Drink Interviews Update

[hapapp]

BTW, one of the sportswriters in Kansas City is Blair Kerkhoff, an App grad. He, in fact, asked Drink a question yesterday.

https://muckrack.com/BlairKerkhoff

[AppfaninCAALand]

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.

Not only that, but App only had how many people ever ask questions? I only ever heard Ethan and the website guy whose name escapes me at the moment asking anything, unless it was a higher profile game (championship game, UNC, etc).

He is going to get it from all sides at Mizzou.

[hapapp]

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.

Not only that, but App only had how many people ever ask questions? I only ever heard Ethan and the website guy whose name escapes me at the moment asking anything, unless it was a higher profile game (championship game, UNC, etc).

He is going to get it from all sides at Mizzou.

Don't forget "Steve with the paper." There were times when the CO might have someone and I think sometimes the Appalachian had a reporter there. But, you are right Ethan and Dave did most of the real questioning.

I realize that yesterday was a special day at Mizzou but the number of journalists present and asking questions was a great deal more that ever show up in Boone.

[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.

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.

I can't disagree with your point that he should have had a better deflection planned. His answer felt awkward even when I first heard it. I just don't think it rises to the level of a moral / lacking integrity issue. I like your suggestion though. He should have just said "today is about this game and the players who won it. I'll answer those questions in my next press conference" or something to that effect.

[Mjohn1988]

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.

I can't disagree with your point that he should have had a better deflection planned. His answer felt awkward even when I first heard it. I just don't think it rises to the level of a moral / lacking integrity issue. I like your suggestion though. He should have just said "today is about this game and the players who won it. I'll answer those questions in my next press conference" or something to that effect.

I think his mind was so blown by the whole situation that he didn’t know what to say. Just look at him with that cigar, he wasn’t celebrating the win on the field he was already celebrating the huge pay check he was about to get. He knew what was about to happen and he wanted to shout it from the rooftops but he couldn’t. The only “fake news” was that he wasn’t going to Arkansas.

[hapapp]

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.

I can't disagree with your point that he should have had a better deflection planned. His answer felt awkward even when I first heard it. I just don't think it rises to the level of a moral / lacking integrity issue. I like your suggestion though. He should have just said "today is about this game and the players who won it. I'll answer those questions in my next press conference" or something to that effect.

I think his mind was so blown by the whole situation that he didn’t know what to say. Just look at him with that cigar, he wasn’t celebrating the win on the field he was already celebrating the huge pay check he was about to get. He knew what was about to happen and he wanted to shout it from the rooftops but he couldn’t. The only “fake news” was that he wasn’t going to Arkansas.

Please don't pretend that you know that. He hadn't even met with them yet. I get everyone is unsettled by what happened but let's not manufacture stories. You have no way of knowing what he was thinking in that moment. He left for what he sees a better opportunity. We can agree or not about whether he should have taken it, or whether App was treated fairly, or whether he was not who we thought he was. But, let's not make stuff up.

[bigdaddyg]

When I heard the "fake news" bit my reaction was the same as the other many times I heard Drink speak. He seems like a nice guy, good family man but overall he is a smart ass. I watched a lot of Cafe Portofino Mountaineer Talk segments with AW. Drink came across as a smart ass plain and simple. Maybe it is just confidence or arrogance but it didn't seem genuine. I felt that way had he still been here and if he got us to the Cotton Bowl. I agree with most folks, what is he or any other coach supposed to say? None of them ever admit that they are actively seeking another gig but most take a different route when evading the question. He even said he had not checked his cell phones. Come on man.

David Glenn has brought up the Drinkwitz deal nearly every day in some form or fashion. He has talked about Drink saying that App is a top 25 program, not a stepping stone job, etc. He asked the question today of an App guy who called in- "what would you say is the percentage of App folks who are mad about him leaving after a year versus those who don't blame the guy for quintupling his salary?" I would have to say that almost none of us blame anyone for getting that hefty of a pay increase but I believe nearly all of us are mad that he hoodwinked us. I will never believe he had any intention of staying one day longer than he had to. That is just my gut especially after listening to some of his answers to general questions about Boone, places to eat, etc. Never a real genuine answer IMO.

[Mjohn1988]

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.

I can't disagree with your point that he should have had a better deflection planned. His answer felt awkward even when I first heard it. I just don't think it rises to the level of a moral / lacking integrity issue. I like your suggestion though. He should have just said "today is about this game and the players who won it. I'll answer those questions in my next press conference" or something to that effect.

I think his mind was so blown by the whole situation that he didn’t know what to say. Just look at him with that cigar, he wasn’t celebrating the win on the field he was already celebrating the huge pay check he was about to get. He knew what was about to happen and he wanted to shout it from the rooftops but he couldn’t. The only “fake news” was that he wasn’t going to Arkansas.

Please don't pretend that you know that. He hadn't even met with them yet. I get everyone is unsettled by what happened but let's not manufacture stories. You have no way of knowing what he was thinking in that moment. He left for what he sees a better opportunity. We can agree or not about whether he should have taken it, or whether App was treated fairly, or whether he was not who we thought he was. But, let's not make stuff up.

It’s just my opinion, but I will ask how you know he hadn’t met with them yet? Frankly I would find that hard to believe. So you really think the folks from Missouri flew into Boone on Saturday night just hoping they could secure a meeting with a coach they hadn’t talked to so they could offer him $16,000,000? C-mon man.

