I initially wasn't sure if Saturday would be the day or whether Terry Mohajir would wait until next week to make the move. For the past few weeks, I've sensed the end was near and believed only a conference tournament championship would buy Greg Lovelady another year.
In my update/poll post on Friday night, I probably could have done a better job in conveying Lovelady's early success when you consider how dismal the program was when he took over. The 2018 and 2019 teams easily could have been NCAA Regional teams, just were a win or two away and ended up on the outside looking in. Injuries played a role. And 2020 looked like it was going to be a great season.
I thought Eric Lopez and Brian Murphy did a great job talking about the Lovelady era in a video they published Saturday night, which you can view here:
***
I'm told this will be a thorough search process. There is no favorite. There are some commonly associated names, but there will likely be others that emerge now that the job is open. There will be current head coaches as well as top assistants vying for the job. And maybe some out of the box candidates. More on that possibility at the end of this post.
It probably won't be a quick process. Some of the candidates will be coaching in NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals, so it's possible there may not be a hire for 2-3 weeks.
UCF went from a decent/good to a great job moving into the Big 12, which is a top three baseball conference. Facilities are okay, but could be a lot better. The recent $5M donation will go a long way to fund improvements.
Personally, if I had to prioritize one aspect, it would be a coach with a strong track record in recruiting-- in Florida. It sounds crazy that a team in the middle of Florida doesn't take advantage of being in one of the best states for baseball talent, but it seems like Rooney and Lovelady spent a lot of time outside the state when it really wasn't necessary.
***
The Transfer Portal for baseball opens on Monday. I would anticipate many UCF players entering due to the coaching uncertainty. That's just how things go these days.
***
In case you were wondering, UCF's 2023 recruiting class is ranked No. 42 by Perfect Game. That's a great ranking. I'm sure some of it is attributed to RHP Charlee Soto. He's a likely MLB Draft first-round pick and at this point would be a longshot to ever make it to campus.
www.perfectgame.org
***
I am formulating a hot board of candidates that I hope to post soon. Maybe on Sunday or Memorial Day. In the meantime, this is about as juicy of a rumor as it gets. The following is a DM I received on Saturday night from a well-known Dungeon member who wishes to remain anonymous (at least for now, he can chime in if he wants):
===
Brandon,
So, you know how people always joke on the board about overhearing a conversation or meeting some stranger at a airport bar (or whatever), and it leads to some sort of credible Intel about the future of a sport?
Well, I’m in [redacted Florida resort spot], and my family and I were at dinner. Two couples at town, and the men started chatting. It was clear that they didn’t know each other – some sort of double date or whatever. And one of them says that he is a baseball scout, who has worked in various companies, including MLB and TB Rays.
They both must’ve been Florida people – though it was unclear what city or College – and, the scout says, “did you hear that Lovelady got fired?“
He then begins to say that everyone knew it was gonna happen, unless they made a deep run into the tournament, which was unlikely. And then, he says this….
“Joe Girardi wants to be the next head coach. He lives in Winter Park, and he wants to get back in the coaching. He thinks this will be a good bridge job. He could lead them into the Big 12, and after a few years get back into the MLB. He would have to hire a recruiting coordinator, who really knows what he’s doing, but he thinks that he could have success with his coaching background, his reputation, and with a good staff around him.“
I don’t really want to post this on the board, because – quite frankly – I have no credible back-up to the story, and it sounds like the typical made-up crap that we hear all the time from people who want to stir the pot, which I usually roll my eyes are. But, this time it really happened. Also, I don’t really like posting rumors on the board.
I thought I would share it with you.
Have you heard anything like this?
===
Here's the deal - I have been hearing this! I've heard about it for more than a month.
Even though he's no longer coaching in MLB, I feel like Joe Girardi is one of the biggest managerial names in the sport who really needs no introduction. But for those who don't follow baseball as much... He's a four-time World Series Champion with the New York Yankees - three as a player (1996, 1998, 1999) and once as their manager (2009). After a long playing career, he's managed the Marlins (2006), Yankees (2008-17) and Phillies (2020-22). His Phillies stint ended abruptly as he was fired midway through the 2022 season and they ended up winning the National League.
With Lovelady still coaching, I felt it was inappropriate to share coaching chatter gossip when I initially heard it. But the Joe Girardi rumors have bubbled up again over the last couple days. @insidedungeon hinted at it yesterday and I received a few messages from those in coaching community about his interest earlier in the day on Saturday as well. I was flabbergasted when I got the DM from a Dungeon member about the overheard conversation because he was indeed a name I was going to include on a hot board that I knew would blow people's minds.
Girardi has a son who plays at FIU. He's also been to UCF before (old tweet below).
The big question: How would a lifetime MLBer translate to the college game? It's the same sport, but a completely different ballgame in terms of the day-to-day tasks and recruiting.
