Bertman fires the whole crew....

[JEDJR]

LSU has the $ to lure Bianco away, but he wont come. He seems content/happy in Oxford. I think it will be Rick Jones of Tulane or Jim Wells, but my guess say Rick Jones.

[camlock]

I am sure that LSU "HAS" the money, however, they've never spent it on baseball coach before and they don't pay nearly as much as Ole Miss right now...also, Skip keeps sponsor and promotion money currently as the AD (which is TOTAL BULLSHAT) and Ole Miss and other universities give that money to the coach...

[woundedduck]

LSU IS BROKE RIGHT NOW. Most of their money has been pumped into the football program as of late and baseball took the back seat even though they were still good. They can't even pay for their stadium.

[Greenhead22]

LSU's football revenue avg. 40 mil a year.

Even at that rate they can't even hardly make a profit.

[Drakeshead]

Boone figures LSU will call for Bianco

OXFORD — Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone didn't get a phone call from LSU athletic director Skip Bertman on Sunday.

But Boone said he won't be surprised if Bertman wants to talk about Mike Bianco soon.

Bianco emerged as a candidate for the LSU job after Smoke Laval resigned Sunday. Bianco played at LSU in 1988 and 1989 under Bertman. He also was an assistant on Bertman's staff from 1993-97.

"I would think with the success he's had, if there's a top quality job opening, a top quality job opening anywhere in the country, that somebody's got to at least think about him and talk about him because he's proven to be an excellent coach," Boone said.

Bertman didn't name candidates Sunday, but asked members of the media not to call Bianco or Alabama's Jim Wells about the opening right now. Bertman said he will not contact candidates until their seasons end.

Bianco is 240-130-1 in six seasons with the Rebels. In that time, Ole Miss has played in five NCAA Tournaments and hosted regionals the past three seasons. Ole Miss also won a share of the Southeastern Conference Western Division championship in 2005 and the 2006 SEC Tournament title.

Bianco said he didn't "foresee" a phone call from Bertman on Sunday night. He didn't know what he'd do if Bertman contacted him.

"Let's face it, I wouldn't be sitting up here today if it wasn't for Skip Bertman and LSU," Bianco said. "A lot of rumors have been going around. The fact is, it's very flattering when you mention that program to have your name associated with it and being an alumnus. But the fact is, we've done some great things here at Ole Miss.

"It's hard to imagine that I can be any happier than I am tonight."

Boone said Bianco has an incentive-laden contract with Ole Miss, which compensates him for things like SEC championships, NCAA Regional appearances and College World Series berths. Bianco also has a contract with Easton, an apparel company.

Boone plans to discuss a contract extension - and a raise - with Bianco because of his accomplishments. But Boone said the conversation probably won't come until the season ends. He did say he plans to sit down with Bianco to discuss the season this week.

"I'm sure that will develop into all this other (LSU) stuff," Boone said. "Last year, I tried to talk to him about renewing his contract, but he didn't want to talk about it until the end of the season."

[Deltamud77]

First of all, the money LSU spends on football has a great return, i.e., a national title and a couple of recent SEC Championships. Secondly, I hope that LSU goes after Horton from Cal State Fullerton. He has won a National Title, enough said. Smoke has a better SEC record than Bianco or Wells and has been to more World Series (2) than both Wells and Bianco combined (although that might change this weekend). LSU does not need to fall into the Alabama trap of "we must hire Skip Bertmen's former players or coaches, period".

Don't get me wrong, Bianco and Wells, especially Bianco are great coaches. Bianco will not come to LSU because there is no real reason to as he doesn't need that pressure and he is paid well anyway. Wells is in a similar scenario, although Bama expects more year in and year out than Ole Miss.

As for the LSU baseball stadium, they haven't started the fund raising yet and the stadium is due to be completed by 08. Read into this what you will, either there are no real plans for a stadium or Skip and the athletic dept. realize they can raise $25 million in a short period of time. Football is king on the bayou but baseball is big business as well. I suspect the firing of Laval had more to do with fundraising than his recent win-lose totals. If the people aren't happy they will not pay. They were not happy even though his tenure would make him a god at many schools.

[mudsucker]

Too bad Billy Martin died in that wreck!

[JEDJR]

I would not mind Horton myself. Dont know if he wouild leave either. Different cultures, California and Louisiana, but $$$ talks sometimes..

Wells, Bianco, Jones, all have some type of Louisiana roots which would benefit from a recruiting aspect, But I like Horton.

[Po Monkey Lounger]

It is looking like Bertman may return:

LAVAL SCOOP
Posted: 6/5/06 1:54:35 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Want to get that rumor mill really stirredup, here it goes.

I talked with a very reliable source this afternoon. Sorry, in the world of jounrnalism, you have to promise to keep sources anonymous, but I have to vouch for my source on this one.