[hapapp]

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.

I can't disagree with your point that he should have had a better deflection planned. His answer felt awkward even when I first heard it. I just don't think it rises to the level of a moral / lacking integrity issue. I like your suggestion though. He should have just said "today is about this game and the players who won it. I'll answer those questions in my next press conference" or something to that effect.

I think his mind was so blown by the whole situation that he didn’t know what to say. Just look at him with that cigar, he wasn’t celebrating the win on the field he was already celebrating the huge pay check he was about to get. He knew what was about to happen and he wanted to shout it from the rooftops but he couldn’t. The only “fake news” was that he wasn’t going to Arkansas.

Please don't pretend that you know that. He hadn't even met with them yet. I get everyone is unsettled by what happened but let's not manufacture stories. You have no way of knowing what he was thinking in that moment. He left for what he sees a better opportunity. We can agree or not about whether he should have taken it, or whether App was treated fairly, or whether he was not who we thought he was. But, let's not make stuff up.

It’s just my opinion, but I will ask how you know he hadn’t met with them yet? Frankly I would find that hard to believe. So you really think the folks from Missouri flew into Boone on Saturday night just hoping they could secure a meeting with a coach they hadn’t talked to so they could offer him $16,000,000? C-mon man.

I'm guessing his agent had but I think it very possible that he hadn't himself had contact. Obviously, I can't state categorically that he hadn't had contact but he indicated that he went to Wilkesboro to meet them on Saturday after his daughter's dance recital. Surely things were in the works but I would assume most of the contact was handled by his agent.

[hapapp]

I'm sure hopeful that we have a coach by Friday so we can begin to look forward instead of dwelling in the past. There will be raw feelings for a while but we do have a bowl game and a signing day coming up that I hope will eventually garner more of our attention.

[BayouApp]

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

[ericsaid]

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.

I can't disagree with your point that he should have had a better deflection planned. His answer felt awkward even when I first heard it. I just don't think it rises to the level of a moral / lacking integrity issue. I like your suggestion though. He should have just said "today is about this game and the players who won it. I'll answer those questions in my next press conference" or something to that effect.

I think his mind was so blown by the whole situation that he didn’t know what to say. Just look at him with that cigar, he wasn’t celebrating the win on the field he was already celebrating the huge pay check he was about to get. He knew what was about to happen and he wanted to shout it from the rooftops but he couldn’t. The only “fake news” was that he wasn’t going to Arkansas.

Please don't pretend that you know that. He hadn't even met with them yet. I get everyone is unsettled by what happened but let's not manufacture stories. You have no way of knowing what he was thinking in that moment. He left for what he sees a better opportunity. We can agree or not about whether he should have taken it, or whether App was treated fairly, or whether he was not who we thought he was. But, let's not make stuff up.

It’s just my opinion, but I will ask how you know he hadn’t met with them yet? Frankly I would find that hard to believe. So you really think the folks from Missouri flew into Boone on Saturday night just hoping they could secure a meeting with a coach they hadn’t talked to so they could offer him $16,000,000? C-mon man.

They did fly into Wilkesboro on Saturday evening and left Wilkesboro at approximately 10 PM EST for Columbia, MO. Not sure when they arrived in Wilkesboro though. It's entirely possible he learned prior to the game that they wanted to interview which is why he was too distracted to keep his foot on the gas and make a statement later in the game.

[Mjohn1988]

DONE WITH DRINQUITS.....hope things go well for them....not opening this thread again.

[GoBoone]

I'm shaking it off as well. We got a bowl game to focus on!

[Stonewall]

He's dead.Let's move on .

[GreatAppSt]

I've sat Shiva since it was announced he was leaving, and now its done.

[hapapp]

DONE WITH DRINQUITS.....hope things go well for them....not opening this thread again.

Thank you!! The future is all that matters now. Time to stop wasting all this energy on something we can't (or don't want ) to undo. We got the guy we want.

[asu7]

Thanks everyone for the information and keeping us all posted. Time to move on. Great things are ahead of us! I feel we got this right this time. Onward! #totheroof

[83UNC85ASU]

When I heard the "fake news" bit my reaction was the same as the other many times I heard Drink speak. He seems like a nice guy, good family man but overall he is a smart ass. I watched a lot of Cafe Portofino Mountaineer Talk segments with AW. Drink came across as a smart ass plain and simple. Maybe it is just confidence or arrogance but it didn't seem genuine. I felt that way had he still been here and if he got us to the Cotton Bowl. I agree with most folks, what is he or any other coach supposed to say? None of them ever admit that they are actively seeking another gig but most take a different route when evading the question. He even said he had not checked his cell phones. Come on man.

David Glenn has brought up the Drinkwitz deal nearly every day in some form or fashion. He has talked about Drink saying that App is a top 25 program, not a stepping stone job, etc. He asked the question today of an App guy who called in- "what would you say is the percentage of App folks who are mad about him leaving after a year versus those who don't blame the guy for quintupling his salary?" I would have to say that almost none of us blame anyone for getting that hefty of a pay increase but I believe nearly all of us are mad that he hoodwinked us. I will never believe he had any intention of staying one day longer than he had to. That is just my gut especially after listening to some of his answers to general questions about Boone, places to eat, etc. Never a real genuine answer IMO.

I agree. The dude was a smug smart ass. In the end I don’t think he was a good cultural fit. Good riddance!

[Rekdiver]

He ain’t nothing compared to Kiffin!