11-28-2022, 09:43 PM
Press conference reactions:
* The bottom line is that my thoughts from Sunday morning still apply, only more so. It's both such a weight lifted off the program (and therefore cause for elation among fans) and a picture perfect transition that reflects very well on the two protagonists in this press conference, David Shaw and Bernard Muir. Lord knows I don't think much from the last several years reflects well on them, but 48 hours into this transition they've nailed the public-facing parts of it. I mused a fair amount this past year about how our best case scenario was Shaw leaving on his own terms and I cited reasons very much like what we're now seeing, but I never imagined it being pulled off this gracefully. It's actually incredible that no resentment from either party seems to be seeping through and that message discipline has been so unified and.....cheerful.
* On that last point, the whole press conference is a big wet love-fest. Straight Kumbaya. A video billboard/public service announcement for Stanford football and Leland Stanford Junior University. Two happy, confident, grounded, eloquent senior leaders extolling the virtues of an amazing institution. Again, lord knows I have many criticisms of both men, but this press conference was an attractive look for them. And that can only be good for Stanford. Typically one would view a coaching transition when the coach failed and is leaving for cause as a sensitive, defensive, embarrassing time. Instead, it seems like all parties have essentially agreed to pretend he didn't fail (yet somehow appear reasonable and magnanimous when answering questions that allude to the failure).
* I know some prioritize wanting history to account forthrightly with the failure so I understand how this alternate reality can be frustrating, but I don't think there's much doubt this is the smoother transition that does less damage to Stanford's reputation. In fact, I'd say Stanford's reputation has/should improve on the basis of the last 48 hours. It's remarkable and awesome how much more confident the vibes are right now than they were following Teevens and Harris. It's hard to imagine a more swaggering, triumphant atmosphere following a coach leaving for cause.
* The big caveat that could temper my current optimism is if Muir believes the spin that we're close and/or that the foundation of the program is strong and he therefore favors a continuity candidate (Pritchard, Anderson) or a Shaw coaching tree candidate (Hamilton, Bloomgren) and we consequently do not get the cleansing rebuild of the program we need. Still a risk. I picked up nothing in this press conference that suggests this is where Muir is but he was also quite disciplined in how vague he was about criteria and approach for the hire, so it's a possibility I'm disappointed on this score.
* The press conference was much less hagiography than I thought it would be. Muir was complimentary but not obnoxiously effusive about Shaw (handled with savvy and grace I thought). Shaw took opportunities to take victory laps, but in similarly savvy/graceful ways, such as describing his feelings on his tenure as "magical" and then citing experiences he enjoyed, which was an opportunity to mention Rose Bowls and Pac-12 championships and Coach of the Year awards. But it was less of the press conference than I thought it would be.
* Shaw's thank yous were classy and apparently heartfelt. I'm sure his thoughts on Harbaugh are complicated but the shout outs to Harbaugh were nice grace notes. It was also interesting that after Muir answered the question on how you hire a guy to replace the guy Shaw jumped in and said he was the guy who replaced the guy previously and he lives by his dad's reminder that you're never really walking in somebody else's shoes. It reminded me of that Tom Brady/Morgan Freeman commercial currently on tv and is a nice sentiment in letting the next guy make his own way without it being about who he follows.
* Shaw's frame on this being the "right time" for him and his family and the program is such a savvy, face-saving way to talk about all this. That he throws "program" in there is an acknowledgment that this isn't leaving on top and his departure is better for the program too, a self-awareness I appreciate. Reporters have tried to pin him down on his thought process (perhaps trying to get a glimpse into the palace intrigue on how this went down) and his answer basically shuts down those lines of questions without being rude or inaccurate. I like it. As for what's next, he talked about this not being retirement but I couldn't really pick up from his comments whether in his heart of hearts the next things are more in the coaching, administration, broadcasting, philanthropy, or other realms. He did talk about fielding phone calls, which sounded like a coach thing to say/reference to future coaching opportunities, but who knows.
