WBB: Ard fired before presser

Madmartigan · Post by **Madmartigan** » March 11th, 2024, 7:03 am

Interesting timing. I agree she needed to be fired but right before a presser is not the best timing.

Bullnamed_gus · Post by **Bullnamed_gus** » March 11th, 2024, 7:08 am

It should’ve been after we lost to the D2 school. Would’ve saved us 25% of what we paid her this year

My sympathy for her is low. She quit on the program year 3. And has been a lame duck for awhile now. She had a toxic locker room and couldn’t keep anyone happy, players, coaches, nada. See ya Ard, have fun in Hartwell Island sipping your Mojitos

sam tingey · Post by **sam tingey** » March 11th, 2024, 7:21 am

I like sabau more because of this. Let's go get a good coach!

YouTossedEight · Post by **YouTossedEight** » March 11th, 2024, 7:30 am

This is simiar to the Ken Niumatalolo firing at Navy. Maybe a change is necessary, but it's usually handled the Monday morning after the last game. Ard, herself, shoudn't be announcing it at the post-game presser.

Post by **aggies22** » March 11th, 2024, 7:33 am

If the rumors of her mistreating her assistants and players are true, she got the cold shouldered treatment she earned.

GameFAQSAggie · Post by **GameFAQSAggie** » March 11th, 2024, 7:46 am

Now in sports, when we have coaches underperforming in both major sports, or even in the lesser sports, fans will call for them to get the now famous "Kayla Ard treatment." There is still the infamous treatment that Lane Kiffin got on the tarmac. Or the "Art Briles treatment" for getting fired right before the season.

bpd · Post by **bpd** » March 11th, 2024, 7:50 am

Do we know if it was before the presser? Maybe it was a few days ago, similar to the Washington's men team.

NVAggie · Post by **NVAggie** » March 11th, 2024, 7:53 am

I don't care. She was a horrible coach that was overpaid (thanks Hartwell). I doubt she will be remembered other than her atrocious record and program management.

FromLItoLogan · Post by **FromLItoLogan** » March 11th, 2024, 7:54 am

I always feel bad when people get fired but hopefully Sabau not even letting Ard get to the tarmac before firing her sends a clear message to potential candidates, recruits, fans and future opponents. "We're ready to compete".

GameFAQSAggie · Post by **GameFAQSAggie** » March 11th, 2024, 7:54 am

bpd wrote: ↑
March 11th, 2024, 7:50 am
Do we know if it was before the presser? Maybe it was a few days ago, similar to the Washington's men team.

If she was told before the game she would be fired after the game, it was different than what happened to the Washington men, cause that was made pubic and announced and even released in the press. We had heard rumblings but nothing official.

GeorgiaAggie · Post by **GeorgiaAggie** » March 11th, 2024, 7:55 am

bpd wrote: ↑
March 11th, 2024, 7:50 am
Do we know if it was before the presser? Maybe it was a few days ago, similar to the Washington's men team.

This is what I believe as well. I'm sure there are many facts that we are not aware of.

Aggie formerly in Hawaii · Post by **Aggie formerly in Hawaii** » March 11th, 2024, 7:56 am

I'm sure she has known for a while once the season was over, her time at USU was over.

flying_scotsman2.0 · Post by **flying_scotsman2.0** » March 11th, 2024, 7:57 am

Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote: ↑
March 11th, 2024, 7:56 am
I'm sure she has known for a while once the season was over, her time at USU was over.

Yeah, she was maybe hoping the school was cheap enough to not buyout her last year, but honestly, you can’t coach a team consistently to dead last in the conference and expect anything different.

918AGG · Post by **918AGG** » March 11th, 2024, 8:30 am

Couldn’t care less about the look.

She’s the worst coach we’ve had in any sport for a very long time. Glad we spent the money and canned her.

ViAggie · Post by **ViAggie** » March 11th, 2024, 8:46 am

I wish we would have fired her after getting beat by UNLV by 60 fuggin points! Then I would have forfeited the MWC game, we didn't even deserve to make the trip.

Aggie formerly in Hawaii · Post by **Aggie formerly in Hawaii** » March 11th, 2024, 8:58 am

ViAggie wrote: ↑
March 11th, 2024, 8:46 am
I wish we would have fired her after getting beat by UNLV by 60 fuggin points! Then I would have forfeited the MWC game, we didn't even deserve to make the trip.

