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EX Player Disagrees About CTA Being Fired

iubhounds

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Feb 15, 2002
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I am a long time reader, haven't posted much, never logged in, but I did this morning. I have followed this forum for years and I have a Twitter account where I do NOT follow IU players but do follow IU Football. After reading all the reasons for lack of success here on the forum and even some threads on Twitter, an ex-player Dylan Powell tells it like it is supposedly. His father also made a tweet with a similar tone.

I am not sure I can copy and paste his tweet here (against the rules??) so I will paraphrase as read his two tweets.

Claims the $20M should have been used on investments into the football program with new facilities (I assume a football only weight room and indoor practice facility), to buy a B1G level OC and DC like the rest of the B1G has ... and to "go get some dudes in the portal"

When a replier says that the Prez seems to want success in athletics, Dylan replies "not when you tell the the coach to figure things out on their own and doesn't help with funding" makes you wonder what went on inside the program.

IMO this sounds similar to what CTA was saying last week in his interviews were he was letting fans, admin, donors know that CFB today is a whole different animal and basically if IU didn't get on board with NIL for football at a much higher financial level than they have to work with, then there is no chance for IU in the future.

It's a forum, we all have opinions, many different but that is what open forums are. Personally I was in favor of the firing of CTA. I look forward to a new coaching staff getting to work with 8 days to go until the portal opens up.

Ex players are tweeting in support of CTA, before and after the announcement, so it sounds like CTA did NOT lose the locker room like some here suspected.

It's going to be an interesting week and I can't wait to see all of flight info into and out of the Monroe County airport.
 
I am a long time reader, haven't posted much, never logged in, but I did this morning. I have followed this forum for years and I have a Twitter account where I do NOT follow IU players but do follow IU Football. After reading all the reasons for lack of success here on the forum and even some threads on Twitter, an ex-player Dylan Powell tells it like it is supposedly. His father also made a tweet with a similar tone.

I am not sure I can copy and paste his tweet here (against the rules??) so I will paraphrase as read his two tweets.

Claims the $20M should have been used on investments into the football program with new facilities (I assume a football only weight room and indoor practice facility), to buy a B1G level OC and DC like the rest of the B1G has ... and to "go get some dudes in the portal"

When a replier says that the Prez seems to want success in athletics, Dylan replies "not when you tell the the coach to figure things out on their own and doesn't help with funding" makes you wonder what went on inside the program.

IMO this sounds similar to what CTA was saying last week in his interviews were he was letting fans, admin, donors know that CFB today is a whole different animal and basically if IU didn't get on board with NIL for football at a much higher financial level than they have to work with, then there is no chance for IU in the future.

It's a forum, we all have opinions, many different but that is what open forums are. Personally I was in favor of the firing of CTA. I look forward to a new coaching staff getting to work with 8 days to go until the portal opens up.

Ex players are tweeting in support of CTA, before and after the announcement, so it sounds like CTA did NOT lose the locker room like some here suspected.

It's going to be an interesting week and I can't wait to see all of flight info into and out of the Monroe County airport.
It's hard to disagree with this point of view. Think of the money wasted on Crean (4 million), Archie (10.3 million), Tom Allen (15.5 million) and even a guy like Rod Carey (815k).
 
It's hard to disagree with this point of view. Think of the money wasted on Crean (4 million), Archie (10.3 million), Tom Allen (15.5 million) and even a guy like Rod Carey (815k).
Yes a lot of money spent and wasted but all were at "market value" and still wasn't the highest in B1G coaching salaries in BB or FB. I wonder what it will coast IUFB for their next HC salary, not including his staff, just to be in the "ballpark of coaching salaries". I am betting he will be paid more than CTA per year.
 
Yes a lot of money spent and wasted but all were at "market value" and still wasn't the highest in B1G coaching salaries in BB or FB. I wonder what it will coast IUFB for their next HC salary, not including his staff, just to be in the "ballpark of coaching salaries". I am betting he will be paid more than CTA per year.
The salaries themselves aren't the issue. You've got to pay what you've got to pay.

My bigger issues are contract length and giving extentions when you don't really have to. IU did it again this fall with Mike Woodson. He's had an ok start but he's not outperformed his original contract and nobody is coming to hire him away from IU.
 
The lack of funds for better assistants and NIL is an issue but it also isn't the only issue.

Lack of funds doesn't have teams underprepared, indecision with the QB halfway through the season and holding on to failing assistants for way too long. I am guessing the lack of funds also didn't have us whiffing on tackling either or shooting ourselves in the foot every game.

Keeping Hiller for too long and hiring Bell had just as much to do with Allen's demise as lack of funds.
 
When a replier says that the Prez seems to want success in athletics, Dylan replies "not when you tell the the coach to figure things out on their own and doesn't help with funding" makes you wonder what went on inside the program.

If the president knew that there would be (or if she was pushing for) a coaching change then that could explain that.
 
I don't think the payouts to send those guys down the road was the problem. It HAD to be done. The real issue is the knucklehead that set those contracts up in that fashion. That's where the real waste occurred.
 
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If I'm a Power 5 Head Coach making millions every year and I want to get rid of an assistant (Hiller) mid-season but the AD will not fund it . . . I'm taking it out of my pocket; particularly if that's what I think it will take to keep my millions and my job. I know, I know its not in the contract and I'm posting this as a guy who can't make a million in 5 years. In short, the lack of funding for assistants is not an excuse AFTER settling for 15.5 million in buyout.
 
The salaries themselves aren't the issue. You've got to pay what you've got to pay.

My bigger issues are contract length and giving extentions when you don't really have to. IU did it again this fall with Mike Woodson. He's had an ok start but he's not outperformed his original contract and nobody is coming to hire him away from IU.
The extensions are sometimes necessary because recruits won't commit to a dead man walking.
 