* Muir talked about how navigating the landscape has been difficult and addressed both transfers and NIL but he was pretty careful in how he phrased the answers and I don't think we learned anything. I did notice that he put a bit more of an emphasis on "if" and "hopefully" with regard to transfers than what Shaw has been saying. He also managed expectations a bit on transfers, a somewhat cautious nod to evolution in that area but certainly not making any big promises. Otherwise he said well-rehearsed things about finding the proper balance and right fit and working with administrators and faculty, comments that I think inform less than what Stewart Mandel and insiders on the message board have relayed. In my mind where we land on transfers and NIL are still significant open questions. My optimistic hope on this (as well as conference affiliation, tv deals, etc., which didn't come up) is that Muir is keeping his powder dry until meatier announcements are ready (or will just let evolutionary steps speak for themselves once they start happening), but I don't really know.
* Both talked about our players' hunger and drive. I wouldn't expect them to say anything different but I'm less encumbered by affiliation or sentiment on this and will just speak my mind: I don't buy it. I see zero evidence Stanford football players in the last several iterations of Shaw teams have high hunger and drive compared to players elsewhere. We need a new culture and a new kind of player. That's a comment that fixes ultimate responsibility on the leaders in charge of the team but it also bears on the kind of players we have and what we get out of them. I think it ignores the issues if we don't recognize that there are problems with the players. I hope this was more public relations/propaganda (or just an empty/sounds good compliment) than something reflective of how Muir is thinking. If it is reflective, this could have bearing on the caveat I mentioned above: if Muir doesn't think the foundations of this team are crumbling he will be more inclined to opt for a continuity or Shaw tree candidate.
* Others have mocked Shaw's comment that we were a healthy running back away from getting to a bowl. Yeah, this isn't true. Since we're past the Shaw era I won't waste time crunching numbers to show how far away we were, but it's very hard to argue the running back situation cost us even a single game and I find it doubtful that even if we were one of the healthiest teams in the conference across all positions we would have made a bowl. What really matters is whether Muir believes this....back to that caveat again. I sure hope not.
* The bottom line is that my thoughts from Sunday morning still apply, only more so. It's both such a weight lifted off the program (and therefore cause for elation among fans) and a picture perfect transition that reflects very well on the two protagonists in this press conference, David Shaw and Bernard Muir. Lord knows I don't think much from the last several years reflects well on them, but 48 hours into this transition they've nailed the public-facing parts of it. I mused a fair amount this past year about how our best case scenario was Shaw leaving on his own terms and I cited reasons very much like what we're now seeing, but I never imagined it being pulled off this gracefully. It's actually incredible that no resentment from either party seems to be seeping through and that message discipline has been so unified and.....cheerful.
* On that last point, the whole press conference is a big wet love-fest. Straight Kumbaya. A video billboard/public service announcement for Stanford football and Leland Stanford Junior University. Two happy, confident, grounded, eloquent senior leaders extolling the virtues of an amazing institution. Again, lord knows I have many criticisms of both men, but this press conference was an attractive look for them. And that can only be good for Stanford. Typically one would view a coaching transition when the coach failed and is leaving for cause as a sensitive, defensive, embarrassing time. Instead, it seems like all parties have essentially agreed to pretend he didn't fail (yet somehow appear reasonable and magnanimous when answering questions that allude to the failure).
* I know some prioritize wanting history to account forthrightly with the failure so I understand how this alternate reality can be frustrating, but I don't think there's much doubt this is the smoother transition that does less damage to Stanford's reputation. In fact, I'd say Stanford's reputation has/should improve on the basis of the last 48 hours. It's remarkable and awesome how much more confident the vibes are right now than they were following Teevens and Harris. It's hard to imagine a more swaggering, triumphant atmosphere following a coach leaving for cause.
