Steve Sandmeyer breaks the "Can't Fire Romar" barrier

bananasnblondes

Mark Monday, January 26th, 2015 a historic day as a Seattle media personality had the courage to step up to the microphone and utter a phrase that no Seattle sports fan thought they would ever hear on a Seattle-based radio station or read in a Seattle newspaper. At 4:27 PM PST, 1090 The Fan's Steven Sandmeyer spoke the words, "If they don't make the tournament again this year, I would make the move." He qualified his remarks by saying that AD Scott Woodward would have to know ahead of time that one of his top 5 choices would be ready to accept the head coaching position and take over right away and that it would need to be someone who could keep most of the next recruiting class that Romar has put up as collateral against his firing.

Overall, I agree with everything he said. Romar seems to get an excuse every year (someone's hurt, someone got kicked off the team, wait til next year's guys get in) but it's not that much to ask to be the 5th best team in the conference and not lose to teams like Albany and Stony Brook at home. Just because he saw some success at a school thats not used to it doesn't mean he gets a lifelong contract to make the NIT every other year.

Gladstone

POTD.

Tequilla

Today's example of why Sandy is heads and shoulders the best radio going in Seattle at the moment.

JaWarrenJaHooker

Sandy has always been one of the good guys.

ThomasFremont

I like Sandmeyer, but that's a FS reaction to the Upshaw news.

-Pool Boy doesn't have anyone lined up.
-the recruits won't stay (maybe Thybulle and Crisp stay, Murray and the Cali kid definitely not).
-they're NOT making the tournament after Upshaw's dismissal. Probably a bubble team at best with him.

Fucking profile in courage.

doogsinparadise

Just about to poast what fremont said: it's pretty FS to jump right to worrying about replacement candidates. Make the first decision, which is to DTMF, and then go from there.

RoadDawg55

This should have happened at least one, if not two years ago.

Romar's going to get a chance with Murru and the recruiting class. We all know this.

Doogles

The problem with firing Romar is the only thing UW has going for itself is keeping Local elite talent at home. Anyone who doesn't think there will be a hometown support Romar block party featuring Nate Rob, Broy, Jamal Crawford, etc. is naive.

An influential group of professionals swears by him, it is literally impossible to fire Romar unless he completely implodes.

It's the kind of move that is necessary, but also not certifiable until a few years pass IF you make the right hire. It's a PR nightmare waiting to happen.

ThomasFremont

Doogles said:

The problem with firing Romar is the only thing UW has going for itself is keeping Local elite talent at home. Anyone who doesn't think there will be a hometown support Romar block party featuring Nate Rob, Broy, Jamal Crawford, etc. is naive.

An influential group of professionals swears by him, it is literally impossible to fire Romar unless he completely implodes.

It's the kind of move that is necessary, but also not certifiable until a few years pass IF you make the right hire. It's a PR nightmare waiting to happen.

This is actually a real concern. The local guys are very much in the Romar camp. If he is fired, you risk losing the support from the former players. Guys like B-Roy and Conroy are always at Garfield games. And a lot of the Beach guys donate a LOT of money to that program. They have a lot of influence over the young guys coming up.

As much as many here don't want to hear it, Romar is liked by the majority of the fans and alumni. Basketball isn't football. And he has never tanked hard enough to force his firing. If I was a betting man, he retires at UW. O/U is 5 years.

bananasnblondes

ThomasFremont said:

I like Sandmeyer, but that's a FS reaction to the Upshaw news.

-Pool Boy doesn't have anyone lined up.
-the recruits won't stay (maybe Thybulle and Crisp stay, Murray and the Cali kid definitely not).
-they're NOT making the tournament after Upshaw's dismissal. Probably a bubble team at best with him.

Fucking profile in courage.

What he said was not in response to the Upshaw thing, but rather in response to a trend of Romar not making the dance and not getting much out of the players he recruits.

ThomasFremont

bananasnblondes said:

ThomasFremont said:

I like Sandmeyer, but that's a FS reaction to the Upshaw news.

-Pool Boy doesn't have anyone lined up.
-the recruits won't stay (maybe Thybulle and Crisp stay, Murray and the Cali kid definitely not).
-they're NOT making the tournament after Upshaw's dismissal. Probably a bubble team at best with him.

