Drink Interviews Update

[APP93]

I said this on a different thread, this is what FBS football for successful mid-major programs looks like.

I understand everyone feels a bit burned, but we hired and paid Drink to do a job and he did that job well. 12-1, top 20 ranking, another SBC title and two very satisfying P5 wins...I have no regrets and I wish him luck.

He is in a very cut throat profession, you have to strike while the iron is hot...4 mil/year to coach in the SEC...opportunities don't come around like that very often....the money the P5's have an can throw around is obnoxious...it's been out of control for many years and there seems to be no end in sight.

[appbio91]

I love how now everyone knew along that Drink couldn't be trusted or that he would leave us high and dry. For most of the season he was walking on water and now it was obvious all along that his presence was just a sham. Again, this place is so mercurial.

I don’t know about that, if you had frequented the chat board there was plenty of bitching about play calling, me included, I still think it sucked and we were lucky to pull out at least two of our signature wins this season because of that and prevent defense in the second half after having dominated the first half. I give you the SBC championship game as case in point.

[mgsouth]

Is there anyone who wouldn't take a 5× pay raise?

Yes sir, Me. If it meant compromising my integrity, lying and taking advantage of others for my own personal gain (all of which Drink did in my opinion) I would turn it down in a New York Minute. My values, good name and reputation are not for sale at any price. In fact almost 8 years ago I took a job in my field at a new place. I had not been there a year when another place called me asking me if I would be interested in interviewing for the same position with them. This place was actually back in my hometown too. I had moved about a hour away to work at the new place I was working at. I am just guessing but I feel sure had I wanted to pursue that opportunity I would have probably been hired and it would have likely been somewhere around a 15-20K per year raise in salary. Now that is nothing like what Drink is getting but money is money. I thanked them for their interest but declined to send them a resume or meet with them. I asked them to take me off their list because I felt I owed the place I was working at and those people more than just one year of my time. I had made a commitment and I wanted to honor that. 8 years later, I am still at that place. I have gotten some raises over those years and my good name is still in tact. No regrets.

[appbio91]

I don’t blame him for taking the money, I don’t care that he’s leaving, I don’t think he’s worth getting upset about, I think we lost a great coach and staff last year, I say f*ck this dude he wasn’t here long enough to matter. We have what matters most still here, our players and staff that care about them.

[Rekdiver]

Drink had me at “stepping stone” and “God led me here”. Good thing I didn’t know Jim Jones. I’m not DRINKing that kool-aid anymore. I’ve see the light

[Yosef84]

I really do understand the emotions and hurt/resentment that many are feeling but nothing about Drink's "stepping stone" comment from several months ago or his ongoing mantras sense represent a lack of "integrity." Absolutely no first year G5 head coach works on an assumption or expectation that he will be hired by an SEC school at the end of his first regular season. I think Coach Drink fully expected to be here at least 2 or 3 years before those opportunities were viable. That's basically what EVERYONE on here thought also. The fact is that this season didn't just meet expectation, it EXCEEDED expectation! That had the effect of creating opportunity that exceeded any reasonable expectations a year ago. There has been no intentional misrepresentation made. The facts simply changed and he is taking an opportunity that almost any coach in his situation would also take. Nothing about this violates his contract. This is the way college football works.

We now have $1.7 million that we didn't have a week ago so let's hire another coach and move forward. I would love to see Shawn Clark or someone else who loves App (and has the credentials) get the job. I'll leave that to DG to figure out but it does seem to cover us with recruits and the whole "culture" thing.

I'm not going to waste any energy hating on Drink. I appreciate a great season! Now, let's go stomp UAB into a mudhole!

GO APPS!

[NavyApp]

I really do understand the emotions and hurt/resentment that many are feeling but nothing about Drink's "stepping stone" comment from several months ago or his ongoing mantras sense represent a lack of "integrity." Absolutely no first year G5 head coach works on an assumption or expectation that he will be hired by an SEC school at the end of his first regular season. I think Coach Drink fully expected to be here at least 2 or 3 years before those opportunities were viable. That's basically what EVERYONE on here thought also. The fact is that this season didn't just meet expectation, it EXCEEDED expectation! That had the effect of creating opportunity that exceeded any reasonable expectations a year ago. There has been no intentional misrepresentation made. The facts simply changed and he is taking an opportunity that almost any coach in his situation would also take. Nothing about this violates his contract. This is the way college football works.