* The big caveat that could temper my current optimism is if Muir believes the spin that we're close and/or that the foundation of the program is strong and he therefore favors a continuity candidate (Pritchard, Anderson) or a Shaw coaching tree candidate (Hamilton, Bloomgren) and we consequently do not get the cleansing rebuild of the program we need. Still a risk. I picked up nothing in this press conference that suggests this is where Muir is but he was also quite disciplined in how vague he was about criteria and approach for the hire, so it's a possibility I'm disappointed on this score.
* The press conference was much less hagiography than I thought it would be. Muir was complimentary but not obnoxiously effusive about Shaw (handled with savvy and grace I thought). Shaw took opportunities to take victory laps, but in similarly savvy/graceful ways, such as describing his feelings on his tenure as "magical" and then citing experiences he enjoyed, which was an opportunity to mention Rose Bowls and Pac-12 championships and Coach of the Year awards. But it was less of the press conference than I thought it would be.
* Shaw's thank yous were classy and apparently heartfelt. I'm sure his thoughts on Harbaugh are complicated but the shout outs to Harbaugh were nice grace notes. It was also interesting that after Muir answered the question on how you hire a guy to replace the guy Shaw jumped in and said he was the guy who replaced the guy previously and he lives by his dad's reminder that you're never really walking in somebody else's shoes. It reminded me of that Tom Brady/Morgan Freeman commercial currently on tv and is a nice sentiment in letting the next guy make his own way without it being about who he follows.
* Shaw's frame on this being the "right time" for him and his family and the program is such a savvy, face-saving way to talk about all this. That he throws "program" in there is an acknowledgment that this isn't leaving on top and his departure is better for the program too, a self-awareness I appreciate. Reporters have tried to pin him down on his thought process (perhaps trying to get a glimpse into the palace intrigue on how this went down) and his answer basically shuts down those lines of questions without being rude or inaccurate. I like it. As for what's next, he talked about this not being retirement but I couldn't really pick up from his comments whether in his heart of hearts the next things are more in the coaching, administration, broadcasting, philanthropy, or other realms. He did talk about fielding phone calls, which sounded like a coach thing to say/reference to future coaching opportunities, but who knows.
* Muir talked about how navigating the landscape has been difficult and addressed both transfers and NIL but he was pretty careful in how he phrased the answers and I don't think we learned anything. I did notice that he put a bit more of an emphasis on "if" and "hopefully" with regard to transfers than what Shaw has been saying. He also managed expectations a bit on transfers, a somewhat cautious nod to evolution in that area but certainly not making any big promises. Otherwise he said well-rehearsed things about finding the proper balance and right fit and working with administrators and faculty, comments that I think inform less than what Stewart Mandel and insiders on the message board have relayed. In my mind where we land on transfers and NIL are still significant open questions. My optimistic hope on this (as well as conference affiliation, tv deals, etc., which didn't come up) is that Muir is keeping his powder dry until meatier announcements are ready (or will just let evolutionary steps speak for themselves once they start happening), but I don't really know.
* Both talked about our players' hunger and drive. I wouldn't expect them to say anything different but I'm less encumbered by affiliation or sentiment on this and will just speak my mind: I don't buy it. I see zero evidence Stanford football players in the last several iterations of Shaw teams have high hunger and drive compared to players elsewhere. We need a new culture and a new kind of player. That's a comment that fixes ultimate responsibility on the leaders in charge of the team but it also bears on the kind of players we have and what we get out of them. I think it ignores the issues if we don't recognize that there are problems with the players. I hope this was more public relations/propaganda (or just an empty/sounds good compliment) than something reflective of how Muir is thinking. If it is reflective, this could have bearing on the caveat I mentioned above: if Muir doesn't think the foundations of this team are crumbling he will be more inclined to opt for a continuity or Shaw tree candidate.
* Others have mocked Shaw's comment that we were a healthy running back away from getting to a bowl. Yeah, this isn't true. Since we're past the Shaw era I won't waste time crunching numbers to show how far away we were, but it's very hard to argue the running back situation cost us even a single game and I find it doubtful that even if we were one of the healthiest teams in the conference across all positions we would have made a bowl. What really matters is whether Muir believes this....back to that caveat again. I sure hope not.