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What "Grade" do you give Mr. Dannen on his work since coming to Tulane?

A+
14
23%
A
8
13%
A-
5
8%
B+
4
7%
B
1
2%
B-
3
5%
C
5
8%
D
8
13%
F
13
21%
 
Total votes: 61
dpm wave
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This one is 2 years old and totally inapplicable
Last edited by dpm wave on Mon Oct 22, 2018 2:45 am, edited 3 times in total.


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Maybe I'm being harsh but I wish they would've saved the "big reveal" moniker for unveiling the facilities plans.

I love the hires on paper, TD's communication skills and fan interaction on Twitter and the overall new energy in the department.

I'm also happy he elected to retain my former colleagues in the Ticket Sales & Service side even after he ended the contract with Aspire.
Wavetrader
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It'd be great if the two people who voted Cs for TD to provide their rationale. I'm just curious.
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jonathanjoseph
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Wavetrader wrote:It'd be great if the two people who voted Cs for TD to provide their rationale. I'm just curious.
I'd wager it was Team Dickson (JTS/GreenWave, etc) lurking in the background. Given that we can't yet judge by wins and losses, given the amount of major moves needed to be made (including a football coach on day 1) and overhauling the Wilson Center staff, bringing back Angry Wave, etc. Sorry, but a grade below "A-" isn't really credible. Just on production alone he deserves an A.
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nawlinspete
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Sad commentary that only 15 have voted.

Notwithstanding the recent flurry of new board members these last few days there are only 476 members, few of whom are active.

This board needs to grow by at least 10,000 members. What strategies are being considered to make the board more relevant ?
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I gave an A- but would really like to give him an I for incomplete. He has had a huge mess to clean up and all four coaches hired have huge upside. We have to wait for the new academic year to begin to finally see some results. I'm still waiting for the facility plan. The Football Operations building has to be Priority #1.
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Given that the credentials of his two major hires (Fritz and Dunleavy) were far superior to their respective immediate predecessors (Johnson and Conroy), I think that Dannen has those programs heading in the right directions.

He likely won't have to worry about making another major hire in the next couple of years, so we'll see what kind of hay he will make as it pertains to facility upgrades, fundraising, scheduling and realignment.
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jonathanjoseph wrote:
Wavetrader wrote:It'd be great if the two people who voted Cs for TD to provide their rationale. I'm just curious.
I'd wager it was Team Dickson (JTS/GreenWave, etc) lurking in the background. Given that we can't yet judge by wins and losses, given the amount of major moves needed to be made (including a football coach on day 1) and overhauling the Wilson Center staff, bringing back Angry Wave, etc. Sorry, but a grade below "A-" isn't really credible. Just on production alone he deserves an A.
+1. Never would have thought we would be able to real in the caliber of coaches TD has
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I voted C simply because our win-loss record is still 0-0. Not being negative, and I like everything he's done so far, but so far, it's all been on paper.
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Aberzombie1892
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NOLABigSteve wrote:I voted C simply because our win-loss record is still 0-0. Not being negative, and I like everything he's done so far, but so far, it's all been on paper.
While that's true, it would be unfair to give him a low grade at this time since each of the coaching hires was as good as we could hope for (i.e. it's unlikely if we could have gotten more with a different AD). Even if some of these coaches don't work out, we should not be grading him on the performance of those coaches and how he addresses those performances until near the end of year 3 at the absolute earliest since that is the earliest time that he could realistically consider firing any of them due to their on the field/court performance. To give an example, Athlon (I believe) is predicting Tulane FB will have a rough go in 2016 and 2017 (no winning season in either) - would you give him a low grade if that prediction is accurate? Who else could he have realistically gotten to come to Tulane instead of Fritz? What if 2018 is a 8 win season - would that affect his grade? Of course it would, and that's why we shouldn't evaluate the performance of coaches and how he treats those performances until near the end of year 3 for each of them.
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Aberzombie1892 wrote:
NOLABigSteve wrote:I voted C simply because our win-loss record is still 0-0. Not being negative, and I like everything he's done so far, but so far, it's all been on paper.
While that's true, it would be unfair to give him a low grade at this time since each of the coaching hires was as good as we could hope for (i.e. it's unlikely if we could have gotten more with a different AD). Even if some of these coaches don't work out, we should not be grading him on the performance of those coaches and how he addresses those performances until near the end of year 3 at the absolute earliest since that is the earliest time that he could realistically consider firing any of them due to their on the field/court performance. To give an example, Athlon (I believe) is predicting Tulane FB will have a rough go in 2016 and 2017 (no winning season in either) - would you give him a low grade if that prediction is accurate? Who else could he have realistically gotten to come to Tulane instead of Fritz? What if 2018 is a 8 win season - would that affect his grade? Of course it would, and that's why we shouldn't evaluate the performance of coaches and how he treats those performances until near the end of year 3 for each of them.
If we perform well on the field, then of course I would up my grade. We have the potential to do great things... now let's see. Plus, (and I like the guy), he is doing the things a good athletic director should be doing. We were all so used to mediocrity with Dickson that the hires Troy has made have been outstanding. But at the end of the day, this is athletics, and it's about wins, losses, and championships. Grades are given based on performance and test scores, not on how well the student studied for the test. My 2 cents.
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nawlinspete
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Agree that only grade can be an " Incomplete."

