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CONFIRMED: Chris Lemonis reportedly headed to Mississippi State

We posted at basically the same time. You said you were hearing this 30 minutes after Kendall Rogers tweeted it. Had to go with a national reporter over someone potentially starting a rumor. My apologies.
but, it wasn't a rumor - was it?
 
but, it wasn't a rumor - was it?

You didn’t attribute it to anything. That’s what I took issue with. Guess I could’ve just posted the tweet in the same thread, but again, I posted at the same time and didn’t realize it so I just deleted one of the duplicate threads.

If you still have issues with how I handled it after that explanation, feel free to send me a private message.
 
If this turns out to be the case, great for Coach Lemonis. Mississippi State would be a tough job to turn down.

If we are looking again, I hope Travis Jewett gets a call.



Let's hire a guy that is 52-64 in 2 years.


But, I mean if he comes cheap, Fred would hire him.
 
So our last two coaches have left for college baseball powerhouses. Quite amazing acatually. This is like a school feeding a coach to Duke and UNC in hoops.
 
Wish we could get Purdues coach - Waz - He's destin for a big job.

Googins has ties to IU, but hasn't won big yet, so I'm wondering if they'll go coach Waz style and hire an asst from a major program like Oregon St or something.
 
$380k??

Wow. That $50mil BigTen annual payout sure doesn't go to coach salaries
How much do you think a B1G baseball coach should make? What is he getting to go to Miss St?

My guess is he is not leaving because of the $$$! He chance of winning big in the SEC is much greater than it is at IU or any northern school.
 
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I realize that IU baseball is not Miss. St, but neither was Louisville Baseball when McDonnell and Lemonis helped build that program. McDonnell has turned away powerhouse suitors multiple times. I realize he has More proven years as head coach than Lemonis, but I would have thought maybe Lemonis would have remained loyal and tried to replicate what happened at UL. Guess not.
 
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How much do you think a B1G baseball coach should make? What is he getting to go to Miss St?

My guess is he is not leaving because of the $$$! He chance of winning big in the SEC is much greater than it is at IU or any northern school.


My guess is that he is leaving because of the money.
 
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Interesting comment from the guy who said Lemonis 'never seemed happy' at IU, and the fans 'never embraced him' as they did Smith. I have the same perception of the situation, although I admit I am light on proof. I think the main thing is he seems to lack the 'warm and fuzzy' personality Smith had.

Also interesting that the same guy commented that he thought CL would be 'gone in a week'. I wonder if there were informal contacts made a long time ago and this was a done deal sometime back. It might explain why Glass never publicly commented on re-upping with CL, and there seemed to be so little attempt to do so. I admit I have no inside info on this point but I do know for a fact that all was not well with the IU team this year.

He had 4 classes in the top 50 nationally, but none in the top 25. However, he had accumulated a team with top 20 overall talent this year, imo. So.......someone was either doing a good job of scouting/evaluating, or they have been developing players, or both.
 
I see no Indiana connection there......why do you think he'd come here?

He was interested in the job when Coach Smith left, a finalist I believe, didn’t get it and stayed at Vandy a couple more years before going to Tulane. He has a very solid background, recruited Indiana well while at Vandy and Is well respected in the field. I would like to think the IU job would be of interest even though he is now at a southern school.

I believe Coach Lemonis was the second highest paid coach in the B1G behind only Coach Beal at O$U, a similar offer should top Tulane in the $ category. There is tremendous potential at IU IMO.
 
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I realize that IU baseball is not Miss. St, but neither was Louisville Baseball when McDonnell and Lemonis helped build that program. McDonnell has turned away powerhouse suitors multiple times. I realize he has More proven years as head coach than Lemonis, but I would have thought maybe Lemonis would have remained loyal and tried to replicate what happened at UL. Guess not.
Yes, no loyalty by Lemonis, he was merely using IU as a stepping stone. This program has great potential and college baseball is getting more exposure. I agree with many of the posts that Glass should pay a lot more for this job and get IU a really great coach that will stay. Also, with the season MSU had, I don’t know why they would not just hire their Interim Coach.
 