This person has talked with several of the key players in this scenario and this person said (as he put it) that Skip Bertman is 85-percent set on RETURNING as LSU's head coach with Dan Canevari by his side.

More details to come as this thing unwind, but this is going to get interesting to say the least.
Matt Deville
Editor
Tiger Rag

[Grommet]

Did it say if he would stay on as AD as well.

[Po Monkey Lounger]

"stay on as AD as well"

don't know --- the above post by the editor of the Tiger Rag is the only info I've seen ----my guess is that he would serve in both roles

[Grommet]

I could see him doing both. That man loves money. My dad once overheard him telling someone that the reason he took so long to walk out to the mound was because when he did concession sales would spike. Spoken like a true earner.

[Greenhead22]

LSU
Bertman still has what it takes, LSU insiders say

LSU athletic director has not ruled out returning as coach.
June 7, 2006

Powered by Topix.net
By Glenn Guilbeau
gguilbeau@gannett.com

BATON ROUGE -- Former LSU pitcher and cable network entrepreneur Ronnie Rantz says the LSU baseball coaching job will go to Alabama coach Jim Wells if he wants it, but it is fun to imagine former coach Skip Bertman putting that No. 15 on again.

Bertman, who retired as baseball coach after the 2001 season and became athletic director at LSU, is conducting a search for a new coach after releasing Smoke Laval on Sunday, but Bertman did not rule out the possibility of a return to the Alex Box Stadium dugout.

"I don't think that's going to happen, but I think he'd do well," said Rantz, who pitched for Bertman and Laval in 1991 and 1992 and was part of the Tigers' first national championship team in 1991.

"He would have a major impact at the gate," Rantz said. "He would have a major impact with recruits even if he's only at it for a year or two because parents would want their son to play for Skip Bertman even if it's just one year. He'd also do a lot of LSU's national image."

Rantz runs the Jumbo Sports Network, which televises LSU and Southeastern Conference games as well as NCAA Regionals, and remains close to the LSU program and others in the SEC. Rantz was one of the first to say that Laval was on the way out before the regular season ended. Now he's saying Wells, who was a graduate assistant under Bertman at LSU from 1987-89, is the lead candidate to replace Laval.

"Jim had the opportunity to become LSU's head coach when Skip retired," Rantz said. "At that time, he passed on it. I don't think he'll pass on it again. The program means a lot to him. And they always say not to follow a legend, but you should follow the guy that followed the legend. He's built Alabama now. So this may be his opportunity to come home and revitalize LSU and bring it back to what it was."

Wells is unavailable for contact at the moment as his Crimson Tide team is hosting a Super Regional against North Carolina this weekend with his fourth trip with Alabama to Omaha, Neb., and the College World Series on the line.

If Wells does not take it along with a slew of other high profile potential candidates like Cal State Fullerton's George Horton, who has won a national championship, then Bertman said he may relinquish his athletic director's job and take over for a year or two.

"I do think that people should understand it's much harder to win now," said Bertman, who won five national championships from 1991 through 2000 along with winning seven SEC titles and reaching Omaha 11 times from 1986 through 2000.

"It's much harder to dominate than it was 10 years ago," Bertman said.

Warren Morris, the walk-off home run hero of Bertman's third national title in 1996, disagrees.

"There's no question he can do it," said Morris, who is retired from Major League Baseball and in the banking business in Alexandria. "Obviously, I'm biased, but he was the best college coach there was. He's 5-0 in championship games. That speaks for itself, and he pretty much took LSU out of nowhere. I don't think he's lost anything. He's a great motivator and knows the game inside and out. And it definitely would be popular with the fans. I always thought he could run for mayor or governor."

Early results from a fan poll by WAFB Channel 9 Tuesday night tell a different story as 46 percent of viewers polled do not like the idea of a Bertman return, 45 percent like it and nine percent do not care.
Joy Hammatt, who has been going to games since Bertman became coach in 1984, was surprised at those numbers.

"I would've thought it would be overwhelming in favor of him," she said. "I know he would fill the stands. He's just the best. I love him to death. I think it would be great. I would love to see him coach again. He could be like Wayne Graham and hang around until he's 80. You know, he's had those hips replaced."

Bertman is 68, but he would not be the oldest coach in the game. Rice coach Wayne Graham, whose team is hosting a Super Regional this weekend against Oklahoma, is 70 and won the national championship in 2003 when he was 67. Texas coach Augie Garrido is 67 and won the national championship last year.

Mississippi State coach Ron Polk, 63, has already done what Bertman is contemplating. He retired from State after the 1997 season to coach the USA Baseball team, which was a summer job. Then he came back as Georgia's coach in 2000 and took the Bulldogs to the College World Series in 2001. He returned to State the next season. And don't forget Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, who turns 80 in December, and Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who is 76.

