Originally published August 12, 2008 at 03:36p.m., updated August 12, 2008 at 04:16p.m.

Ronnie Chalmers resigns from KU

Father of former Jayhawks player to pursue 'other interests'

By Gary Bedore

Ronnie Chalmers, director of basketball operations for Kansas University's men's basketball team and father of former Jayhawk guard Mario Chalmers, has resigned from his position, head coach Bill Self announced Tuesday, August 12, 2008.

Photo by Thad Allender

Ronnie Chalmers, director of basketball operations for Kansas University's men's basketball team and father of former Jayhawk guard Mario Chalmers, has resigned from his position, head coach Bill Self announced Tuesday, August 12, 2008.

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Another Chalmers leaves KU

First Mario. Now Ronnie. A second member of the Chalmers family is leaving Kansas' men's basketball team.

Ronnie Chalmers, director of basketball operations for Kansas University's men's basketball team and father of former Jayhawk guard Mario Chalmers, has resigned from his position, head coach Bill Self said Tuesday.

"We are very thankful to Ronnie for his efforts the past three years," Self said. "We have all enjoyed his connection and participation with the basketball program. His family will obviously be remembered at Kansas."

After serving for five seasons as the head coach at Anchorage, Alaska's Bartlett High, Chalmers arrived with his son at KU in June of 2005. The two were part of three Big 12 regular-season titles and the team's 2008 national championship run.

"I have mixed emotions about leaving a great university and a great community," said Ronnie, who leaves at the same time as Mario, who was a second-round pick of the Minnesota Timberwolves (No. 34 overall), then shipped to Miami, in the 2008 NBA Draft.

"I want to thank all the staff and fans for their loyalty and support of the Chalmers family while we were here. Our goal was to come here and win a national championship and we accomplished that. I have decided to move on to pursue other interests. I will certainly miss the Jayhawk fans, but we will always remain part of the Jayhawk family and the Lawrence community," Ronnie Chalmers added.

Self said in a phone interview Tuesday that he and Ronnie Chalmers had chatted about Ronnie's future plans off and on for some time now.

"We visited when Mario made the decision to leave (for NBA last spring). We talked about it the last few days," Self said. "This was not anything I wanted to happen, but certainly it's understandable. I understand the dynamics have changed (in Chalmers family) now that Mario is gone. I understand why Ronnie would want to pursue other things at this stage following Mario's departure to the NBA, but that does not take away from his contributions to KU the past three years.

"He will certainly be missed. I appreciate Ronnie and Almarie (Ronnie's wife) and the time they spent here."

Mario Chalmers, one of the heroes of KU's national title victory over Memphis, recently hit the jackpot financially, landing a three-year deal with the Heat for $2.3 million. According to figures recently released by KU in accordance with a freedom of information request, Chalmers made $71,600 last year and was ticketed to earn $90,000 next season.

Ronnie Chalmers served 22 years in the Air Force and is eligible for an array of military retirement benefits. Almarie Chalmers has already earned retirement after working 20 years in Alaska's school district.

As far as Chalmers' replacement, Self said he'd begin looking for a new "administrator" to join Brett Ballard (administrative assistant/video coordinator) and Jeremy Case (graduate student manager).

There is a strong possibility Ballard, who has been on Self's staff the past five years, will move into Chalmers' slot on the staff, though Self would not address that issue.

"We've got to go through the proper channels," Self said of any job opening. "We'll have one more administrator on the staff. There will be Brett, Jeremy and one more person. We don't know the titles yet."

¢ Henry update: Xavier Henry has scheduled the second of four campus visits. Henry, a 6-foot-6 senior from Putnam City (Okla.) High, who will attend KU's Late Night in the Phog on Oct. 17, tells Rivals.com he will visit Memphis Oct. 24-25. He will also make an unofficial visit to KU on Sept. 20. Henry also has UCLA and Texas on his final list of schools.

Comments

DSommersby (anonymous) says...

Best of Luck to Ronnie and the entire family. They were great ambassadors of KU and very nice people in the community.