The lack of funds for better assistants and NIL is an issue but it also isn't the only issue.

Lack of funds doesn't have teams underprepared, indecision with the QB halfway through the season and holding on to failing assistants for way too long. I am guessing the lack of funds also didn't have us whiffing on tackling either or shooting ourselves in the foot every game.

Keeping Hiller for too long and hiring Bell had just as much to do with Allen's demise as lack of funds.
Exactly. We lost 3 games to close the season to bad teams that aren't disproportionately ahead of us in facilities, salaries, or consistent success. Not to mention a gift of a win from the worst team in the MAC. We win those last three games with a minimally competent staff, we go to a bowl, and CTA likely keeps his job. No rational IU fan is expecting a program that is routinely competitive with the "have's" like OSU, UM, or PSU. Most of us don't even expect to beat Iowa or Wisky with any regularity. But I don't buy the argument at all that a guy in his 7th year as head coach here is facing disadvantages that keep him from beating the teams we lost to at the end of the season. Or that we are so far behind Maryland and Rutgers that we can't beat those teams and make a lower-tier bowl. The failure of this program at this juncture is either failure to recruit and develop quality players or failure to develop a successful coaching strategy to beat those teams. Or both.

This year also was not a "one-off" that could be explained by devastating injuries or bad bounces in close games. This season was the continuation of a three-year pattern that shows no signs of changing. The "culture" and "commitment" change needed at IU begins with a change in coaching staff.
 
I am a long time reader, haven't posted much, never logged in, but I did this morning. I have followed this forum for years and I have a Twitter account where I do NOT follow IU players but do follow IU Football. After reading all the reasons for lack of success here on the forum and even some threads on Twitter, an ex-player Dylan Powell tells it like it is supposedly. His father also made a tweet with a similar tone.

I am not sure I can copy and paste his tweet here (against the rules??) so I will paraphrase as read his two tweets.

Claims the $20M should have been used on investments into the football program with new facilities (I assume a football only weight room and indoor practice facility), to buy a B1G level OC and DC like the rest of the B1G has ... and to "go get some dudes in the portal"

When a replier says that the Prez seems to want success in athletics, Dylan replies "not when you tell the the coach to figure things out on their own and doesn't help with funding" makes you wonder what went on inside the program.

IMO this sounds similar to what CTA was saying last week in his interviews were he was letting fans, admin, donors know that CFB today is a whole different animal and basically if IU didn't get on board with NIL for football at a much higher financial level than they have to work with, then there is no chance for IU in the future.

It's a forum, we all have opinions, many different but that is what open forums are. Personally I was in favor of the firing of CTA. I look forward to a new coaching staff getting to work with 8 days to go until the portal opens up.

Ex players are tweeting in support of CTA, before and after the announcement, so it sounds like CTA did NOT lose the locker room like some here suspected.

It's going to be an interesting week and I can't wait to see all of flight info into and out of the Monroe County airport.
ANY coach will have some x players chime in with support when they are let go. It’s not really cool though to tweet “Good I never liked that guy!” or whatever…not a great look or career move to pile on, but harmless to send some feel good vibes from a safe distance.

Means absolutely nothing.

While we’re on the topic, of COURSE the kid who is barely passing his PE degree has strong opinions on how the university should allocate millions of dollars!!
 
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ANY coach will have some x players chime in with support when they are let go. It’s not really cool though to tweet “Good I never liked that guy!” or whatever…not a great look or career move to pile on, but harmless to send some feel good vibes from a safe distance.

Means absolutely nothing.

While we’re on the topic, of COURSE the kid who is barely passing his PE degree has strong opinions on how the university should allocate millions of dollars!!
Powell was a Grad Transfer in from Stanford the way I recall it... Pretty sure he graduated from Kelly too... Not exactly a guy struggling to finish his PE degree...
 
There are always going to be former players that support their coach….as long as there are former players and former coaches.

Interesting because Taiwan Mullen tweeted about Allen and his disagreements with the dismissal but his brother sure bailed out as quickly as possible when he could.
 
The lack of funds for better assistants and NIL is an issue but it also isn't the only issue.

Lack of funds doesn't have teams underprepared, indecision with the QB halfway through the season and holding on to failing assistants for way too long. I am guessing the lack of funds also didn't have us whiffing on tackling either or shooting ourselves in the foot every game.

Keeping Hiller for too long and hiring Bell had just as much to do with Allen's demise as lack of funds.
Don't forget lack of fundamentals

and that has zero to do with facilities/funding
 
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It’s admirable (but nothing new) for ex-players to voice their opinion/support when “their” coach gets the axe. While we’re all in agreement the program needs more support from the top financially, facilities and NIL-wise, Powell and the others seem to neglect the fact “their” coach was handed the job, inherited a much better situation than any of his IU HC predecessors, was earning $5 million/year with relatively attainable opportunities to add a year to the deal EVERY YEAR he went just 6-6, YET, managed a mere 9 wins total in 3 years, much of it due to “his” HC’s ineptitude in X‘s and O’s, inability to identify even decent coordinators and the constant fire drill on “his” sidelines.

I haven’t even gotten to the continued undisciplined play on the field, special teams mishaps (during both Inge and Teegarden’s tenures), that never seemed to be rectified and this year’s continued blown coverages in the defensive backfield.
 
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Allen has had too much talent to go 3-24 in big ten play the last three years. But I do think these players make a fair point when they say it's obvious that Indiana's football problems go a lot further than a poor head coach.
 
Allen’s “weakness” was loyalty to his coaches and players. I’m guessing the majority of the players wanted him to stay because he “had their back” Maybe if Allen’s priority was to his superiors and the fans he would have made the tough decisions required to get the most out of players and send assistants packing when warranted.
 
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