Columbia, Mo. ? Former Missouri basketball coach Quin Snyder was first encouraged by athletic director Mike Alden to consider a midseason resignation more than a year ago, according to notes from Chancellor Brady Deaton’s recently concluded internal investigation.
And before what would become Snyder’s final season at Missouri, Deaton and Alden in October rejected the coach’s request for a public show of support and a commitment to honor his contract through 2008, Deaton’s Feb. 21 notes show.
The Associated Press obtained the notes Wednesday through a public-records request.
What Deaton’s investigation doesn’t clarify, though, is the role played by Tiger broadcaster Gary Link, a special assistant to Alden whom Snyder said delivered an ultimatum to the coach on Feb. 9, hours after Snyder told reporters he would finish out the season.
Link told Deaton that he would not “divulge the contents” of his conversations with Snyder and Alden, citing confidentiality. However, Link did acknowledge serving as an intermediary between his boss and Snyder, with whom Alden acknowledged having a “close but tense” relationship.
“Quin, the team is not looking good,” Link told Snyder, according to Deaton’s notes. “We know how the book is going to end. The question is how do we write the last chapter.”
According to Link and Alden, Snyder replied: “I think I am better off resigning.” He left with six regular-season games remaining.
Snyder’s job security was in jeopardy as early as Feb. 8, 2005, when Alden said publicly he would retain the coach through the 2005-06 season. At the same time, Alden told Snyder he needed a winning season, a finish in the top half of the Big 12 Conference and an NCAA Tournament appearance to avoid losing his job, Deaton’s report said.