Maybe they should have had an interim coach for the tournament, but probably wouldn't have mattered either way. And you can't forfeit just because you suck. Got to play the games

ViAggie · Post by **ViAggie** » March 11th, 2024, 9:11 am

Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote: ↑
March 11th, 2024, 8:58 am

ViAggie wrote: ↑
March 11th, 2024, 8:46 am
I wish we would have fired her after getting beat by UNLV by 60 fuggin points! Then I would have forfeited the MWC game, we didn't even deserve to make the trip.
Maybe they should have had an interim coach for the tournament, but probably wouldn't have mattered either way. And you can't forfeit just because you suck. Got to play the games

I would have made up an excuse, too many injuries (bruised egos for sure after getting beat by UNLV by 60).

rAggie · Post by **rAggie** » March 11th, 2024, 9:35 am

This is pure speculation:

Diana is not an amateur and didn't "fire Kayla as she was walking off the court."

I am guessing a discussion happened a couple/several 30+ point losses ago between Sabau and Ard along the lines of "This obviously hasn't been working out for either side, we would like to have you coach out the rest of the season but then we will be executing the buyout clause in your contract. We feel that this will give you the best opportunity to go out with dignity and maximize your prospects for finding your next job."

Ask yourself what you would do in this situation, especially in the moment. Getting fired midseason, with an abysmal record, you're really going to find yourself either coaching high school or a low-tier school assistant. You have a stigma. At least if you coach out the season you can spin a narrative about resources.

So she knows she's done coaching, Sabau believes Ard is going out with dignity, she's been a good soldier in doing post-game interviews with Ajay even after losing by 60, so everything seems to be playing out amicably.

Then at the end she takes her opportunity to get in front of USU announcing the news, causing USU to put out a very brief press release in the late Sunday hours.

Meanwhile, people see the teary eyed sniffles press conference with one question and feel an abundance of sympathy for her. The Salt Lake media puts out messaging about how this is a failure of leadership at USU, just one of the many, and the public narrative is Ard is the victim.

---
That timeline would make a lot more sense, to me, than "she was fired walking off the court."

Aggie formerly in Hawaii · Post by **Aggie formerly in Hawaii** » March 11th, 2024, 9:46 am

If what lostAggiefan says is true, ard mentally quit months ago.

Aggie84025 · Post by **Aggie84025** » March 11th, 2024, 9:54 am

Should have never been hired in the first place. She was not qualified to take the position. Extremely poor hire by Hartwell. She for sure knew that this was her last game before the game was played i guarantee it was not a shock that the game was her last. Hopefully she can find a place to be an assistant and land on her feet. Hopefully Diana can hire a solid coach that is capable of improving the program.

Madmartigan · Post by **Madmartigan** » March 11th, 2024, 10:01 am

rAggie wrote: ↑
March 11th, 2024, 9:35 am
This is pure speculation:

Diana is not an amateur and didn't "fire Kayla as she was walking off the court."

I am guessing a discussion happened a couple/several 30+ point losses ago between Sabau and Ard along the lines of "This obviously hasn't been working out for either side, we would like to have you coach out the rest of the season but then we will be executing the buyout clause in your contract. We feel that this will give you the best opportunity to go out with dignity and maximize your prospects for finding your next job."

Ask yourself what you would do in this situation, especially in the moment. Getting fired midseason, with an abysmal record, you're really going to find yourself either coaching high school or a low-tier school assistant. You have a stigma. At least if you coach out the season you can spin a narrative about resources.

So she knows she's done coaching, Sabau believes Ard is going out with dignity, she's been a good soldier in doing post-game interviews with Ajay even after losing by 60, so everything seems to be playing out amicably.

Then at the end she takes her opportunity to get in front of USU announcing the news, causing USU to put out a very brief press release in the late Sunday hours.

Meanwhile, people see the teary eyed sniffles press conference with one question and feel an abundance of sympathy for her. The Salt Lake media puts out messaging about how this is a failure of leadership at USU, just one of the many, and the public narrative is Ard is the victim.

---
That timeline would make a lot more sense, to me, than "she was fired walking off the court."

This take seems far more reasonable than the mainstream narrative. Appreciate your thoughts here.

