Louisville Interim Athletic Director -- A Six Pack to Consider? -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WHO'S GOT NEXT? 

UPDATE: Vince Tyra was named the acting Athletic Director today. Interesting the term "acting" here. I know Vince, not sure of his acting skills but he should do a fine job in however many days he is in the position.    -- Paulie

The word is that the Board of Trustees, Greg Postal, the Three Musketeers and Laurel and Hardy will name an interim Athletic Director sometime this Tuesday. I don't like this, first off the bat. Tom Jurich is the guy who is the Athletic Director, and should be retained as the Athletic Director and if you look up the phrase athletic director on Wikipedia or any other search engine... it should have a picture of Tom Jurich by the description, in my humble opinion. 

I get two questions a lot lately. One is will they eventually retain Tom? The other is why is Rick still hanging around? 

I am a Jurich loyalist, as you might know. I believe the body of work establishes the man as the rightful heir to the title. Yes, I know, he stepped on toes with the Adidas announcement. Maybe it was one up-man-ship on Postal for the KFC YUM! incident. Postal needs to get over it. You want Tom in that role, you need Tom in that role and the coaches and players agree. 

But...it appears that they're serious about putting someone in a interim role...so, let's bandy a few names about. These are names that came from multiple sources. my own theories and from the secret scrolls hidden in the deep, dark recesses of the caves beneath the Louisville Zoo. Grab a coffee, take a seat and relax...no one is or has been on double, secret probation here. As far as I know. 

Vince is the tall guy in the picture

1) Vince Tyra. A name that has surfaced recently and has some merit. His dad Charlie, a incredible basketball player back "in the day". His mom, Sibby, a wonderful, giving person. Vince is a financial guru...his understanding of corporate structure, financing and he possesses a unique skill of being able to bring many and diverse groups together to successfully function as one unit.

I met Vince years ago when he was transforming The Parrish House into Cardinal Alley..a prime tailgating spot for Football on Floyd Street across from the east entrances to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. Personable, likable and has a well-developed skill for attention to detail.  His resume has Elite Medical Staffing, Southfield Capital and ISCO Industries, Inc as places of employment. He has a excellent knowledge of venture capital and private equity in his wheel well. Yes, he was a UK grad but that doesn't seem to matter. He would be a good fit for UofL as an interim. I don't think he has a full time interest in the job either...which would bode well for a possible Jurich return. The hot pick as of late...Paulie morning line odds 7/2. 

2) Christine Herring. An associate Athletic director at UofL with special emphasis as the Cards Senior Women's Administrator. Has been in the position since 2012 and on the athletic staff since  2008. Is also a former student-athlete at UofL...(track and field) and also served as an assistant coach for that sport. Obviously, she has a wide range of responsibilities at UofL. She was also associate director of the Cardinal Athletic Fund for the Cards and served as Director of Special Events, too. 

I've known her for several years and find her to be a person with great warmth, personality and attention to detail. We keep planning to sit down and let me interview her for CARDINAL COUPLE but haven't finalized that. The plus is that she's been part of Jurich's brain trust for several years and knows the "in's and out's" of the job and the athletic program. Ironically, that could be a negative as well, if Postal the Pistol and crew are looking to go outside of who's already on campus. Married, a UofL grad, has a son and you'll see her at a lot of UofL women's athletic events. There is the associated stigman of what happened to Julie  Hermann at Rutgers and does UofL want to take a chance on a female athletic director? Paulie likes her chances and it would be a boon for women's athletics at UofL...which we cover here. Paulie morning line odds 4-1. 


3) Christine Simatacolis. She's the Associate Athletic Director for Student Life at UofL and has held the position since 2013...when she returned from the NCAA Corporate offices and her job as working in the area of academic reform. She was at UofL and Florida before that previously. 

I don't know her all that well. I see her at UofL sporting events...she was at both Field Hockey and women's soccer Friday and I think Field Hockey again on Sunday. She seems personable enough and students...yes they are pretty important to a University, right? She has expertise in that and academics...and with UofL getting a "Good Job Award" from the SACS recently...she'd help continue to foster the school's tenuous accreditation status. 

She's a 1993 graduate from Northwestern and was a swimmer there. Married to former UofL football player Jim Simatacolis and has three chidren. 

The same things apply that do to Christine H. University athletic operations knowledge under Jurich...is that good or bad these days. Paulie sees her a medium longshot who could wire the field and take this thing and we'll put her at 7-1 morning line odds. 


4) Kenny Klein. We all know Kenny. The main S.I.D. at UofL. He's also the Senior Associate A.D. for Media Relations. He's the straw that stirs the drink for sports information and is highly respected nationally as a man who runs a smooth yet taut ship. He deals with a myriad of coaches, players, bizarre media types and other schools in 23 sports. He has a solid staff assembled beneath him. 

I get along OK with him these days. A rough patch once, but we talked it out. The real questions here are twofold. First, would he want the job and secondly...can UofL afford to lose him from the position he's currently in?  Paulie thinks he would be capable but I'll go with the Leroy Jethro Gibbs theory here and question why move good? He is needed as the SID. Paulie morning line odds 15-1. 

5) Jerry Abramson. The former mayor of Louisville. Special adviser to Barack Obama. Brilliant legal mind and current professor at Bellarmine. He had the leadership skills and personality to do the interim job quite well...but, once again, is their an interest? 

My sideline buddy at UofL women's basketball games and I think the guy hangs the "L" in leadership but Jerry is in a comfortable spot in his life these days. He's been a great public servant to this community for many years and would serve if pressed into action...I have no doubt...but I don't think that phone is going to ring for him. Paulie is a fan but this isn't the race Jerry needs to be entered in. Let the man enjoy being what he wants to for awhile. Paulie morning line odds 25-1. 

(I'm the one in the toboggan)

6) Paulie. Hey...I like sports. I like coaches. I like players. I don't like wearing ties, though and have issues with a 9-5 workday. I have some questionable skills...but I've been president of my bowling league, vice-president of Sportsmen's Supper Club and was clean up hitter on my softball team...so I know about pressure, responsibility and can delegate with the best of them. I announced earlier today, though, on Howie Lindsey's LOUISVILLE FIRST radio show that I was taking my name out of consideration. The fall meet at Keeneland is coming up, I like my seats at UofL football games and there are still kids to chase off of my front lawn and socks to match up in the laundry hamper. I placed my odds at 1,000-1 before withdrawing for consideration.


To answer the second question from the second paragraph of today's article...Rick, it's time to just head to Florida and quit being a pest. You're not going to get, nor do you deserve the $44 million left on your contract, the Louisville fan base is tired of you, the team has moved on...it's time you do the same. Thank you for the past but, nothing to see here, just leave. Please. 

Nobody likes the guy who doesn't know when the party is over or the lad who doesn't know it's time to head home. Don't be that guy, Rick. Act like a tree in the fall...and just leave. You had your turn at bat and you picked up your third strike so...just go back to the locker room and pack your grip. 

Finally...



Rest in peace, Tom Petty.
Keep Tom Jurich.
Stay tuned. 


paulie
xxxxx