CKK has a second straight NIT appearance or gets invited to the Vegas tournament?
Is he canned? Does he get a meager extension?
Is he canned? Does he get a meager extension?
What if…
- Thread starter Rosegreen1
- Start date
I’m not so sure he has a 5 year contract and is going into year 4. Very possibly could get a meager 2-3 year extension with minimal buyout. Especially if football has another bowl game and sustaining success. The priority will be continuity on the football staff.
Can’t really call that success when the MW sends 5+ schools to the tourney and you aren’t one of them. If he’s not let go I don’t think they extend him.
Maybe. But the more success football has, the worse it is for basketball. Extending on the grounds of mediocrity sends a loud signal that basketball doesn’t matter much anymore. maybe that’s the message they want to send?
Lindy showed it, Odom showed it … you don’t need 5 years, you don’t need three years, regardless of your starting point.
I think the better the football team does, the more pressure on the basketball program. If UNLV wants to move into a major conference, then getting the basketball team on track along with football continuing to improve is important to show the value of UNLV on a national level! Another NIT invite would show that coach Kruger has reached his plateau, and I do not believe being in the middle of the MWC is acceptable.
If UNLV’s goal IS to become a football program with basketball secondary … there is no better time than NOW. You can say basketball has been so disappointing for so long that it’s the way anyway after last year. But that’s just one year, cart before the horse.
But internally, if that’s what UNLV really wants (with the ultimate goal getting into a better conference eventually), the time is NOW to sink all available resources into football. They’ve shown the potential and the focus/direction. If you’re going to do it, now is the time.
We can stay mediocre and direct more cash to football. Being mediocre is very easy. Don’t even have to try.
I think they are already sinking a lot of money into football. I believe they are closing in on a new indoor training facility for the football program that included a Boyd Gaming donation of $6.5 million back in March.
There are only so many finances to go around. Say Odom has another really good year, making the MW championship game.
Do you stretch your resources to try to extend Odom, or you essentially let him walk and try to bring in a new BB coach?
There are only so much money to go around. CKK has been arguably "mediocre", but he has been in the upper tier of the conference and is cheap.
I say if he makes the NIT again, then he doesn't get canned or extended. Basing that purely off of economics.
Sure, Odom's contract was extended after last season, but he really didn't get a notable pay bump. Another big year and he will be definitely due for a pay bump.
Or how about this? Odom gets hired away? What do we do then? Try to hire Marion for cheap? Go after another name/established HC Like a Patterson? We won't be able to go after 2 big fish in one offseason. Football pays the bills and is nearly exclusively the pathway to a better conference.
Do you stretch your resources to try to extend Odom, or you essentially let him walk and try to bring in a new BB coach?
There are only so much money to go around. CKK has been arguably "mediocre", but he has been in the upper tier of the conference and is cheap.
I say if he makes the NIT again, then he doesn't get canned or extended. Basing that purely off of economics.
Sure, Odom's contract was extended after last season, but he really didn't get a notable pay bump. Another big year and he will be definitely due for a pay bump.
Or how about this? Odom gets hired away? What do we do then? Try to hire Marion for cheap? Go after another name/established HC Like a Patterson? We won't be able to go after 2 big fish in one offseason. Football pays the bills and is nearly exclusively the pathway to a better conference.
It’s been apparent that Odom has been training Marion the way to run a program, Marion has been all over the field (not just offense) and different meetings etc. I think 2 years in the community and knowing how unlv is, Marion has a step up in that regard and is probably the HC in waiting.
Ideally you want another year or two with Marion as OC but if unlv is successful and gets hardware, it’s going to be tough to fend off the power schools. The other thing is you can pair him with an experienced coach as DC.
As for CKK, it is weird to say that yes his job status may depend on results he brings this year but there’s a football program on the rise and that is getting priority.
Lastly, I haven’t seen evidence of this (yet) with CKK and his mental health taking a toll since unlv is a tough job, it’s literally messed with coaches heads. We’ve seen Grg, Bayno, Spoon etc all flame out spectacularly and even more recently with Menzies. It’s not talked about a lot but Menzies became unhinged the last few months on the job, I mean really unhinged.
Ideally you want another year or two with Marion as OC but if unlv is successful and gets hardware, it’s going to be tough to fend off the power schools. The other thing is you can pair him with an experienced coach as DC.
As for CKK, it is weird to say that yes his job status may depend on results he brings this year but there’s a football program on the rise and that is getting priority.
Lastly, I haven’t seen evidence of this (yet) with CKK and his mental health taking a toll since unlv is a tough job, it’s literally messed with coaches heads. We’ve seen Grg, Bayno, Spoon etc all flame out spectacularly and even more recently with Menzies. It’s not talked about a lot but Menzies became unhinged the last few months on the job, I mean really unhinged.
CKK did raise his voice to an official once last season so maybe this is the beginning of the end in the same way that Dave Rice got a technical (although the ref totally overreacted, and Dave didn't deserve it.. legitimately).
As for Odom training Marion, this is EXCELLENT marketing by Odom for prospective replacements for coordinators. "Come here and I'll help to prepare you for your next step." Who wouldn't want to work for a mentor secure enough in getting that trainee ready to advance?!?!
As for Odom training Marion, this is EXCELLENT marketing by Odom for prospective replacements for coordinators. "Come here and I'll help to prepare you for your next step." Who wouldn't want to work for a mentor secure enough in getting that trainee ready to advance?!?!
I am not totally against having Marion the HCIW. Obviously, I would prefer Odom staying.
I just hesitate because we have seemingly found some level of success by going out and getting a proven HC that has been at least moderately successful at the highest level. Hiring Marion, who could be great, is essentially a return to trying it with a first time, unproven HC. Always better to hire from within from a successful HC leaving for greener pastures vs taking a coordinator from a different program, but still.
If Odom were to leave for greener pastures, it would give us some buyout money and the job would be at it's most attractive state. That could lead to hiring another proven HC.
I just hesitate because we have seemingly found some level of success by going out and getting a proven HC that has been at least moderately successful at the highest level. Hiring Marion, who could be great, is essentially a return to trying it with a first time, unproven HC. Always better to hire from within from a successful HC leaving for greener pastures vs taking a coordinator from a different program, but still.
If Odom were to leave for greener pastures, it would give us some buyout money and the job would be at it's most attractive state. That could lead to hiring another proven HC.
The difference from the past, is if he is truly working with Marion, then he will have picked up many of the skills needed to be a good head coach. When was the last head coach at UNLV that was good enough to even train an assistant let alone keep their own job?
I agree. Like I said, hiring a legacy player from a successful program tends to work better than bringing an outside coordinator.
Its a good problem to have IF it comes to that. But it is still a problem.
My point is that if we become a top MW team and a true playoff contender, then this job is going to look way more attractive than it did when Odom took the job. Do we want to pass on that potential just to go with Marion?
Maybe. It also depends on this offense. It was good last year, but could also stall quite a bit. The WR Corps looks stacked, a good RB group, and a veteran OL. The offense should be fired on nearly all cylinders this season. If it truly becomes something special, than that would make Marion look much more attractive as a HC.
All of is this is probably moot. I think Marion getting poached as a OC at a top school or a HC at a lower tier school is much more likely than Odom being poached after this season.