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Well, sh*t. Hope we find somebody better than he was and IU continues to improve and we end up doing better than MSU, just like our last coaching change.
 
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Interesting comment from the guy who said Lemonis 'never seemed happy' at IU, and the fans 'never embraced him' as they did Smith. I have the same perception of the situation, although I admit I am light on proof. I think the main thing is he seems to lack the 'warm and fuzzy' personality Smith had.

Also interesting that the same guy commented that he thought CL would be 'gone in a week'. I wonder if there were informal contacts made a long time ago and this was a done deal sometime back. It might explain why Glass never publicly commented on re-upping with CL, and there seemed to be so little attempt to do so. I admit I have no inside info on this point but I do know for a fact that all was not well with the IU team this year.

He had 4 classes in the top 50 nationally, but none in the top 25. However, he had accumulated a team with top 20 overall talent this year, imo. So.......someone was either doing a good job of scouting/evaluating, or they have been developing players, or both.

I don't think it was a done deal sometime back. I'm sure they sniffed him out a bit, but the Louisville coach was the prime target. CL was probably the backup plan.
 
My guess is that he is leaving because of the money.
If its only about the money then shame on Glass for not matching or upping his contract. This is 2 really good coaches that we have let leave. Im not sure what happened with Smith but it could have been about the money. I know baseball doesnt bring in money like basketball and football does but there should be money there for it. I dont know what CL was making or what Miss St is going to pay him but I would at least like to hear, "well we tried to match the offer but it was a better opporturnity".
 
If its only about the money then shame on Glass for not matching or upping his contract. This is 2 really good coaches that we have let leave. Im not sure what happened with Smith but it could have been about the money. I know baseball doesnt bring in money like basketball and football does but there should be money there for it. I dont know what CL was making or what Miss St is going to pay him but I would at least like to hear, "well we tried to match the offer but it was a better opporturnity".

Why would anyone think it was only about money? The SEC is the best ball in the country. CCL had no ties to IU before he was hired.

We've lost coaches to two of the top 10 or 15 programs in the history of college baseball. ASU and MSU are swings that these guys have to take. Prestigious programs, better weather, lots of history and bigger paychecks.

It's a good thing that these programs want our guys.
 
My early "most wanted" guy is Ben Greenspan. He had the number one rated recruiting class last year (I think, could be off a year)... He has ties to IU. Seems a good fit...
 
Lemonis replaces the HC that resigned earlier in the year that was making $533k/yearly so the $ is a little higher there but Lemonis was the 2nd highest paid Big 10 coach from what others had previously noted. I think Total package was around $385k at IU. Not terrible for a guy IU hired as a lead assistant.

Thanks to Lemonis and good luck. He recruited well at IU at a high level, produced some talent into the MLB, and was able to win. We can complain he didn’t get a Big 10 championship but still led them to the NCAA tournament 3 of 4 years.

Miss State has great facilities (big stadium) and has a long baseball history. Will return
a lot from team that obviously made deep run in college World Series.

Can’t fault Lemonis for taking it. Most thought he would be the guy to go to Louisville but the Louisville coach chose not to take the Miss St job.

IU can find a quality coach though. No doubt many head coaches at other mid major programs and assistants at high major programs will be interested. Will be interesting to see what Fred can do. Lemonis had some quality instate and out of state kids committed for future classes. Hopefully, the right coach can keep the program moving well.
 
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If its only about the money then shame on Glass for not matching or upping his contract. This is 2 really good coaches that we have let leave. Im not sure what happened with Smith but it could have been about the money. I know baseball doesnt bring in money like basketball and football does but there should be money there for it. I dont know what CL was making or what Miss St is going to pay him but I would at least like to hear, "well we tried to match the offer but it was a better opporturnity".


MSU apparently was interested in Coach McDonnell from U of L who is reported to make $1M per year. Have to think MSU was offering him a pay cut. While I doubt Coach Lemonis is getting $1M, I would guess $750K essentially doubling what he was making at IU is in the range.

