During the annual booster tour, the golf tournament was a bigger deal under Bowden, and when it came to my community, I played in it.....my partner for about 4 or 5 years was a Vice President of the Booster organization. Been around the program a while. We would talk a lot of stuff but mostly the program.
One year, there was a lot of talk about the fact that Barron refused to renew Jimbos contract to keep it at 5 years, so Jimbo only had four left in the deal. Barron publicly said he just wasn't gonna renegotiate the contract every year, it was a waste of time.
People were clamouring because when you ask a kid to commit its often for five years with a redshirt and they want to know their coach is going to be there too...Jimbo and Sexton's argument (think about that).
I asked the booster VP about that, because it just didn't feel right to me. Sounded like there might be a little more to it.
The Booster VP, said to answer the question he had to paint a picture, and he was politically correct enough to make sure I understood he really liked Jimbo, but.....
He said when he went to Bobby's office or had meeting with Bobby, you never really knew where things stood, because Bobby had a charisma that made you feel good, but his philosphy was "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer", so sometimes you loved Bobby but you never really knew what he was thinking.
He said Jimbo was the kind of guy to tackle you coming in the door, get you in a choke hold and beat the answer out of you he wanted to hear. He lacked normally accepted office professionalism, and had the kind of personality that would rub you raw. At the time there was also some focus on his sideline demeanor with quarterbacks especially. The Booster VP told me that the refusal to give him the additional year included some guidance on conduct for leaders and representatives of the University.
The Booster VP said Jimbo desperately needed some of this, but also said that some of it was as about being used to Bobby and his smoothness, and Jimbo was about as smooth as a gravel road.
I did see that in Jimbo, and I don't really think Jimbo and Jimmy were that concerned about program continuity after all.
I had a peer in the corporate world tell me one time our boss told him "ED, you can come in here and complain about things once in a while and be right, and I will help you with it", But "Ed, if you come in here every week complaining about something and you are dead right about it, I will still grow old of you". Ed told me he cut down on the complaining.... Wonder what Jimbo did?
One year, there was a lot of talk about the fact that Barron refused to renew Jimbos contract to keep it at 5 years, so Jimbo only had four left in the deal. Barron publicly said he just wasn't gonna renegotiate the contract every year, it was a waste of time.
People were clamouring because when you ask a kid to commit its often for five years with a redshirt and they want to know their coach is going to be there too...Jimbo and Sexton's argument (think about that).
I asked the booster VP about that, because it just didn't feel right to me. Sounded like there might be a little more to it.
The Booster VP, said to answer the question he had to paint a picture, and he was politically correct enough to make sure I understood he really liked Jimbo, but.....
He said when he went to Bobby's office or had meeting with Bobby, you never really knew where things stood, because Bobby had a charisma that made you feel good, but his philosphy was "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer", so sometimes you loved Bobby but you never really knew what he was thinking.
He said Jimbo was the kind of guy to tackle you coming in the door, get you in a choke hold and beat the answer out of you he wanted to hear. He lacked normally accepted office professionalism, and had the kind of personality that would rub you raw. At the time there was also some focus on his sideline demeanor with quarterbacks especially. The Booster VP told me that the refusal to give him the additional year included some guidance on conduct for leaders and representatives of the University.
The Booster VP said Jimbo desperately needed some of this, but also said that some of it was as about being used to Bobby and his smoothness, and Jimbo was about as smooth as a gravel road.
I did see that in Jimbo, and I don't really think Jimbo and Jimmy were that concerned about program continuity after all.
I had a peer in the corporate world tell me one time our boss told him "ED, you can come in here and complain about things once in a while and be right, and I will help you with it", But "Ed, if you come in here every week complaining about something and you are dead right about it, I will still grow old of you". Ed told me he cut down on the complaining.... Wonder what Jimbo did?