ViAggie · Post by **ViAggie** » March 11th, 2024, 10:15 am

Letting someone go mid-season is never a good idea unless you are dismiss them immediately, because you know that you'll never get their best effort, they will literally phone it in at that point. If we were going to let her go, just pull the Band-Aid off immediately. The way Ard acted at the post game press conf. tells me she was told immediately after the game she was being let go. Don't get me wrong, I'm not accusing her of misbehaving or anything, just her body language and how quickly she exited. No doubt she probably saw it coming, if you show up to your job every day and suck at it, you will eventually be fired for good reason.

Anyway, moving on....

rAggie · Post by **rAggie** » March 11th, 2024, 10:24 am

I want us to hire former Stew assistant Chris Jones for the job. The only criticism you could have would be he hasn’t coached women’s hoops before, but that can be supplemented with assistants (in terms of recruiting connections and what not).

We need a master motivator, someone who can inspire transfers to buy in to the program and build from the ground up, and who can help develop relationships with Utah high schools to build a pipeline so we aren’t losing recruits to Wyoming.

Stucki · Post by **Stucki** » March 11th, 2024, 10:26 am

Not sure his personality would work in the women's game.

JFWAggie · Post by **JFWAggie** » March 11th, 2024, 10:31 am

rAggie wrote: ↑
March 11th, 2024, 10:24 am
I want us to hire former Stew assistant Chris Jones for the job. The only criticism you could have would be he hasn’t coached women’s hoops before, but that can be supplemented with assistants (in terms of recruiting connections and what not).

We need a master motivator, someone who can inspire transfers to buy in to the program and build from the ground up, and who can help develop relationships with Utah high schools to build a pipeline so we aren’t losing recruits to Wyoming.

Craig Smith may be available??

Aggie formerly in Hawaii · Post by **Aggie formerly in Hawaii** » March 11th, 2024, 10:32 am

Stucki wrote: ↑
March 11th, 2024, 10:26 am
Not sure his personality would work in the women's game.

Yeah I'd prefer someone with experience in women's college basketball.

ViAggie · Post by **ViAggie** » March 11th, 2024, 10:33 am

JFWAggie wrote: ↑
March 11th, 2024, 10:31 am

rAggie wrote: ↑
March 11th, 2024, 10:24 am
I want us to hire former Stew assistant Chris Jones for the job. The only criticism you could have would be he hasn’t coached women’s hoops before, but that can be supplemented with assistants (in terms of recruiting connections and what not).

We need a master motivator, someone who can inspire transfers to buy in to the program and build from the ground up, and who can help develop relationships with Utah high schools to build a pipeline so we aren’t losing recruits to Wyoming.
Craig Smith may be available??

Would we have to buy out his contract at the U?

tipitup · Post by **tipitup** » March 11th, 2024, 10:44 am

Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote: ↑
March 11th, 2024, 10:32 am

Stucki wrote: ↑
March 11th, 2024, 10:26 am
Not sure his personality would work in the women's game.
Yeah I'd prefer someone with experience in women's college basketball.

jeff judkins did pretty well without know the women's college basketball scene.

Aggie formerly in Hawaii · Post by **Aggie formerly in Hawaii** » March 11th, 2024, 10:47 am

ViAggie wrote: ↑
March 11th, 2024, 10:33 am

JFWAggie wrote: ↑
March 11th, 2024, 10:31 am

rAggie wrote: ↑
March 11th, 2024, 10:24 am
I want us to hire former Stew assistant Chris Jones for the job. The only criticism you could have would be he hasn’t coached women’s hoops before, but that can be supplemented with assistants (in terms of recruiting connections and what not).

We need a master motivator, someone who can inspire transfers to buy in to the program and build from the ground up, and who can help develop relationships with Utah high schools to build a pipeline so we aren’t losing recruits to Wyoming.
Craig Smith may be available??

Would we have to buy out his contract at the U?

Craig Smith did look a lot like the Nicholas hoult character from mad Max fury road

shoresy · Post by **shoresy** » March 11th, 2024, 10:52 am

rAggie wrote: ↑
March 11th, 2024, 9:35 am
This is pure speculation:

Diana is not an amateur and didn't "fire Kayla as she was walking off the court."