We now have $1.7 million that we didn't have a week ago so let's hire another coach and move forward. I would love to see Shawn Clark or someone else who loves App (and has the credentials) get the job. I'll leave that to DG to figure out but it does seem to cover us with recruits and the whole "culture" thing.

I'm not going to waste any energy hating on Drink. I appreciate a great season! Now, let's go stomp UAB into a mudhole!

GO APPS!

Hey! I want to preface this with the fact that I agree with you, and I don't want to decry Drink or his time here. But I want to pose a question to you based off your above comment. In regards to Drinks post game press conference and the remarks he made about his future, do you think he acted in a moral upright way?

[Rekdiver]

I'm not hating Drink at all. I am disappointed in his failure of commitment to our AD and our program. I'm hoping he at least had to think about it for a minute or two.

[hapapp]

I really do understand the emotions and hurt/resentment that many are feeling but nothing about Drink's "stepping stone" comment from several months ago or his ongoing mantras sense represent a lack of "integrity." Absolutely no first year G5 head coach works on an assumption or expectation that he will be hired by an SEC school at the end of his first regular season. I think Coach Drink fully expected to be here at least 2 or 3 years before those opportunities were viable. That's basically what EVERYONE on here thought also. The fact is that this season didn't just meet expectation, it EXCEEDED expectation! That had the effect of creating opportunity that exceeded any reasonable expectations a year ago. There has been no intentional misrepresentation made. The facts simply changed and he is taking an opportunity that almost any coach in his situation would also take. Nothing about this violates his contract. This is the way college football works.

We now have $1.7 million that we didn't have a week ago so let's hire another coach and move forward. I would love to see Shawn Clark or someone else who loves App (and has the credentials) get the job. I'll leave that to DG to figure out but it does seem to cover us with recruits and the whole "culture" thing.

I'm not going to waste any energy hating on Drink. I appreciate a great season! Now, let's go stomp UAB into a mudhole!

GO APPS!

This is the best post in this whole thread/discussion. We might think Missouri is making a mistake or that Drink isn't ready for the SEC. However, sometimes an opportunity comes along that is too good to pass up.

I was never one who thought Drink was an upgrade over Satterfield but I did appreciate what he did this season. Like everyone in the stands, I question some decisions but he navigated us through a 12-1 season and another conference championship. I'm hopeful that Shawn Clark is our next coach because I believe he is the needed elixir right now. I will, however, miss Drink's media performances as I rather enjoyed his sense of humor and his intelligent demeanor.

It's now time to look forward and not expend any more energy disparaging our former coach. I'm excited about App football's future.

[AppyVanWinkle]

https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/mizzo ... n-sun-belt

[Apptrain]

Is there anyone who wouldn't take a 5× pay raise?

Yes sir, Me. If it meant compromising my integrity, lying and taking advantage of others for my own personal gain (all of which Drink did in my opinion) I would turn it down in a New York Minute. My values, good name and reputation are not for sale at any price. In fact almost 8 years ago I took a job in my field at a new place. I had not been there a year when another place called me asking me if I would be interested in interviewing for the same position with them. This place was actually back in my hometown too. I had moved about a hour away to work at the new place I was working at. I am just guessing but I feel sure had I wanted to pursue that opportunity I would have probably been hired and it would have likely been somewhere around a 15-20K per year raise in salary. Now that is nothing like what Drink is getting but money is money. I thanked them for their interest but declined to send them a resume or meet with them. I asked them to take me off their list because I felt I owed the place I was working at and those people more than just one year of my time. I had made a commitment and I wanted to honor that. 8 years later, I am still at that place. I have gotten some raises over those years and my good name is still in tact. No regrets.

That’s integrity. Bet you sleep well also.

[Appalachman]

Lofty goals. The zoo might compete in the sunbelt, not sure they could win it any year soon. Hey Zoo, want to swap conference seats with App? the geography works.

[Yosef84]

I really do understand the emotions and hurt/resentment that many are feeling but nothing about Drink's "stepping stone" comment from several months ago or his ongoing mantras sense represent a lack of "integrity." Absolutely no first year G5 head coach works on an assumption or expectation that he will be hired by an SEC school at the end of his first regular season. I think Coach Drink fully expected to be here at least 2 or 3 years before those opportunities were viable. That's basically what EVERYONE on here thought also. The fact is that this season didn't just meet expectation, it EXCEEDED expectation! That had the effect of creating opportunity that exceeded any reasonable expectations a year ago. There has been no intentional misrepresentation made. The facts simply changed and he is taking an opportunity that almost any coach in his situation would also take. Nothing about this violates his contract. This is the way college football works.