Had a friend who shared a flight with Mr. and Mrs. Chalmers a couple of years back who talked with them the entire flight and said they could not have been nicer!

August 12, 2008 at 3:49 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

TtownHawk (anonymous) says...

I for one expected this

August 12, 2008 at 3:58 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

sevenyearhawk (anonymous) says...

Well, when I accidentally told Coach Chalmers good luck in Miami at a book signing, I guess my words were prophetic ... this stinks, but can't say I'm completely surprised.

August 12, 2008 at 4:01 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

txrockchalk (anonymous) says...

This is not a surprise. Like DSommersby said, best of luck to Ronnie and his family. They will always be a part of the KU family.

Now of course, this begs the question, who might be able to fill this slot? A query not without speculation no doubt...

August 12, 2008 at 4:02 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

TtownHawk (anonymous) says...

Maybe Xavier's Dad? Then for sure we'd land him.

This prob

August 12, 2008 at 4:04 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

TtownHawk (anonymous) says...

sorry about that, to continue what i was saying:

This Probably helps that Ronnie is leaving, it opens that position for a highly touted recruit to come here and bring his father along with him.

August 12, 2008 at 4:05 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Toto_the_great (anonymous) says...

This happens all the time... big recruit comes and dad joins the coaching staff, and when son graduates, dad moves on (see the Manning family). It's not to say that Coach Chalmers and Coach Manning weren't qualified (they are very qualified... I wish I had fraction of the basketball IQ they do).. it's all part of the recruiting process and it goes on at a lot of universities. I am sure there will be another recruit and dad join our ranks in the near future. Good luck Coach Chalmers and thanks for raising one hellava hoopster.

August 12, 2008 at 4:08 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

mvjayhawk (anonymous) says...

it's not good that he left now. he should have at least stayed a year. I know Mario committed a few months before he was hired....but it just looks bad you know? it looks like he was hired, so we could land Mario. or he was promised a job to land Mario. I believe it's on the up and up....but it just doesn't look right that he's gone so soon, after Mario leaves.

August 12, 2008 at 4:08 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

actorman (anonymous) says...

It's worked twice. Why not a third time?

"We have all enjoyed his connection and participation with the basketball program."

Translation: Thank God we could give them a package deal so Mario could come to KU.

I actually would have preferred if Mr. Chalmers had stuck around a few more years so it wasn't QUITE as obvious that it was a package deal.

August 12, 2008 at 4:09 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

oldalum (anonymous) says...

I prefer to think that he came to Lawrence because Mario was going to be there, and now he can either follow him to Florida or do something that he has been wanting to do. Maybe he'll go back to coaching. Why not? There's as much basis for that theory as for any other.

August 12, 2008 at 4:16 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

K_Easthouse (anonymous) says...

While I agree that this certainly doesn't look quite as squeaky clean as it could have been, I choose to look at it differently:

The man held a fairly significant role on a National Championship team, and there are no family obligations keeping him here. He's now got a great resume to pursue coaching at a higher level, much higher than a high school in Alaska.

Best of luck to you, Ronnie. I hope you manage to land yourself a great gig, but don't forget to wear that Jayhawk sticker on your chest when we're back in the Final Four.

August 12, 2008 at 4:18 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

tis4tim (anonymous) says...

We all knew it was a package deal. And it does go on at other universities. But, I agree with the others who say that it might not look so blatant had he stuck around at least one more season.

August 12, 2008 at 4:42 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

This position should be renamed.

New title: Administrative Father.

Frankly, who can blame any of them?

Self needs players, not dads. He could get one with Ronnie. Why not? In turn, Ronnie's got to go unless he's got another blue chip son.

As for Ronnie, who wants to be a grunt for Self, when Ronnie could go back to being a head coach in high school, or small college, AND manage his son's finances. Also, Ronnie got squeezed out by Danny Manning. That was the position he was fighting for. It is no knock on Ronnie to be beaten out by Manning, but that doesn't mean that he's got to like it and stick.

As for the next Father Administrator of a blue chip, we should all be so lucky as to have another dad as competant as Ronnie Chalmers.