Without knowing much else, I think it would be a longshot but who knows? If Girardi wants to interview, you give him that opportunity, right?
In my update/poll post on Friday night, I probably could have done a better job in conveying Lovelady's early success when you consider how dismal the program was when he took over. The 2018 and 2019 teams easily could have been NCAA Regional teams, just were a win or two away and ended up on the outside looking in. Injuries played a role. And 2020 looked like it was going to be a great season.
I thought Eric Lopez and Brian Murphy did a great job talking about the Lovelady era in a video they published Saturday night, which you can view here:
***
I'm told this will be a thorough search process. There is no favorite. There are some commonly associated names, but there will likely be others that emerge now that the job is open. There will be current head coaches as well as top assistants vying for the job. And maybe some out of the box candidates. More on that possibility at the end of this post.
It probably won't be a quick process. Some of the candidates will be coaching in NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals, so it's possible there may not be a hire for 2-3 weeks.
UCF went from a decent/good to a great job moving into the Big 12, which is a top three baseball conference. Facilities are okay, but could be a lot better. The recent $5M donation will go a long way to fund improvements.
Personally, if I had to prioritize one aspect, it would be a coach with a strong track record in recruiting-- in Florida. It sounds crazy that a team in the middle of Florida doesn't take advantage of being in one of the best states for baseball talent, but it seems like Rooney and Lovelady spent a lot of time outside the state when it really wasn't necessary.
***
The Transfer Portal for baseball opens on Monday. I would anticipate many UCF players entering due to the coaching uncertainty. That's just how things go these days.
***
In case you were wondering, UCF's 2023 recruiting class is ranked No. 42 by Perfect Game. That's a great ranking. I'm sure some of it is attributed to RHP Charlee Soto. He's a likely MLB Draft first-round pick and at this point would be a longshot to ever make it to campus.
University of Central Florida - Perfect Game Baseball Player College Commitments
Perfect Game
www.perfectgame.org
***
I am formulating a hot board of candidates that I hope to post soon. Maybe on Sunday or Memorial Day. In the meantime, this is about as juicy of a rumor as it gets. The following is a DM I received on Saturday night from a well-known Dungeon member who wishes to remain anonymous (at least for now, he can chime in if he wants):
===
Brandon,
So, you know how people always joke on the board about overhearing a conversation or meeting some stranger at a airport bar (or whatever), and it leads to some sort of credible Intel about the future of a sport?
Well, I’m in [redacted Florida resort spot], and my family and I were at dinner. Two couples at town, and the men started chatting. It was clear that they didn’t know each other – some sort of double date or whatever. And one of them says that he is a baseball scout, who has worked in various companies, including MLB and TB Rays.
They both must’ve been Florida people – though it was unclear what city or College – and, the scout says, “did you hear that Lovelady got fired?“
He then begins to say that everyone knew it was gonna happen, unless they made a deep run into the tournament, which was unlikely. And then, he says this….
“Joe Girardi wants to be the next head coach. He lives in Winter Park, and he wants to get back in the coaching. He thinks this will be a good bridge job. He could lead them into the Big 12, and after a few years get back into the MLB. He would have to hire a recruiting coordinator, who really knows what he’s doing, but he thinks that he could have success with his coaching background, his reputation, and with a good staff around him.“
I don’t really want to post this on the board, because – quite frankly – I have no credible back-up to the story, and it sounds like the typical made-up crap that we hear all the time from people who want to stir the pot, which I usually roll my eyes are. But, this time it really happened. Also, I don’t really like posting rumors on the board.
I thought I would share it with you.
Have you heard anything like this?
===
Here's the deal - I have been hearing this! I've heard about it for more than a month.
Even though he's no longer coaching in MLB, I feel like Joe Girardi is one of the biggest managerial names in the sport who really needs no introduction. But for those who don't follow baseball as much... He's a four-time World Series Champion with the New York Yankees - three as a player (1996, 1998, 1999) and once as their manager (2009). After a long playing career, he's managed the Marlins (2006), Yankees (2008-17) and Phillies (2020-22). His Phillies stint ended abruptly as he was fired midway through the 2022 season and they ended up winning the National League.
With Lovelady still coaching, I felt it was inappropriate to share coaching chatter gossip when I initially heard it. But the Joe Girardi rumors have bubbled up again over the last couple days. @insidedungeon hinted at it yesterday and I received a few messages from those in coaching community about his interest earlier in the day on Saturday as well. I was flabbergasted when I got the DM from a Dungeon member about the overheard conversation because he was indeed a name I was going to include on a hot board that I knew would blow people's minds.
Girardi has a son who plays at FIU. He's also been to UCF before (old tweet below).
The big question: How would a lifetime MLBer translate to the college game? It's the same sport, but a completely different ballgame in terms of the day-to-day tasks and recruiting.
Without knowing much else, I think it would be a longshot but who knows? If Girardi wants to interview, you give him that opportunity, right?
