SALT LAKE CITY — When Chris Hill was a new athletic director, one of his most controversial moves was firing Jim Fassel. The innovative coach was under the impression the administration at Utah had his back and was shocked when he was released, even though the Utes were 25-33 under his direction.
The day after the firing, Fassel called a press conference at what was in 1989 the University Park Hotel, to clear the air. He did so by calling the move “hypocrisy that reeks.”
That wasn’t far from the drama that happened in the last few days. Coaches are leaving, and a program that went 9-4 is in flux, if not chaos. Speculation that Kyle Whittingham is quitting due to assistant coaching contracts has stirred up national coverage.
Talk about drama.
This would qualify as a nice Jerry Springer episode.
Among the social media-aided scenarios: Whittingham leaves Utah for BYU; Gary Andersen leaves Oregon State for Utah; Kalani Sitake leaves Oregon State for BYU; Matt Wells leaves Utah State for Utah; Dan Mullen leaves Mississippi State for Utah; Bronco Mendenhall leaves BYU, period.
Oh, and Elvis leaves the Great Beyond for a job with the Raiders.
One of the most popular theories is that Hill undercut Whittingham by letting key assistants get away. Why Hill would want to sabotage his own football program, even on the chance of hiring good replacements, is anyone’s guess.
Perception can become reality, however unintended.
This isn’t the only embarrassing moment in Utah football history. Martell Black, a fullback, went to prison for dealing drugs. The team was put on probation for recruiting violations involving Jason Buck. Meanwhile, there’s no other way to describe the 5-28 Tom Lovat era except embarrassing.
But this ranks among them.
It’s a good thing Utah didn’t go 3-9 this year, or it could have been really nasty.
In some ways, conflict was inevitable. No coaching contracts got extended last year after the Utes’ 2-win conference season — nor should they have. With an iffy quarterback situation and back-to-back 5-7 seasons, 2014 didn’t look to be a gold medal year. But the Utes shocked almost everyone by winning five conference games.
So it’s hard not to connect the dots, after three assistant coaches left for comparable or lesser jobs.
Outsiders tend to look at teams and assume they’re all on the same page. Not necessarily. How many organizations in any field have 100 personalities but no major conflicts?
Such problems occur in part due to the unprecedented power of coaches, who want it both ways — and usually get it. If they fail, they want patience or a buyout; if they succeed, they want an extension. At the same time, athletic directors have two main jobs: keeping boosters and coaches happy. Lately that isn’t working for Hill on either count.
So naturally when word spread that Hill and Whittingham were having their annual postseason meeting on Friday, following the assistant coaching departures, speculation escalated.
Now the university must put out this fire post-haste. With or without Whittingham, a press conference might look disingenuous, but it would at least present a calming front. Otherwise, recruiting will take a hit. When a prospect sees coaches leaving and rumors flying, he has to wonder.
The last few days have been a setback for the Ute program — something that's not fixable overnight. But the school has to try.
When Arnie Ferrin fired Chuck Stobart in 1984, he didn’t call it a firing. He claimed the parties agreed to pursue other interests, and if neither found a fit, they could revisit the situation. That’s probably not how it really happened, nor would it occur today.
The only thing the university can do now is try to assure its fans and recruits that with or without a new coach, all is relatively well in the village. And make sure the town crier doesn’t say otherwise.
Email: rock@desnews.com; Twitter: @therockmonster; Blog: Rockmonster Unplugged