August 12, 2008 at 4:42 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jhawkjdub (anonymous) says...

The story came out a couple days ago about the assistant coaches getting raises...did Ronnie not get one? I wonder if that had anything to do with it? I'm not saying it did, I'm just throwing it out there as a possibility.

Good luck to both members of the Chalmers clan. Thanks for everything!

August 12, 2008 at 4:46 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jayhawkliz (anonymous) says...

Hey, this was going to happen. Sad, but thanks to the Chalmers family and best of luck to them. What does Xavior Henry's dad do?

August 12, 2008 at 5:45 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jayhawkinatl (anonymous) says...

Thanks Coach Chalmers for bringing Mario to KU. Have fun watching Mario prosper in the NBA.

August 12, 2008 at 5:57 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

KGphoto (anonymous) says...

Not sad. Congrats to Ronnie on MORE than fulfilling his expectations at KU. This was the deal from day one. A deal that worked out perfectly. Both sides got what they wanted, now we both move on. Ronnie and the entire Chalmers family obviously have a lifetime pass in Lawrence. And I couldn't imagine a nicer family to extend that too.

Now, let's play the game and get the next dad. Uh... blue chip.

August 12, 2008 at 6:06 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

frompekka2sasha (anonymous) says...

While I'm not suggesting that Ronnie & Rio weren't somewhat of a package deal, Mr. Chalmers was more than qualified for the position. The military training he received would lead me to believe that he was a very organized individual. He was probably not the type to pussyfoot around when a challenge presented itself.

I am confident that he was qualified for the position and he did a great job while at KU. That's really all that matters at the end of the day/year.

August 12, 2008 at 6:31 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

boomrsoonr26 (anonymous) says...

Thank you Ronnie, we enjoyed you and your son immensely. Happy trails toooo you.

August 12, 2008 at 6:49 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

afilmer (anonymous) says...

breaking news:

This just in, former Jayhawk great Carl Henry named new director of basketball operations for Kansas University Men's Basketball according to Head Coach Bill Self.

how great would that sound?

August 12, 2008 at 7:02 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

canuckhawk (anonymous) says...

I'm surprised the NCAA doesn't have a rule about immediate family members being hired by a University just before or after a student is recruited. I'm sure they could find some way to lawyer it up so it would address these situations (and probably mess up a bunch of others that it wasn't intended to affect).

I love Mario and I'm confident that Ronnie has a high bball IQ. But it presents a way for a player to be paid indirectly by positioning a family member with a sweet ride. I can tell you that I wouldn't be as content if this wasn't a Jayhawk--and mario at that.

August 12, 2008 at 9:04 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

swishymcjayhawk (anonymous) says...

surprise, surprise.

August 12, 2008 at 9:27 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Jayhawk86 (anonymous) says...

It happens twice in twenty years at KU and all of a sudden, people act like it is happening all of the time.

August 12, 2008 at 9:46 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

bdsnook (anonymous) says...

Well wuhduhyuhknow.

August 12, 2008 at 10 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

rockchalkjayhawk81 (anonymous) says...

"Come to KU,,, skanky white girls for your son, lucrative Job for you"

August 12, 2008 at 10:13 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

ESUjayhawk (anonymous) says...

jayhawkliz,

im not sure what X's father does now but im sure he would be a nice replacement since he played a couple years in the NBA

August 12, 2008 at 10:14 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

BoulderHawk (anonymous) says...

rockchalkjayhawk81
That comment was totally out of line and classless.

August 12, 2008 at 11:29 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jayhawker85 (anonymous) says...