Fucking profile in courage.

What he said was not in response to the Upshaw thing, but rather in response to a trend of Romar not making the dance and not getting much out of the players he recruits.

Except he said it right after the Upshaw news broke...man the fuck up and say it before the season starts.

bananasnblondes

He might have said it before the season started. I'm not sure. My original post was for comedic drama. The point is, he's the only media member in Seattle that has any kind of balls when it comes to Romar and his trend of mediocre/bad results. To everyone else (mainly people who have absolutely no stock in UW basketball), it's the same tired "Romar is a great man. He has integrity. The program can't do any better. We should be happy with what he's given us. He's good for the community." In fact, people all over dawgman and other places are currently falling all over themselves saying what a great man Romar is for kicking Upshaw off the team, and how it's too bad that the rest of the season is for shit now but it's good to have a coach who has standards. Why isn't anybody asking why we are doomed by losing 1 player and why the other 11 players on the team look lost on the court and still look like they did when they got to UW?

ThomasFremont

bananasnblondes said:

He might have said it before the season started. I'm not sure. My original post was for comedic drama. The point is, he's the only media member in Seattle that has any kind of balls when it comes to Romar and his trend of mediocre/bad results. To everyone else (mainly people who have absolutely no stock in UW basketball), it's the same tired "Romar is a great man. He has integrity. The program can't do any better. We should be happy with what he's given us. He's good for the community." In fact, people all over dawgman and other places are currently falling all over themselves saying what a great man Romar is for kicking Upshaw off the team, and how it's too bad that the rest of the season is for shit now but it's good to have a coach who has standards. Why isn't anybody asking why we are doomed by losing 1 player and why the other 11 players on the team look lost on the court and still look like they did when they got to UW?

Most college teams not named Kentucky are doomed when they lose their best player. This isn't a Romar thing. There are valid criticisms to make, why are you bothering with this drivel?

sarktastic

A lot of Seattle fans don't appreciate greatness.

RoadDawg55

Doogles said:

The problem with firing Romar is the only thing UW has going for itself is keeping Local elite talent at home. Anyone who doesn't think there will be a hometown support Romar block party featuring Nate Rob, Broy, Jamal Crawford, etc. is naive.

An influential group of professionals swears by him, it is literally impossible to fire Romar unless he completely implodes.

It's the kind of move that is necessary, but also not certifiable until a few years pass IF you make the right hire. It's a PR nightmare waiting to happen.

I'm sure that is somewhat of a concern, but is it really that important? UW basketball attendance has been declining for a few years, right along with the product on the floor. The local talent has other reasons for staying home other than B-Roy, Nate, Crawford, IT, etc.

The PR nightmare will be more about firing the most successful coach in the history of the program. There are always some backlash for firing a coach unless they go 0-12 like Ty. This is Seattle. Dumb fucks actually whined about Gilby not getting a fair chance.

I wish we would have already fired Romar, but what I wish for isn't reality and I agree with Thomas. Romar would probably have to go two or three more years without reaching the tournament in order to get fired.

I do appreciate Sandmeyer talking about firing Romar because it gets more people talking about it.

unfrozencaveman

Fire is a harsh word. I prefer "let go" or "transition"

There has to be a classy way of doing it. Romar is a great guy who has done a lot for the program over the past decade. Recrootin' is solid. Just not a good X's and O's coach

Sometime in the near future, perhaps transition him into the AD....keep him involved. Fundraising, or something like that. Do you think money is an issue at this point? Would he want to coach elsewhere?

GreenRiverGatorz

Fire Romar and you risk losing everything. All of the impressive alumni we have in the NBA? None of them will give any support to the program again; Romar was a god to them. That recruiting class, the only single thing we have to look forward to in the future, would completely disintegrate. Then the big question, who the hell do we hire? Nobody is knocking down walls to come coach at a middle-of-the-road program in a shitty conference that sees less fan support with each passing year. Get rid of Romar, and we are immediately in the Pac-12 cellar, where we would remain for a very long time. Get used to being a middling program with the occasional shot at a conference title and tournament run, this is as good as it gets. Let Cal football be a lesson to everyone.

sarktastic

GreenRiverGatorz said:

Fire Romar and you risk losing everything. All of the impressive alumni we have in the NBA? None of them will give any support to the program again; Romar was a god to them. That recruiting class, the only single thing we have to look forward to in the future, would completely disintegrate. Then the big question, who the hell do we hire? Nobody is knocking down walls to come coach at a middle-of-the-road program in a shitty conference that sees less fan support with each passing year. Get rid of Romar, and we are immediately in the Pac-12 cellar, where we would remain for a very long time. Get used to being a middling program with the occasional shot at a conference title and tournament run, this is as good as it gets. Let Cal football be a lesson to everyone.