We now have $1.7 million that we didn't have a week ago so let's hire another coach and move forward. I would love to see Shawn Clark or someone else who loves App (and has the credentials) get the job. I'll leave that to DG to figure out but it does seem to cover us with recruits and the whole "culture" thing.

I'm not going to waste any energy hating on Drink. I appreciate a great season! Now, let's go stomp UAB into a mudhole!

GO APPS!

Hey! I want to preface this with the fact that I agree with you, and I don't want to decry Drink or his time here. But I want to pose a question to you based off your above comment. In regards to Drinks post game press conference and the remarks he made about his future, do you think he acted in a moral upright way?

Personally, I don't think there was any "moral" issue there. I certainly have no inside information but the reality is that NOBODY is going to discuss an issue like that on national television before the terms have been vetted and agreement reached. In fact, I believe that the moral violation would have been if he HAD thrown out irresponsible comments prematurely. It's my understanding that he met with the Missouri AD AFTER the game so at the time of that interview, there was no decision to disclose. In my opinion he was trying to say the only thing available to him which was that he was happy at Appalachian.

I can criticize a journalist for asking the question, but honestly nobody is going to divulge that kind of information in a post game interview. In my opinion the question wasn't really appropriate. People today seem to believe that we have some "right to know" but the reality is that, just because we WANT to know, there is no "right." Post game interviews should focus on the game. Just my opinion of course.

[NavyApp]

I really do understand the emotions and hurt/resentment that many are feeling but nothing about Drink's "stepping stone" comment from several months ago or his ongoing mantras sense represent a lack of "integrity." Absolutely no first year G5 head coach works on an assumption or expectation that he will be hired by an SEC school at the end of his first regular season. I think Coach Drink fully expected to be here at least 2 or 3 years before those opportunities were viable. That's basically what EVERYONE on here thought also. The fact is that this season didn't just meet expectation, it EXCEEDED expectation! That had the effect of creating opportunity that exceeded any reasonable expectations a year ago. There has been no intentional misrepresentation made. The facts simply changed and he is taking an opportunity that almost any coach in his situation would also take. Nothing about this violates his contract. This is the way college football works.

We now have $1.7 million that we didn't have a week ago so let's hire another coach and move forward. I would love to see Shawn Clark or someone else who loves App (and has the credentials) get the job. I'll leave that to DG to figure out but it does seem to cover us with recruits and the whole "culture" thing.

I'm not going to waste any energy hating on Drink. I appreciate a great season! Now, let's go stomp UAB into a mudhole!

GO APPS!

Hey! I want to preface this with the fact that I agree with you, and I don't want to decry Drink or his time here. But I want to pose a question to you based off your above comment. In regards to Drinks post game press conference and the remarks he made about his future, do you think he acted in a moral upright way?

Personally, I don't think there was any "moral" issue there. I certainly have no inside information but the reality is that NOBODY is going to discuss an issue like that on national television before the terms have been vetted and agreement reached. In fact, I believe that the moral violation would have been if he HAD thrown out irresponsible comments prematurely. It's my understanding that he met with the Missouri AD AFTER the game so at the time of that interview, there was no decision to disclose. In my opinion he was trying to say the only thing available to him which was that he was happy at Appalachian.

I can criticize a journalist for asking the question, but honestly nobody is going to divulge that kind of information in a post game interview. In my opinion the question wasn't really appropriate. People today seem to believe that we have some "right to know" but the reality is that, just because we WANT to know, there is no "right." Post game interviews should focus on the game. Just my opinion of course.

Fair enough points. I think a lot of it has to do with his inexperience in the position. He is a very smart individual so I doubt he didn't know the questions were coming, and with how well rehearsed he always seemed I found it surprising. He could have easily deflected those questions back to "this is about these guys here and what they did today" much like Norvell did. Again this is just my personal opinion on the matter but when you exclaim that you are in no hurry to leave and that the rumors are "fake news" while knowing your agent is in the final stages of contract negotiations with two schools is at best a low move.