I have read all of these comments and some on the KC Star. The one that really set me off on the star was one calling Ronnie a deadbeat following around his son for money.
Ronnie knows a thing or two about basketball. He also knows a thing or two about discipline. Ronnie was in the Air Force for over two decades and coached for Air Force teams (all the while performing his duties as a service member).
I know it's the general assumption that Ronnie came along just because of Mario, but don't you think you would want a guy on your staff that coached his kid to two state championships and was in the military on your staff?
As the Director of Basketball Operations, Ronnie was to make sure the players kept everything inline. When Darnell Jackson was contemplating quitting the program, who do you think was on the next plane out of town with Self? Ronnie.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008...
And after Kansas has won the National Championship, Ronnie wants to move on and be with his family and fans have the audacity to diss him and say it makes Kansas look bad:?
Military personnel move around every few years: The one thing that keeps them sane is being with their family. So what. Mario's dad raised him right and wanted to come help KU win a National Championship. He has been around basketball as a coach and in the military for years and as a veteran myself, the LJ-World, KC Star and a bunch of uniformed fans cannot tell me that Ronnie leaving makes KU look bad.
Rock Chalk! and best of luck to Mario and his family. Ronnie raised a fine young kid.

August 13, 2008 at 12:01 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

DSommersby (anonymous) says...

If you read the Jason King book about KU's National Championship it really sounds like Ronnie Chalmers wants to get back into the coaching side again. He talks about all the little strategies and tricks he has picked up and could have used when he was a head coach. He really says in his chapter about how he can use this training in his future. You can tell he wants to be a coach of his own team. I can see him tiring of the Administrative role he was in. That is more for a young up and comer who wants a college gig.

I think Ronnie would be more content now having he and his wife closer to Mario and seeing what he can do again as a HS Coach where he is calling the shots and being the main tactician again. They can afford to do this and seem like a very tight-knit family who aspire to stay close in proximity which is really cool. I predict he moves to Florida or ends up in the Carolinas as he has family and friends there I've heard.

If you re-read Ronnie's chapter you can tell he wants to be able to be a coach again where he was restricted to more of an administrative role technically at KU. I consider all those guys like Ballard, Lee, now Case coaches but I guess they are allowed to only do so much by the NCAA.

Best of luck to the Chalmers family!

August 13, 2008 at 1:03 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jman18562 (anonymous) says...

"Mixed Emotions" I'm the one with mixed emotions! Do I feel like a "one hit wonder/Beasley/Frank Martin" or a "THE University of Kansas" fan? Do we replace this guy with another father of "Danny Manning/Mario Chalmers" or Brett Ballard? Obviously it's worth a couple National Championships but...... Food for thought.

August 13, 2008 at 3:22 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

KUFan90 (anonymous) says...

"it looks like he was hired, so we could land Mario. or he was promised a job to land Mario"

Ummm...hate to break this to you mvjayhawk, but thats exactly what went down here. Don't stick your head in the sand; no rules broken here, but let's not kid ourselves. Do you really believe Self was scouring the country for an "administrator" and the best he could find was some guy from Alaska that just happened to have a blue chip recruit for a son? Do you really believe that if Mario had signed with Arizona we still land Ronnie for 3 years on the coaching staff? Come on...

August 13, 2008 at 7:24 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

cshjhawk (anonymous) says...

I am sure that he can capitalize on being a member of the coaching staff for the 2008 NCAA Championship Team and be in a position to land a secure and comfortable coaching position, perhaps at a small university.

August 13, 2008 at 8:13 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Tuskin (anonymous) says...

"Alaska's school district"? Let's make that plural. Alaska has several school districts, just as any state does... Or perhaps you meant the Anchorage School District (which has seven high schools).

August 13, 2008 at 11:09 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

CherryCreekHawk (anonymous) says...

Forgive me if I've just awakened, but is KU a university or some kind of basketball factory where we hire the dads of key recruits (this hasn't been the first time) and then act like it's perfectly legit?

This sort of thing stinks, at least to me. Perhaps I expect too much, but I thought KU was an academic institution, not a way station for dads of recruits.

August 13, 2008 at 12:35 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Yahweh (anonymous) says...

Wish 'ol Ron-Ron could have toughed it out for a year or two longer so it didn't look SOOOOO much like exactly what it is: legal yet very shady looking dealings with a recruit's family. This sort of thing only gives the haters in Coldumbia, Mo. more ammunition.

August 13, 2008 at 12:50 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

txrockchalk (anonymous) says...

Previous posts from CherryCreek:

Posted on April 1 at 7:42 p.m.