I am guessing a discussion happened a couple/several 30+ point losses ago between Sabau and Ard along the lines of "This obviously hasn't been working out for either side, we would like to have you coach out the rest of the season but then we will be executing the buyout clause in your contract. We feel that this will give you the best opportunity to go out with dignity and maximize your prospects for finding your next job."

Ask yourself what you would do in this situation, especially in the moment. Getting fired midseason, with an abysmal record, you're really going to find yourself either coaching high school or a low-tier school assistant. You have a stigma. At least if you coach out the season you can spin a narrative about resources.

So she knows she's done coaching, Sabau believes Ard is going out with dignity, she's been a good soldier in doing post-game interviews with Ajay even after losing by 60, so everything seems to be playing out amicably.

Then at the end she takes her opportunity to get in front of USU announcing the news, causing USU to put out a very brief press release in the late Sunday hours.

Meanwhile, people see the teary eyed sniffles press conference with one question and feel an abundance of sympathy for her. The Salt Lake media puts out messaging about how this is a failure of leadership at USU, just one of the many, and the public narrative is Ard is the victim.

---
That timeline would make a lot more sense, to me, than "she was fired walking off the court."

Your speculation is 100% correct.

She was not fired walking off the court. She was fired IMMEDIATELY after walking off the court.

shoresy · Post by **shoresy** » March 11th, 2024, 11:15 am

I feel pretty torn about all of this.

I've been extremely vocal that Ard should be fired. It was negligent to let her coach this year in the first place. But even people who are as bad at their job as Kayla was at hers deserve to be fired with some dignity. I like that Diana is "no-nonsense" and wasn't going to waste any time, but this feels like a pretty severe miscalculation.

Aggie formerly in Hawaii · Post by **Aggie formerly in Hawaii** » March 11th, 2024, 11:18 am

shoresy wrote: ↑
March 11th, 2024, 11:15 am
I feel pretty torn about all of this.

I've been extremely vocal that Ard should be fired. It was negligent to let her coach this year in the first place. But even people who are as bad at their job as Kayla was at hers deserve to be fired with some dignity. I like that Diana is "no-nonsense" and wasn't going to waste any time, but this feels like a pretty severe miscalculation.

So you don't think she already knew this was coming for months? It sounds like she was soft fired months ago, but you would know more than most

shoresy · Post by **shoresy** » March 11th, 2024, 11:26 am

Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote: ↑
March 11th, 2024, 11:18 am

shoresy wrote: ↑
March 11th, 2024, 11:15 am
I feel pretty torn about all of this.

I've been extremely vocal that Ard should be fired. It was negligent to let her coach this year in the first place. But even people who are as bad at their job as Kayla was at hers deserve to be fired with some dignity. I like that Diana is "no-nonsense" and wasn't going to waste any time, but this feels like a pretty severe miscalculation.
So you don't think she already knew this was coming for months? It sounds like she was soft fired months ago, but you would know more than most

I do think she knew, but not because she had been officially told like some have alluded to. I have to imagine everyone within that program knew it was coming. I just don't really see the benefit of firing a coach immediately after walking off the court versus doing so an hour or a day later. Let them talk to their team, do the press conference, process the loss/season even just a little bit, then pull the trigger.

I don't think this is the big scandal or story some have turned it into, but I just feel bad for all involved. I'm sure it was an incredibly awkward experience for the players.

shoresy · Post by **shoresy** » March 11th, 2024, 11:30 am

rAggie wrote: ↑
March 11th, 2024, 10:24 am
I want us to hire former Stew assistant Chris Jones for the job. The only criticism you could have would be he hasn’t coached women’s hoops before, but that can be supplemented with assistants (in terms of recruiting connections and what not).

We need a master motivator, someone who can inspire transfers to buy in to the program and build from the ground up, and who can help develop relationships with Utah high schools to build a pipeline so we aren’t losing recruits to Wyoming.

Respectfully, hell no.

I'm sure Chris is a good dude and a good coach, but having zero women's basketball experience is a non starter for me. It's a very different game and you can't hire somebody with no knowledge or connections in recruiting. We can do much, much better.

cval · Post by **cval** » March 11th, 2024, 11:34 am

I suspect that contractually she could not be officially fired until after the game. Probably reduced the buyout by waiting until after the season.

Don’t want to end up in court arguing about the buyout because she claims she was fired before the season ended.

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