Clemsen fires Leggett

Wow!

This is not surprising. First of all Jack is one of the nicest men you would ever want to meet. He is a great coach and a great man. But make no mistake this is big business. Sully is having great success at Florida. So Carolina has won two NC's recently. There is tremendous pressure to win and win big at this level. Loyalty to a man only goes so far in this world called big time sports. Good luck Jack. You are a class act and a great Coach. You can bet Chad at So Carolina is feeling the heat as well. It is not for the faint of heart.

The handwriting was on the wall last year about this time.  We spent several hours with Leggett on campus last year during my oldest son's recruiting cycle.  I liked Coach Leggett, and I was hopeful this year would be better for Clemson.  Too bad in my opinion.  One of my son's former teammates just finished his freshman year there.  Too bad.  Wonder if he'll retire or land somewhere else.

As I've said to TPM, separately, I consider this a sad day. As much as I recognize and acknowledge the very pressures outlined by Coach May, I'll always believe that Coach Leggett deserved more opportunity to right his ship.

 

Congratulations, Coach. Your legacy is a great one, advanced not only by your teams' many accomplishments; but through the many young coaches you inspired and mentored along the way, as well. Your sport will miss your individual presence, but feel your imprint for many years to come.

Beautiful post Prepster. The truth.

And the next generation, Shoveit4Ks.

 

On one hand, Jack Leggett gets credit for hiring coaches like O'Sullivan and Corbet.  Both Florida and Vandy are national competitors each year now and I am guessing that is something Clemson is looking at.  Those programs have risen while Clemson seems to have slipped from a few years back.  I've seen other programs that have slipped as well.  It takes tremendous stamina and willingness to outwork the other guy to stay at the top.  The CEO model of coaching works as long as you can find guys to replace the aforementioned coaches.   

It will be interesting to see where he lands given his age. I'll bet he lands with a college that wants to upgrade its program.

I have to say, i feared this day and was watching all season...praying and pulling for Leggett and the Tigers to make a run. I don't know if that was the single antidote or the cause/effect to right the ship, but i wanted it for them and frankly, us.

 

As i stood there this morning and watched my son pitch at Lakepoint, i got a text from a personal friend who went to school with Kendall Rogers and he shared Kendall's tweet with me. I was stunned. It took me a minute to process it. I'm thinking, here we are...watching him pitch (he was up to 94 although the feel on the CB wasn't quite there) and we are now faced with this scenario. Wow. I immediately texted LeCroy and will talk to him later. He has to be reeling as well.

 

Recalling our visit there last summer, i have a fond memoryi'd like to share. Out of all the coaches we saw and met with last summer, and there were a few but not loads....Leggett had the most energy and definitely set high expectations for his incoming recruits. His visit was the most 1 on 1 we had with any head coach in the recruiting process. He tried to close the deal after they offered and pulled out all the stops the get my son to sign that day on our visit.(my wife wasn't there and we were to pick here up at the airport in Charleston the next day) ..after his many attempts, including..you can use my office..i'll leave the room , call your mom Ryley and tell here you are ready to come to Clemson......my son stepped in and said "Coach, I have a really good feeling about Clemson, let me go home and talk to my mom tomorrow and i think you will like my answer." As we left his office and walked down the hall, Leggett stepped outside his office door, raised his voice...and said "C'mon Ryley, come to Clemson....come home to Clemson, we need you." At that point, now and into the future, i have no idea if that is what he did/said to every kid/recruit...i will tell you this, that man had an effect on my kid that day.

 

As far as whats next, June 22nd is when we install him at Clemson for summer school....we will see what the future holds and who they decide to get to coach the Tigers. The Twitter watch continues but now for a totally different & somewhat bitter sweet reason............           GO TIGERS

Since DK will be heading to Clemson in the fall and has an opportunity to work with the team, I am not really at liberty to say much about his firing at this time.  I have had some separate conversations with some here, but I would rather keep my thoughts out of this post at this time. 

 

Clemson is a unique place to live and play sports, and from what I understand the coaches in all of their sports are very particular on who wears the Tiger uniform. 

Jack Leggett gave my son that opportunity and it has made a great impact on his life and we thank Jack for that opportunity and we as a family will always be grateful. My advice to those whose sons are in the program or going to the program or being recruited, keep in mind that this is a wonderful place and always will be.

 

Coach May was correct, Jack was definitely one of the nicest people that you would ever want to meet, and he also was a very compassionate person.  I remember the first time we met him, he was just turning 50 and he had my husband and I laughing about his view of turning 50, because we had already and we could relate. One thing I always admired about him, he always stressed the importance of being in great shape and he also ran with the team and could out run many of them. He also befriended a young boy with cancer, and he would come out and visit the team often and Jack would tell the team, next time you have to hustle, think about this young boy. I think that I had heard that when he died Jack was beside himself.