Let's get real folks. Bill $elf hasn't done much for KU. I feel sorry for the guy. It was sort of sad to watch him at the end against Davidson. I say ship him back to OSU.

How about bringing back the glory days of Larry Brown...if he can stay away from the co-eds.

On What Keegan says ... on the OSU coaching situation

Posted on April 1 at 7:39 p.m.

Let him go. What's he done for KU? One of the greatest programs in America and he's deliver what...one Final Four by the skin of his teeth.

And the timing of this is just great. Maybe he'll be in Stillwater by week's end.

No big loss. KU doesn't have a prayer against Roy anyway.

On Self on OSU: 'I'm not a candidate'

------------------

Go back to sleep, CherryCreek.

August 13, 2008 at 12:53 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

NavyHawk (anonymous) says...

This from a June 29, 2005 article about Ronnie Chalmers' hiring:

... "Mario's decision to attend Kansas was solely based on Mario. My wife and I always kicked around that we'd relocate where our son was at after she retired from the school district this spring.

"Two years ago, we thought he was going to North Carolina. We bought a house in Charlotte. He decided to visit Kansas, loved Kansas, and we're trying to sell the house in Charlotte now," he added with a laugh.

Chalmers -- he takes over for Danny Manning, who will return to his former title of director of student-athlete development -- first spoke to KU coach Bill Self about a possible job long after Mario Chalmers committed to KU, just in the past several weeks...

--- So, it would appear that two questions were answered here. One, Ronnie wasn't hired as part of a package, otherwise; why would he have bought a house in NC prior to Mario's decision to come to Kansas? Two, Since Danny Manning apparently voluntarily stepped down to allow Mr. Chalmers to come in, it seems unlikely Chalmers was passed over for Asst. Head coach this time. Danny deserves the role.

Thanks Ronnie for three great years! All the best to you and your family in the future.

August 13, 2008 at 1:37 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

JBurtin (anonymous) says...

It's kind of stupid to even be arguing this. The order that things happened already proved that nothing inappropriate was done.

Chalmers committed to KU well before his dad asked Bill Self if there were any high school coaching job openings in the area.

An assistant coach just happened to leave for another job and Manning was hired as an assitant coach, leaving his former spot as Director of Basketball operations open. Ronnie Chalmers called at the right time and wasn't a bad candidate for the job.

I see nothing wrong with hiring a qualified person with connections to the program. It's not like Brett Ballard would have a job with us if he hadn't played here.

I guess if you want to question whether things really happened in this order, or believe that something shady went on then more power to you. I guess I'm just one of those whacky people that either A) doesn't care, or B)is inclined to believe what coach Self says about the situation.

August 13, 2008 at 3:24 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Mitch_4_KU (anonymous) says...

His son is playing in the NBA, while Ronnie would be at KU and not get to see him play. He is over 50, has a nice retirement, can probably travel some to see Mario, why the heck not. I would if my son were his. Good luck. Lets get on with it.

August 13, 2008 at 4:45 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Yahweh (anonymous) says...

I don't think nearly this many people would be commenting on this issue if we didn't, deep down, believe that there is something fundamentally wrong here. That said, it is completely legal and above-board. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

August 14, 2008 at 1:30 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jhwkfan162515 (anonymous) says...

Sounds to me like Ronnie is looking out for number one. I don't blame him. Now that Mario is gone, he doesn't really have a good reason to stay. I don't mind him leaving and hope that he is successful in whatever he does.

August 14, 2008 at 9:13 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

CMKUbLu304 (anonymous) says...

I bet you felt REAL stupid after we blasted unc and won ourselves a championship.

August 14, 2008 at 7:04 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

txrockchalk (anonymous) says...

rockchalkjayhawk81 Three more posts and still no sign of intelligence. I was hoping you would have offed yourself by now.

Hey manure-for-brains, it's called accountability. I know they probably didn't teach you that in the trailer park you grew down in.

I hate to disappoint you however I am going to have to pass on your romantic proposition.

August 14, 2008 at 7:56 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Sparko (anonymous) says...

