Skip made the best decision possible. He picked a coach to let the program coast for a while. Nobody could replace Skip Bertman, the best baseball coach ever, - why pay big money to a great coach who fans would still be unhappy with? Might as well give them a decent coach for less money & let the fans be unhappy because there wasn't going to be a way to change that anyway.
Rick Jones If it wasn't for a stupid throwing error in the last inning, they may have gone on to play Texas last year for the championship. He has led Tulane to the NCAA tournament 10 times, including a school record eight consecutive trips starting in 1998. He built that program from the ground up.
Remember that Skip had a relationship with Smoke going in. Smoke was on staff with him for years at LSU, and it was common knowledge for quite some time (among season ticket holders) that Smoke was going to take over the job when Skip retired. Also, I hope that those saying Skip is doing a poor job were being facetious because this is the golden age of LSU sports right now. That isn't happening all by itself. Now, does Skip have a propensity to support his coaches, even when others think he shouldn't? Yes. He's a coach at heart, and he knows how difficult the job is. I've also always thought that he's an excellent PR guy and businessman as well. Skip is doing a good job.
Re: Rick Jones What does sockboy have to do with this discussion? Why are we bringing up the Lean Wave?
I disagree. I don't see Skip purposely "finding a coach that would not be great". I think it's more of a matter of it being very difficult to find a coach that could live up to the standards that Skip set. Let's face it, what Skip did is almost unheard of and certainly not the norm. No coach should be held to those standards, you're only setting yourself up for disappointment. I'm not defending Smoke but he's been to a few college world series and we're not satisfied. That is due to the high standards Skip set and not necessarily a bad reflection of Smoke's coaching. Is Smoke a bad coach? Probably not. Is Smoke a bad coach compared to Skip? Definitely.
I am pretty sure that some are just being sarcastic and mocking those that really believe Skip is doing a poor job. The people that really believe Skip isn't a good AD are the same ones that call for a coaches head after only one loss in the season. You are right Stacey. Skip has LSU athletics on top! Regarding those that say RJ to LSU. I don't see it happening. Tulane is having an off year, due largely to the same reason LSU is having an off year. Both schools have very young teams with kids that need to gain maturity and experience at the college level. Both teams have a lot of talent, but players making stupid mistakes coming from youth and inexperience. I fully expect both teams to mature over the next year and to keep that rivalry hard fought and exciting.