[The Rock]

Navy nailed it.
He should have known those questions were coming and prepared a better response. The fake news comment is really what bothered me. What part of that news was fake? It’s pretty widely known that drink had interviewed with Arkansas. Even though Missouri wasn’t specifically mentioned he Had things in motion behind the scenes. He could have left it at doing what was best for his family or not talked about it at all. Really the only fake news is what he said.
It’s the right of the media to ask questions especially when there were as many rumors floating around as there were. It’s his right to not answer them if he wanted.
It seems drink has a little problem with hearing criticism or tough questions, and gets defensive. The media isn’t always going to stroke your ego and lob softball questions so you can reply with your canned and recycled responses, something he will soon find out in the Sec and better be prepared for

[AppinVA]

Navy nailed it.
He should have known those questions were coming and prepared a better response. The fake news comment is really what bothered me. What part of that news was fake? It’s pretty widely known that drink had interviewed with Arkansas. Even though Missouri wasn’t specifically mentioned he Had things in motion behind the scenes. He could have left it at doing what was best for his family or not talked about it at all. Really the only fake news is what he said.
It’s the right of the media to ask questions especially when there were as many rumors floating around as there were. It’s his right to not answer them if he wanted.
It seems drink has a little problem with hearing criticism or tough questions, and gets defensive. The media isn’t always going to stroke your ego and lob softball questions so you can reply with your canned and recycled responses, something he will soon find out in the Sec and better be prepared for

Exactly. If he got defensive against the App State media lobbing softballs, he has no idea what’s in store for him at one of the three best journalism schools in the United States.

[mikeyosef]

This horse has been beaten to death but let me flog it some more. We all knew, if successful, Drink would not be here long; he wasn't a Mountaineer. With no head coaching experience I was sure he would be here at least two years but that's the nature of college football these days. Missou was so desperate they took a risk on a coach who inherited a ferrari and drove it like he stole it...because he did in most of our eyes. The one year was pretty awesome though...Good luck to him and Missou, they may need it. As for us, the worst part of the whole thing is the disruption and uncertainty this causes for the team. Uncertainty and yearly disruption can be a success killer for any sports team or business for that matter. It's critical for us to get the right coach, which to me at this time, means someone who will stay here 4-5 years. Another one and done could set us back 5 or more years. One last thing; if we don't get more money coming into the program it will be hard to sustain what we currently have, let alone, reach even higher. It's a sad truth but is what it is.

[Mjohn1988]

Navy nailed it.
He should have known those questions were coming and prepared a better response. The fake news comment is really what bothered me. What part of that news was fake? It’s pretty widely known that drink had interviewed with Arkansas. Even though Missouri wasn’t specifically mentioned he Had things in motion behind the scenes. He could have left it at doing what was best for his family or not talked about it at all. Really the only fake news is what he said.
It’s the right of the media to ask questions especially when there were as many rumors floating around as there were. It’s his right to not answer them if he wanted.
It seems drink has a little problem with hearing criticism or tough questions, and gets defensive. The media isn’t always going to stroke your ego and lob softball questions so you can reply with your canned and recycled responses, something he will soon find out in the Sec and better be prepared for

Exactly. If he got defensive against the App State media lobbing softballs, he has no idea what’s in store for him at one of the three best journalism schools in the United States.

Are there still journalism schools in the US?

[WVAPPeer]

There are actually many outstanding journalists in the US - both news and sports - who work tirelessly to get to the truth, who have editors and managers to scrutinize their work and then, just like in all other professions, there are a few bad apples who make others look bad by association. Those who just want to get their moments of fame by doing, saying, writing and even asking stupid questions ---whatever gets them attention.

[AppinVA]

Navy nailed it.
He should have known those questions were coming and prepared a better response. The fake news comment is really what bothered me. What part of that news was fake? It’s pretty widely known that drink had interviewed with Arkansas. Even though Missouri wasn’t specifically mentioned he Had things in motion behind the scenes. He could have left it at doing what was best for his family or not talked about it at all. Really the only fake news is what he said.
It’s the right of the media to ask questions especially when there were as many rumors floating around as there were. It’s his right to not answer them if he wanted.
It seems drink has a little problem with hearing criticism or tough questions, and gets defensive. The media isn’t always going to stroke your ego and lob softball questions so you can reply with your canned and recycled responses, something he will soon find out in the Sec and better be prepared for

Exactly. If he got defensive against the App State media lobbing softballs, he has no idea what’s in store for him at one of the three best journalism schools in the United States.

Are there still journalism schools in the US?

There are, and they are trained to ask the hard questions. He’s gong to realize that he had it easy in Boone in that way. I’m not saying that the App writers were cheerleaders, they weren’t, but they didn’t ask him anything close to being out of line, and at times Drink had a hard time handling those questions.