Actually this is a pretty simple thing--Ronnie has a nice retirement and so does his wife. They want to be able to follow their son. Just like when they came down to KU. Also: Lawrence is a terrible spot to retire from the military--your pension is taxable and Fort Riley or McConnell are the nearest military installations. Kansas bleeds of its best. Most states--even New Jersey--allow military retirees state tax exemptions for their service. If he can coach and follow Mario, Florida is a much better location for a military family--MacDill, Eglin, Hurlburt, Pensacola . . .

August 14, 2008 at 10:23 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

JBurtin (anonymous) says...

"I don't think nearly this many people would be commenting on this issue if we didn't, deep down, believe that there is something fundamentally wrong here. That said, it is completely legal and above-board. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

I think you have a point. I think what's fundamentally wrong is that while I don't believe KU has done anything wrong, something like this does leave the opportunity for somebody to do something unethical and get away with it. There's really nothing stopping some podunk university out there with a dishonest coach from offering a huge cushy position to a players parent BEFORE the player chooses a school. The NCAA cracks down on all sorts of tiny infractions, yet they have left the door open for what could be a clear case of paying a player with no penalties.

As I said before, if some people out there want to believe that that's what happened here, then more power to them.

August 15, 2008 at 4:35 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

rockchalkjayhawk81 (anonymous) says...

Are you calling KU a trailer park, because thats the name and logo on my bachelors and the masters diploma i have hanging in my office? everytime i see your gay ass name on here, its reposting what others have said,, who made you the f ing blog police,,,, and its not like i am spewing lies, I used to live right next door to mikey lee and miles, and guess who frequented their apt... skanky white girls... yet im totally classless,.,, get a f^cking clue you morons

August 15, 2008 at 2:21 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

txrockchalk (anonymous) says...

I am calling the craphole in Lincoln where you should have been euthanized a trailer park.

You have an office? Is that in cell block H, or at the Laundromat? I wasn't aware KU had a bachelors and masters program at the state prison in Lansing.

I see now why you are bent against so-called "skanky white girls" - - you are jealous of them. You wish that was YOU going in the players' rooms and, as you put it, "banging your dangle off their foreheads."

When you post something classless or ironically label someone an idiot, be prepared to have someone call you out on it. If you don't like it, then your best bet is to not post at all. I am not expecting a light bulb to pop on with that last piece of advice.

August 15, 2008 at 3:28 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

rockchalkjayhawk81 (anonymous) says...

please tell me how saying that skanky white girls are all over bball players is classless,, its the truth,,, and wishing death upon me,, now thats classless

August 16, 2008 at 10:04 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

ralsterKUMed95 (anonymous) says...

Wow! What a debate about something pretty insignificant. I have alot of respect for Ronnie Chalmers, and had the opportunity to shake his hand and tell him he has got to be "1 proud dad" as I was at KU with my then-7yr old boy at Self's Father/Son camp. Mario was already showing what a baller he was along with Russell in the backcourt. I so truly meant what I told him (2006) that the rest of the country may not realize what a talented backcourt KU had...All this talk about "unethical" is pure BullS--t. Read the excellent research work by one of the poster's above about Ronnie deciding to come to Lawrence, then getting a job offer from Self long after Mario already committed to KU. Pay attention to the order of occurrence, and it makes any suggestion of impropriety simply ludicrous. You cannot work that angle if Mario was already here!!! Best of luck to Mario, and I would say again to Ronnie Chalmers (now 2yrs later): you've got to really be proud of your son now, as are we all as well.

August 16, 2008 at 10:52 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

martyks (anonymous) says...

But don't you think that Mario's dad had a little bit to do with Mario's ability to play basketball? So, that being a given, why not bring him here? It wasn't like we were hiring someone who had no knowledge of the game. Obviously he can coach, and anyone knows, the hardest player to coach is the coach's son. It isn't like he was told to sit on his hands and watch the money come in. The man was highly professional and did a great job here. Yes, he was hired because of Mario, but he did the job. Get over it. It's no more underhanded than hiring a qualified person you happen to know over the qualified people you don't.

August 17, 2008 at 6:25 p.m. ( | suggest removal )