Hard to argue with a classmate of Auburndawg.

SevenEleven

GreenRiverGatorz said:

Fire Romar and you risk losing everything.

You can't lose everything when you have nothing.

Who gives a shit if you take a step back from Romar? The program is going on 4 years without a tournament and will be relying on freshmen next year, which is something Romar has never done well with. 5 years of no tournament and you keep the coach?

Afraid of losing recruits that he will underacheive with? Who gives a shit about high school kids? A good coach will get enough local kids, and if he doesn't he'll fucking win games anyway by means of actually having a fucking gameplan.

Might a new coach do worse? Sure. But Romar is not getting this program turned around. He did well when Lute was senile and Zona going into the tank for a few years, when Montgomery was out of the league. Ben Braun, Jay John & Herb evans were about the average coaches in the league. Howland beating players was the best thing in the conference by far. Big Ern did the same at UO when the coaching sucked.

Romar's a bottom tier coach in the current Pac-12. Not sure there is a coach in the league that is certainly worse. Alford, Cuonzo and the FGC guy at least have a little time to wait and see.

Local recruits aren't going to save the program with Romar "coaching" them

RoadDawg55

GreenRiverGatorz said:

Fire Romar and you risk losing everything. All of the impressive alumni we have in the NBA? None of them will give any support to the program again; Romar was a god to them. That recruiting class, the only single thing we have to look forward to in the future, would completely disintegrate. Then the big question, who the hell do we hire? Nobody is knocking down walls to come coach at a middle-of-the-road program in a shitty conference that sees less fan support with each passing year. Get rid of Romar, and we are immediately in the Pac-12 cellar, where we would remain for a very long time. Get used to being a middling program with the occasional shot at a conference title and tournament run, this is as good as it gets. Let Cal football be a lesson to everyone.

I don't know if this is a whoosh or not, but I completely disagree. Hiring a new coach is always a risk, but if you hire the right coach, they will win. They shouldn't keep Romar to appease some local NBA players. I do reluctantly agree about the recruiting class, which is why Romar should have been fired a year or two ago.

The NBA players don't do much, if anything for the program. It's a nice story in the paper, but they really don't. They like Romar, BFD. They play all over Seattle, not just at UW. I know B-Roy has an AAU team, but there are tons of capable basketball players. Recruiting in basketball is hardly the same as football. You can also recruit abroad if you bring in a coach with those connections. Some of those guys would want to go to UW anyways to play in front of friends and family.

dhdawg

sandmeyer runs the only somewhat listenable radio show in all of seattle

SevenEleven said:

GreenRiverGatorz said:

Fire Romar and you risk losing everything.

You can't lose everything when you have nothing.

Who gives a shit if you take a step back from Romar? The program is going on 4 years without a tournament and will be relying on freshmen next year, which is something Romar has never done well with. 5 years of no tournament and you keep the coach?

Afraid of losing recruits that he will underacheive with? Who gives a shit about high school kids? A good coach will get enough local kids, and if he doesn't he'll fucking win games anyway by means of actually having a fucking gameplan.

Might a new coach do worse? Sure. But Romar is not getting this program turned around. He did well when Lute was senile and Zona going into the tank for a few years, when Montgomery was out of the league. Ben Braun, Jay John & Herb evans were about the average coaches in the league. Howland beating players was the best thing in the conference by far. Big Ern did the same at UO when the coaching sucked.

Romar's a bottom tier coach in the current Pac-12. Not sure there is a coach in the league that is certainly worse. Alford, Cuonzo and the FGC guy at least have a little time to wait and see.

Local recruits aren't going to save the program with Romar "coaching" them

Every PAC~12 coach sucks outside of krystowiak and and miller
That said id still take 7-8 of them over romar