Facilities strategy, and how to fund ?

Getting us back into MBSD and what to do with the albatross that is Yulman ?

Results on the courts, fields, will define what, on paper only looks to be substantial improvement; with possible exception of Coach Fritz's apparent inability to recruit well.
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I agree with Steve at this point. Compared to Dickson A+ but in general he's doing what he's supposed to do so. In 3-4 years let's see if he puts up the success Kevin White had here whom I'd grade an A+. So I'd grade incomplete if it were an option.
He's hired four coaches that are "safe" hires as compared to CJ and Conroy. On paper their resumes are top notch. Is this baseball coach better than Pierce. No.
(Dunleavy the unknown) Now will he get them the tools needed to have success that remains to be seen.
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NOLABigSteve wrote:I voted C simply because our win-loss record is still 0-0. Not being negative, and I like everything he's done so far, but so far, it's all been on paper.
Pretty much the reason I gave a B+. It's like a teacher giving a kid a grade based upon class participation before any tests have been taken. The tests begin when the new coaches have game experience. If we lose to Wake by the same kind of scores that we lost to Duke and GaTech the last few years, what will the grade be the Friday after that game? Probably very low, as Wake is nowhere near the competitive squad that both Duke and Tech are.

So Incomplete would really be the grade to reflect where Troy Dannen stands right now.

I'd love to know how the poster above that flat out states "The new baseball coach is not better than Pierce" knows that? Pierce didn't recruit particularly well, an Jewett hasn't coached a game. So we have a guy with no track record to judge being labeled a worse coach than a guy who did a nice job coaching up recruits he inherited.
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DfromCT wrote:
NOLABigSteve wrote:I voted C simply because our win-loss record is still 0-0. Not being negative, and I like everything he's done so far, but so far, it's all been on paper.
Pretty much the reason I gave a B+. It's like a teacher giving a kid a grade based upon class participation before any tests have been taken. The tests begin when the new coaches have game experience. If we lose to Wake by the same kind of scores that we lost to Duke and GaTech the last few years, what will the grade be the Friday after that game? Probably very low, as Wake is nowhere near the competitive squad that both Duke and Tech are.

So Incomplete would really be the grade to reflect where Troy Dannen stands right now.