"Whatever Skip wants to do, Skip can do," Polk said. "I'm sure he misses the kids and the action. He always seemed like he enjoyed what he was doing when he was coaching. He may be 68, but look at Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden. If he does it, he'll surround himself with good people and he'll do a great job. It's tougher now. There are younger coaches, aggressive assistants, but Skip can handle it."

Polk wishes he was younger.

"If I was 44 or 45, I'd call Skip and say, 'Hey give me the LSU job,'" Polk said. "There's a lot of expectations, yeah. But it's a great fan base, great city. Money's available. They're building a new stadium. It's a great job. He'll find somebody."

[Greenhead22]

More From Today's Press-Register

Sports Columnist Neal McCready

If LSU calls, Wells, Bianco must hang up
Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Maybe Jim Wells' Louisiana roots are too strong for him to resist the overtures from LSU.

Maybe Mike Bianco's love for his alma mater runs deeper than anyone knows.

We'll all find out after Alabama and Ole Miss finish their respective quests for College World Series bids and national championships.

Will either guy leave his current job and make the move inside the Southeastern Conference's Western Division to LSU? There's enough smoke -- pardon the pun -- accompanying the rumors for there to be a fire somewhere.

Should either guy consider it? Good God, no.

Get past the hype of LSU's dominance of college baseball in the 1990s and it shouldn't be that stunning to say that both Alabama and Ole Miss are better baseball jobs these days than LSU.

Smoke Laval was fired Sunday after the Tigers suffered through one mediocre season and failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament for the first time in almost two decades. If the rumor mill is right, Alabama's Wells is the odds-on favorite at this point, but the arrogance emanating out of Baton Rouge the past few days is obnoxious and should serve as a reminder to any candidate about just what he'd be getting into.

Laval was 210-109-1 during his five seasons at LSU, including a Southeastern Conference record of 88-60-1. Laval led the Tigers to the 2003 SEC title and a pair of appearances in the College World Series. Neither Wells nor Bianco have guided their teams to Omaha during the same span, though that could change for both in the next five days. Laval won, but he wasn't Skip Bertman -- who coached LSU to five national titles -- so the fans despised Laval. Odds are they'll eventually hate the next guy, too, unless it's Bertman.

"This is one of the finest baseball programs in the nation, with the greatest fans in the country, and we plan to bring in a coach who reflects that level of excellence," said Bertman, who is now LSU's athletic director.

Forgive me, for I can't stop laughing. LSU's baseball fans are among the worst in the country. No, I take that back, they are the worst. They're fickle. They can't be satisfied. They're unrealistic, out of touch and living in a past that can't and won't be repeated. They create a pressure that is suffocating. Think Alabama football fans if Bear Bryant was still alive, still serving as the athletic director and still hanging around as a walking, talking reminder of what once was. It's tough enough in Tuscaloosa with Bryant's legacy casting such a shadow. If he was still hanging around, the job would simply be impossible.

So when Bertman said Sunday that he wouldn't rule out returning to the LSU dugout next season, the job immediately became far less attractive. Imagine Mike Shula trying to find a way to finally beat Auburn while Bryant sat in a box in Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday and then made himself available to writers and radio talk show hosts later in the week, telling them that he couldn't rule out a return to the sideline. That's LSU baseball as long as Bertman has such a strong presence in Baton Rouge.

Yes, Bertman won five national championships at LSU, but he did it during a different era. Bertman won big when aluminum bats were juiced, steroids were prevalent, high pitch counts went uncriticized, and many other schools around the country spent as much time thinking about building a competitive baseball program as Al Gore spends contemplating the merits of drilling for oil in Alaska.

Today schools are spending money on baseball, having determined that there is cash to be made on the diamond. There is more parity in the game nationwide. Bats have been deadened and the dangers of steroids have been exposed. Top pitchers go to college more often now than they did 15 years ago, but ridiculously high pitch counts are scrutinized much more harshly and impact recruiting.

Both Wells and Bianco are smart guys, smart enough to know all of the above and smart enough to know they're safer where they are. Wells operates under football's shadow at Alabama, but he's recognized as the guy who built Tide baseball. Bianco is the most popular guy in Oxford these days and Ole Miss will be renaming streets and stadiums -- seriously -- if he ever gets the Rebels to Omaha.

At LSU, those trips are expected. At Alabama and Ole Miss, they're celebrated. That's a key difference.

Finally, show me a coach with no ego and I'll show you a bad coach. Guys like Wells and Bianco didn't get this far without a healthy ego. At their respective schools, their word is the final word. It won't be that way at LSU as long as Bertman has a pulse.

The heart's a powerful thing and maybe the sentimentality of going home is strong enough to overcome several levels of logic. We'll see, because for Wells or Bianco, leaving for LSU defies logic.

Contact Neal McCready at:

nmccready@press-register.com

His column appears on Wednesdays in the Press-Register.