As I posted earlier in the evening, it's still kind of weird to me the progression of how this played out in the public eye. Earlier in the afternoon, I heard from a UCF source that there were hopes a deal would be finalized very soon, decision has been made. It was not likely I'd get a name from this source. It was more along the lines of being ready for something to happen soon. I think that was around 4 p.m.
I sat on it for a little while hitting up some coaching community sources. If the offer went to a few names I've been posting about, I was fairly confident I'd get an idea pretty quickly if it was them. A Gus rumor started circulating around that time, that he was the guy, but I had no connections or sources to Gus. I figured he interviewed, but he was the only name I couldn't independently verify ahead of time.
Jason Beede and the Auburn guys at 247 were the first report the offer, then the Sentinel (Bianchi) jumped on it too. I learned that it was definitely a "Gus people" leak (not UCF), maybe from his agent, Jimmy Sexton. Some people have thought it was kind of weird in how the leak was more about Gus getting the offer, but also saying Gus hadn't accepted. Now, few people around here know how TMo operates, but an offer would usually only come after negotiation and verbal agreement has already taken place. So if you let it get that far, you should be accepting. And, it doesn't make sense for Gus and his agent to negotiate publicly because UCF likely is no position to up any sort of offer.
Maybe Gus' people liked the idea of a "offer" being floated publicly before it became finalized to the point of accepting? I don't know. I have no reason to believe he won't accept though.
I never had a great feeling about Lebby due to TMo's comments to the team about "not getting married to one guy." It was understandable he'd say that, but I think he was trying to prep the team for what would become his top choice (Gus).
There was a rumor that did come out on Saturday that TMo was said to prefer a coach with HC experience. So Gus made sense there.
Most of Auburn's 2020 staff has landed jobs elsewhere, so I'm not sure who Gus might have in mind for coaches at UCF. He'll also have a substantially smaller assistant budget than SEC, obviously. He's been around the block at various schools, I'm sure he can put together a good staff. If it was Lebby, I think I already knew pretty much the entire staff.
I am wondering how the players will receive this. Dillon Gabriel, at the top of the list, obviously. We've already seen his social media drama tonight. Gus' offenses don't particularly mesh with DG's skill set. That's a concern for sure. Randy Shannon has been a calming influence. If he departs, that could cause issues as well. That's not my speculation - it's stuff I'm hearing tonight from multiple people connected to players.
But nothing was guaranteed in all of this. I always thought the "We Want Lebby" movement was setting up for disappointment.
The good news if you're the new staff is that players are locked in for this semester. They could always hit the transfer portal now, but they can't physically up and leave school and transfer somewhere else until the summer. So that gives Gus and his staff ample time to win the players over.
I'm sure there's drama almost everywhere when there's a coaching change. But players have more power than they ever have due to the transfer portal and forthcoming immediate eligibility.
I sat on it for a little while hitting up some coaching community sources. If the offer went to a few names I've been posting about, I was fairly confident I'd get an idea pretty quickly if it was them. A Gus rumor started circulating around that time, that he was the guy, but I had no connections or sources to Gus. I figured he interviewed, but he was the only name I couldn't independently verify ahead of time.
Jason Beede and the Auburn guys at 247 were the first report the offer, then the Sentinel (Bianchi) jumped on it too. I learned that it was definitely a "Gus people" leak (not UCF), maybe from his agent, Jimmy Sexton. Some people have thought it was kind of weird in how the leak was more about Gus getting the offer, but also saying Gus hadn't accepted. Now, few people around here know how TMo operates, but an offer would usually only come after negotiation and verbal agreement has already taken place. So if you let it get that far, you should be accepting. And, it doesn't make sense for Gus and his agent to negotiate publicly because UCF likely is no position to up any sort of offer.
Maybe Gus' people liked the idea of a "offer" being floated publicly before it became finalized to the point of accepting? I don't know. I have no reason to believe he won't accept though.
I never had a great feeling about Lebby due to TMo's comments to the team about "not getting married to one guy." It was understandable he'd say that, but I think he was trying to prep the team for what would become his top choice (Gus).
There was a rumor that did come out on Saturday that TMo was said to prefer a coach with HC experience. So Gus made sense there.
Most of Auburn's 2020 staff has landed jobs elsewhere, so I'm not sure who Gus might have in mind for coaches at UCF. He'll also have a substantially smaller assistant budget than SEC, obviously. He's been around the block at various schools, I'm sure he can put together a good staff. If it was Lebby, I think I already knew pretty much the entire staff.
I am wondering how the players will receive this. Dillon Gabriel, at the top of the list, obviously. We've already seen his social media drama tonight. Gus' offenses don't particularly mesh with DG's skill set. That's a concern for sure. Randy Shannon has been a calming influence. If he departs, that could cause issues as well. That's not my speculation - it's stuff I'm hearing tonight from multiple people connected to players.
But nothing was guaranteed in all of this. I always thought the "We Want Lebby" movement was setting up for disappointment.
The good news if you're the new staff is that players are locked in for this semester. They could always hit the transfer portal now, but they can't physically up and leave school and transfer somewhere else until the summer. So that gives Gus and his staff ample time to win the players over.
I'm sure there's drama almost everywhere when there's a coaching change. But players have more power than they ever have due to the transfer portal and forthcoming immediate eligibility.