I'd love to know how the poster above that flat out states "The new baseball coach is not better than Pierce" knows that? Pierce didn't recruit particularly well, an Jewett hasn't coached a game. So we have a guy with no track record to judge being labeled a worse coach than a guy who did a nice job coaching up recruits he inherited.
He'd be head coach at Texas. Wasn't even considered. He may turn out fine. But "Show Me" until then.
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Show Me wrote:
DfromCT wrote:
NOLABigSteve wrote:I voted C simply because our win-loss record is still 0-0. Not being negative, and I like everything he's done so far, but so far, it's all been on paper.
Pretty much the reason I gave a B+. It's like a teacher giving a kid a grade based upon class participation before any tests have been taken. The tests begin when the new coaches have game experience. If we lose to Wake by the same kind of scores that we lost to Duke and GaTech the last few years, what will the grade be the Friday after that game? Probably very low, as Wake is nowhere near the competitive squad that both Duke and Tech are.

So Incomplete would really be the grade to reflect where Troy Dannen stands right now.

I'd love to know how the poster above that flat out states "The new baseball coach is not better than Pierce" knows that? Pierce didn't recruit particularly well, an Jewett hasn't coached a game. So we have a guy with no track record to judge being labeled a worse coach than a guy who did a nice job coaching up recruits he inherited.
He'd be head coach at Texas. Wasn't even considered. He may turn out fine. But "Show Me" until then.
You just back pedaled. You admit that you cannot compare him to the 14th choice of the University of Texas because you have no data to go on.
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jonathanjoseph
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NOLABigSteve wrote:I voted C simply because our win-loss record is still 0-0. Not being negative, and I like everything he's done so far, but so far, it's all been on paper.
The instructions were very clear that this poll was intended to judge the first 6 months and be irrespective of wins and losses.

Meanwhile, we don't need wins or losses to judge production, changing the culture and expectations etc.
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DfromCT wrote:
Show Me wrote:
DfromCT wrote:
NOLABigSteve wrote:I voted C simply because our win-loss record is still 0-0. Not being negative, and I like everything he's done so far, but so far, it's all been on paper.
Pretty much the reason I gave a B+. It's like a teacher giving a kid a grade based upon class participation before any tests have been taken. The tests begin when the new coaches have game experience. If we lose to Wake by the same kind of scores that we lost to Duke and GaTech the last few years, what will the grade be the Friday after that game? Probably very low, as Wake is nowhere near the competitive squad that both Duke and Tech are.

So Incomplete would really be the grade to reflect where Troy Dannen stands right now.

I'd love to know how the poster above that flat out states "The new baseball coach is not better than Pierce" knows that? Pierce didn't recruit particularly well, an Jewett hasn't coached a game. So we have a guy with no track record to judge being labeled a worse coach than a guy who did a nice job coaching up recruits he inherited.
He'd be head coach at Texas. Wasn't even considered. He may turn out fine. But "Show Me" until then.
You just back pedaled. You admit that you cannot compare him to the 14th choice of the University of Texas because you have no data to go on.
Ok apples to apples. Pierce had 3 years D1 head coaching experience and all three he took to a regional when hired. Jewett has no D1 head coaching jobs.
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I gave him an "A" so far but believe the true test will be how his selected coaches for football, basketball & baseball perform. So, I too would have been tempted to vote "I" for incomplete if shown for the grading survey.
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DfromCT wrote:
NOLABigSteve wrote:I voted C simply because our win-loss record is still 0-0. Not being negative, and I like everything he's done so far, but so far, it's all been on paper.
Pretty much the reason I gave a B+. It's like a teacher giving a kid a grade based upon class participation before any tests have been taken. The tests begin when the new coaches have game experience. If we lose to Wake by the same kind of scores that we lost to Duke and GaTech the last few years, what will the grade be the Friday after that game? Probably very low, as Wake is nowhere near the competitive squad that both Duke and Tech are.

So Incomplete would really be the grade to reflect where Troy Dannen stands right now.

I'd love to know how the poster above that flat out states "The new baseball coach is not better than Pierce" knows that? Pierce didn't recruit particularly well, an Jewett hasn't coached a game. So we have a guy with no track record to judge being labeled a worse coach than a guy who did a nice job coaching up recruits he inherited.
No it is not like grading "class participation". Running a large number of coaching searches in a short period of time, turning over dozens of employees as part of changing the culture and the other tangible moves made are not intangible activities. That we cannot judge the final results of those hires yet is one thing, but we can absolutely judge Dannen's performance so far and many of you seem to be missing that.

