Dickey because he still had a contract and we decided not to honor it. No big deal. We really didn't have the money to make that decision, but our AD nagged the board and new, uninformed president into it anyway. So, we pay two head coaches for a season or two. OU was still paying Gary Gibbs and John Blake the first couple of seasons Bob Stoops was on their sideline. Who cares?

Gibbs stayed out of coaching until OU stopped paying him, then he jumped back in. Nice little vacation courtesy of the OU athletic department. Same with Blake. The year OU finally payed off his contract, he got a job with Mississippi State. Tidy little vacation for him as well. Solich took a year off after Nebraska cut him loose before he jumped back in. Dickey will do the same. It doesn't matter.

Both parties bargain for what they get. All coaches' contracts at the Division I-A level are full of performance-based stipulations. But, even if the coach hits those levels, they can be cut loose. Also, they can forego and jump to a bigger deal if they so choose.

To sit around and pretend that, after one season, Todd Graham owes anybody anything is absurd. Todd Graham owes him and his family what all other coaches owe themselves and their families - the best deal out there. The schools know that going into the coach-signing game.

Rice is a school that clings to I-A existence anyway. As few butts as they put in the seats, they ought to keep their mouths shut and be grateful to be in the conference they are in. Give the "Rice got screwed" line a break. If Rice wanted to be a big boy, they'd throw big boy money at a coach.

Rice is what it is...an engineering school that used to be in a conference with big boys Texas, A&M, and Arkansas before the TV Deal/Super Conference/BCS Era struck. Screw 'em. We've got enough on our own platter in trying to get 20k+ in the stands consistently and getting people to help chip in for a new stadium to worry about what happens down at Rice. If Rice is "screwed", so be it. Maybe they'll leave I-A altogether and give us a better shot at getting out of the Sun Belt.

Honestly, you guys, think bigger.

Edited January 12, 2007 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

[NT80]

We pay Dickey because he still had a contract and we decided not to honor it. No big deal. We really didn't have the money to make that decision, but our AD nagged the board and new, uninformed president into it anyway.

I don't think he had to "nag" them too much if they watched some games the last two seasons. Things were heading south fast, including donations and support for other school areas. Look at what the new hire has done, bet he's already paid for his first year salary in new donations alone!