[Spiny_Norman]

The heat needs to be turned up on Shaw AND Muir.

The only person to turn up the heat on Muir would be his boss Persis Drell, the Provost. The of immense proportions financial deficit and dropping 11 sports certainly should get her attention. But as far as I know, Stanford has never fired an AD, at least not in my lifetime. Joe Ruetz retired, Andy Geiger left for Ohio State, Ted Leland sort of retired, Bob Bowlsby left to be B12 commissioner.



The best way out of this would be for the ACC to hire Bernard as its new commissioner. He eases his way out of the mess that he created and leaves it for a new AD to clean up.

"Heat" isn't synonymous with firing (at least from my angle).  



Heat is sense of urgency; heat is doing something (like telling your head football coach that the current system is not working and that he needs to hire and OC and get the hell out of the way; need to work harder on recruiting trail, etc.).



The provost or President (or whoever is in charge) can put sense of urgency on Muir to get flagship football program on better footing.

Between Shaw and Muir I wonder really what is their respective thinking about the state of the program.  At the present time I am sure a major/primary focus is the health of the players, coaches, staff and other members of the athletic department.

I want to think that both of these guys, even in an pandemic, are thinking about next year's game attendance. What I find discouraging was Muir flat-out ignoring the inquiries last year made his office by none other than Tab Taube -- yes, THAT Tad Taube, who was expressing the very same concerns that have been registered here, and elsewhere, by long-time fans and donors. I've confirmed this with enough insiders to stand on it.

So let's summarize:

• Stanford Athletics has a big hole financially. It had a big hole even before Covid. Covid expenses and missed revenue have made it worse.
  
• The leader of the department, Bernard Muir, has alienated his base of large donors (gailtate, I have heard similar stories to yours about Ted Taube, people representing 8 figures of athletic donations). Muir also cut 11 sports which will have a negligible effect on the financial gap but which has disappointed and angered even the most ardent and devoted Stanford sports fans.
  
• The leader of the biggest component of the department, David Shaw, is frustrating the base of Stanford football fans who support his program with lackluster play and unfulfilled expectations.
  
• Muir and Shaw have deflected questions and criticism, apparently both in public and private, which adds to the frustration of key stakeholders.
  
• The University admins have an entire campus in financial distress with Athletics being only a part (likely a small part) of their problem. No evidence yet that they are providing any oversight of the AD. They certainly would seem to have higher priorities.
  

Is  this a fair assessment of what we are seeing?

[Spiny_Norman]

The heat needs to be turned up on Shaw AND Muir.

The only person to turn up the heat on Muir would be his boss Persis Drell, the Provost. The of immense proportions financial deficit and dropping 11 sports certainly should get her attention. But as far as I know, Stanford has never fired an AD, at least not in my lifetime. Joe Ruetz retired, Andy Geiger left for Ohio State, Ted Leland sort of retired, Bob Bowlsby left to be B12 commissioner.



The best way out of this would be for the ACC to hire Bernard as its new commissioner. He eases his way out of the mess that he created and leaves it for a new AD to clean up.

"Heat" isn't synonymous with firing (at least from my angle).  



Heat is sense of urgency; heat is doing something (like telling your head football coach that the current system is not working and that he needs to hire and OC and get the hell out of the way; need to work harder on recruiting trail, etc.).



The provost or President (or whoever is in charge) can put sense of urgency on Muir to get flagship football program on better footing.

Between Shaw and Muir I wonder really what is their respective thinking about the state of the program.  At the present time I am sure a major/primary focus is the health of the players, coaches, staff and other members of the athletic department.

I want to think that both of these guys, even in an pandemic, are thinking about next year's game attendance. What I find discouraging was Muir flat-out ignoring the inquiries last year made his office by none other than Tab Taube -- yes, THAT Tad Taube, who was expressing the very same concerns that have been registered here, and elsewhere, by long-time fans and donors. I've confirmed this with enough insiders to stand on it.

So let's summarize:

• Stanford Athletics has a big hole financially. It had a big hole even before Covid. Covid expenses and missed revenue have made it worse.
  
• The leader of the department, Bernard Muir, has alienated his base of large donors (gailtate, I have heard similar stories to yours about Ted Taube, people representing 8 figures of athletic donations). Muir also cut 11 sports which will have a negligible effect on the financial gap but which has disappointed and angered even the most ardent and devoted Stanford sports fans.
  
• The leader of the biggest component of the department, David Shaw, is frustrating the base of Stanford football fans who support his program with lackluster play and unfulfilled expectations.
  
• Muir and Shaw have deflected questions and criticism, apparently both in public and private, which adds to the frustration of key stakeholders.
  
• The University admins have an entire campus in financial distress with Athletics being only a part (likely a small part) of their problem. No evidence yet that they are providing any oversight of the AD. They certainly would seem to have higher priorities.
  

Is  this a fair assessment of what we are seeing?