Beyond what's evident, I know of other things Dannen is working on that haven't been announced that are smart, impressive and ambitious.

While we all understand that it's about wins and losses (expect for Dickson) there is a large and growing body of work by Dannen at Tulane and it is very impressive.
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I'd give him an F for the new website.
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DfromCT wrote:
Show Me wrote:
DfromCT wrote:
NOLABigSteve wrote:I voted C simply because our win-loss record is still 0-0. Not being negative, and I like everything he's done so far, but so far, it's all been on paper.
Pretty much the reason I gave a B+. It's like a teacher giving a kid a grade based upon class participation before any tests have been taken. The tests begin when the new coaches have game experience. If we lose to Wake by the same kind of scores that we lost to Duke and GaTech the last few years, what will the grade be the Friday after that game? Probably very low, as Wake is nowhere near the competitive squad that both Duke and Tech are.

So Incomplete would really be the grade to reflect where Troy Dannen stands right now.

I'd love to know how the poster above that flat out states "The new baseball coach is not better than Pierce" knows that? Pierce didn't recruit particularly well, an Jewett hasn't coached a game. So we have a guy with no track record to judge being labeled a worse coach than a guy who did a nice job coaching up recruits he inherited.
He'd be head coach at Texas. Wasn't even considered. He may turn out fine. But "Show Me" until then.
You just back pedaled. You admit that you cannot compare him to the 14th choice of the University of Texas because you have no data to go on.
14th choice for Texas doesn't seem so bad when you see their first 13 choices were like the 13 best coaches in the country. It's no slight to Jewett saying Pierce had a better résumé 2 years ago than Jewett does now. I think we can almost all agree he did.
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jonathanjoseph wrote:The instructions were very clear that this poll was intended to judge the first 6 months and be irrespective of wins and losses.
Love ya JJ, but isn't this the mentality we are trying to distance ourselves from? If we go out this fall and stink it up in football and basketball, would you change your grade? This is athletics, the ONLY grade dished out should be for WINS and LOSSES.

For sake of the poll/question, my answer would be Incomplete if it was an option.
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Show Me wrote:I'd give him an F for the new website.
That's because you don't understand how that works. Texas and every other university that uses Sidearm will have similar problems with their websites. That doesn't mean the website is good at all.
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NOLABigSteve wrote:
jonathanjoseph wrote:The instructions were very clear that this poll was intended to judge the first 6 months and be irrespective of wins and losses.
Love ya JJ, but isn't this the mentality we are trying to distance ourselves from? If we go out this fall and stink it up in football and basketball, would you change your grade? This is athletics, the ONLY grade dished out should be for WINS and LOSSES.

For sake of the poll/question, my answer would be Incomplete if it was an option.
The two aren't mutually exclusive. The poll specifically asked about the period of 6 months and even noted that no games were played yet. Being able to grade the 6-month performance doesn't mean that wins and losses aren't relevant, it just means they aren't relevant to this poll.

As we know from the past Cow/Dick era, it's all the off the field stuff, administration, facilities, culture that lead to on the field wins. We were severely deficient (that's being kind) in every single "off field" category. Dannen has made significant inroads towards changing all of the above. Given Tulane's bureaucracy that crippled many other Tulane employees, the amount Dannen has accomplished in 6 months is stunning, and that probably holds true for any profession, not just an athletic director.

Of course the coaching searches may not be ultimately successful, but Dannen has run extremely efficient processes, successfully sold a "new Tulane" to coaches who would not have agreed to work for "the Tulane Model", and worked on changing everything from the culture to the personnel at the Wilson Center to rebranding Angry Wave.

Obviously any final results must be judged by wins and losses and as of current is incomplete. But any read of the past 6 months that results in a grade less than A- is uninformed.
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