I doubt this was a done deal before the playoffs began, it didn’t just pop up yesterday if the report that the current assistant Jake Gautreu is staying. Interestingly he was in charge of the offense under interim coach Henderson.

We really don’t know what the IU team will look like next year. Obviously 4 important pieces of this year’s team are now playing pro ball. It is a concern for me that so many guys we would count on for next year are apparently not playing summer ball.

We need a quality coach, sooner rather than later, to settle things for next year and get busy recruiting. We need to get the juniors back. We have had too much leakage of local talent (e.g look the destinations for Indiana kids in the 2018 class) and don’t need to have next year’s class picked over.
 
If its only about the money then shame on Glass for not matching or upping his contract. This is 2 really good coaches that we have let leave. Im not sure what happened with Smith but it could have been about the money. I know baseball doesnt bring in money like basketball and football does but there should be money there for it. I dont know what CL was making or what Miss St is going to pay him but I would at least like to hear, "well we tried to match the offer but it was a better opporturnity".
Smith left because it’s simply a better job. Glass gave him a blank check and Smith still left.

Lemonis was the second highest paid coach in the B1G.
 
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Disappointed but not exactly a total shock. I have enjoyed the changes made in the last decade with Smith and Lemonis have done with the program. It is hard to turn down one of the programs in the SEC, Big 12, Pac 12 or ACC with the warmer climates and more CWS achievement.

Hopefully we can find someone new that will keep the program at a national level. Maybe look at coaches at places like Stetson, Coastal Carolina, Tennessee Tech or something similar.
 
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I think the reality is the BIG is maybe comparable to the MAC in football. And it might not even be comparable to the MAC. IU is a stepping stone job. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you don’t feel like this program was done wrong. A young coach who loves this place is still leaving here for the SEC. Every time. Congrats on the promotion.
 
I think the reality is the BIG is maybe comparable to the MAC in football. And it might not even be comparable to the MAC. IU is a stepping stone job. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you don’t feel like this program was done wrong. A young coach who loves this place is still leaving here for the SEC. Every time. Congrats on the promotion.

Right. Every time. Forever.
 
Yes, no loyalty by Lemonis, he was merely using IU as a stepping stone. This program has great potential and college baseball is getting more exposure. I agree with many of the posts that Glass should pay a lot more for this job and get IU a really great coach that will stay. Also, with the season MSU had, I don’t know why they would not just hire their Interim Coach.


Agree with that last sentence...........
 
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My early "most wanted" guy is Ben Greenspan. He had the number one rated recruiting class last year (I think, could be off a year)... He has ties to IU. Seems a good fit...

Ben would be somebody that I would take a close look at if I was doing the hiring. Also I would have to take a look at USI coach Tracy Archuleta, very well respected amongst the High school coaches in Indiana. He really has the Southern Indiana program rolling now.
 
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I think the reality is the BIG is maybe comparable to the MAC in football. And it might not even be comparable to the MAC. IU is a stepping stone job. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you don’t feel like this program was done wrong. A young coach who loves this place is still leaving here for the SEC. Every time. Congrats on the promotion.

A different perspective. The B1G, despite it’s past baseball history, has the exposure benefits of being a power 5 conference. That translates including e.g.: TV exposure, $ both in terms of overall athletic budget and donations, and NCAA Tourney bids. Not to pick on the MAC but a quick glance tells me the B1G has had 5,3,5,&4 bids (IMO despite being the weakest overall P5 conference) going back to 15 while the MAC has only received their automatic bid each year.

There is potential here IMO. Indiana HS baseball produces a number of national recruits and draftees each year, has strong amateur programs headed by the Bulls who compete nationally, and is the southern most school in (the overall weakest Power 5 IMO) conference. On the last point look at this year’s CWS final with 2 schools in stronger overall conferences in less desirable locations than the bulk of their respective conferences.

We have a good foundation, I think the right coach can improve on what Coach Lemonis has done.
 
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