 

Clemson baseball is loaded with lots of tradition that is taught to you as soon as you get there. Everything from the white pants that you always have to wear, to the omaha stitched onto the back of the cap, the colors, why you do things a certain way is unique in regards to other programs. It is certainly going to be tough to find someone who has maintained those traditions for 24 years. Also, Jack Leggett's legacy includes his coaching tree, and son was looking forward to being a part of it. 

 

I also have to agree with CD's post, top D1 baseball (as in any sport) in wealthy D1 programs is not just big business its HUGE business, the pressure to win starts at the top. From the alumni who buy the tickets and support athletic programs with millions of dollars place pressure on the AD and staff, the AD puts pressure on the coaching staff and the coaching staff puts pressure on the players. Its about winning and when it doesnt happen everyone is under a microscope. Its just not as simple as it seems and it is NOT for everyone. This is why your sons are asked to leave programs, and I suspect with the changes in all of the rules and the parity in baseball, its not going to get easier.

 

I wish Jack (sev or 7 as he was referred to), all of the best to him and his family, no matter where this takes him, he will always be one of a kind.

 

 

Very good posts above.  I consider this a sad day for college baseball.  Jack Leggett is a living legend.  I could understand why he might want to retire.  However, getting fired just doesn't set well with me.

 

Anyway, he made this a great coaching job.  They will get someone really good.  My guess is it will be one of those star recruiting coordinators out there.  The next Sully, Tom Corbin or Brian O'Connor. There are some great ones out there.  In fact, Clemson has one of them already.

You took the words right out of my mouth PGStaff.  

 

I have very strong thoughts about situations like this in college athletics, and it is not good.  I wish Coach Leggett the best, because he is one of the best at what he does.

 

I remember coaching a team at east Cobb a PG WWBA event. I had some very good players. A couple of my guys were headed to Clemson. After one of our game Jack sat down beside me and we watched a game together. He asked me how my son was doing. He asked me about my family. We talked about everything but baseball for about five innings. Several people stopped by to say hello to him. He would always take the time to talk. He reminded me so much of Chad Holbrook. Just a down to earth great guy. Jack did it the right way. And if he wants to keep coaching he will have many opportunities to do that. Like Fenway I have some strong feelings about this. I know this Jack never has to hang his head and won't. He is everything that is right with college athletics.

I think that this article kind of sums up about how everyone feels about what happened today.

 

http://www.d1baseball.com/colu...-legacy-will-endure/

 

".....Leggett’s loyalty and his dismissal from Clemson drew the ire of Michigan head coach Erik Bakich, a potential candidate in the Tigers’ search for a new head coach. Bakich said he didn’t want any part of the Clemson coaching search.

“My loyalty,” Bakich said, “is to Jack Leggett"

 

This tells me everything I need to know about EriK Bakich and Jacl Leggett.  Thanks for posting TPM.

Aside from loyalty Bakich would have nothing to gain and everything to lose by taking the Clemson job. It's a win big or go home job. Nothing else is accepted. Bakich has turned around the Michigan program. They won the Big Ten tournament this year. The Big Ten has improved significantly in the past few years. But Michigan has a better chance of dominating the Big Ten than Clemson dominating the ACC.

 

From a a security standpoint, if Leggett can be fired any newcomer could be fired in three years if not highly successful.

Not sure if that was the right thing for Bakich to say out loud and I would imagine that Jack Leggett might feel that way also.

 

JMO

 

 

Is it possible that Clemson backs up the Brinks truck into Kevin O'Sullivan's yard?  Would O'Sullivan consider if Clemson offered?  I would think Clemson already had somebody in mind before firing Leggett.

I dont think Clemson could afford to pay jack the rest of his contract and pay the big bucks they would have to give sully.  His contract will be up in 2016 and since he is one of the lowest paid SEC guys, rich UF will and should reward what he has done for his program. There are some rumors flying around but dont think he is their guy. 

I personally think Corbin would be the guy, but not sure its appropriate for guys to follow in their mentors footsteps in any situation if not currently involved with the the program which would make LeCroy a good candidate. Either way, fans want a super regional and a trip to omaha asap and thats not gonna happen.

 

I think if you all do some homework you will all learn how tough it is to recruit at Clemson compared to other programs.  

Winning at the cost of character building and being a good coach. You can have a good team and not make post season.

I have never read a bad word about thia man and only wished my son had had a coach like him post season or not.

I agree with posters saying something wrong when a man like this is fired.

I do not miss this side of baseball at all.