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Wellman still in charge

Lot of optics on parade with this...this feels more of a 'saving face' effort for Wellman: a somewhat pitiful 'hanging on to' a fading legacy of authority. Who knows...there may be some donor/financial matters that must be completed before he leaves. Certainly one of Ron's official last acts should be to show Manning the door.

Anyone who's thinking that Currie will (somehow be forced to) keep Manning AND then not be the man to hire the next men's basketball coach immediately, and for whom that very coach will be working, hasn't thought this through extensively.

As many have said, the timing's all wrong for Currie not to be the actual guy 'large and in charge' at least in the coaching respect (Wellman has lost plenty of cache with new, potential hires, I'd think); and for the foreseeable future, the next basketball coach hired will be the defining moment of Currie's tenure, and for years to come. Currie didn't come here to have Ron Wellman create/orchestrate/make what will most likely be the most important decision of Currie's tenure.
 
Wellman is just a Lame Duck Athletic Director. Everyone looks at him differently now. He doesn't really have any power anymore.
 
Having been through several CEO changes due to retirement recently, I would be shocked if Currie isnt making essentially any and all big decisions now. There will be platitudes all over the place (I'm just gonna shadow him to learn all there is) but thats just the schtick to make a 27 year vet make himself feel good as he leaves. I have no issue with the optics, Im just glad he's gone.

I did find the total absence of any Manning reference to be clear he's out. I've heard rumblings the deal has been struck and will be activated on quickly in a few weeks.
 
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Nothing to glean from the article.
 
The simplest answer is probably that Currie is running the show and that Manning’s out. That’s the answer I’m choosing to believe.

But I wouldn’t put it past Wake to strike some grand bargain where Wellman retires to appease the fan base and the faction of donors that want Manning out but to time it in such a way that Manning gets another year to ease the buyout and appease Hatch. That’s why that May 1st date scares me just a little. There is certainly an idiot in Wake’s employ who thought announcing in March that Wellman was leaving in May would give them all the cover they and Currie needed.
 
CHDeac said:
I would be shocked if Currie isnt making essentially any and all big decisions now. There will be platitudes all over the place (I'm just gonna shadow him to learn all there is) but thats just the schtick to make a 27 year vet make himself feel good as he leaves. I have no issue with the optics, Im just glad he's gone.
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This is my take as well. Anyone who thinks we'd announce WellMan is out and will no longer have any input doesn't know how Wake operates. We are handling this very diplomatically. Let the old guard wander off with his head held high. Nothing more.
 
But for one of the nation’s most successful and influential athletics directors, Wellman has managed to build Wake Forest sports into his image.
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Ed Hardin is a fucking hack. What a ridiculous statement.
 
I’m still struggling with this:

- Wellman says he’s in charge until May 1 (at least on the surface)
- Agree all around that this hire is the signature decision of Currie’s start here at Wake
- so let’s say we can Manning (Wellman can do this - no big deal)
- who is leading the search (both internally and externally)?
- if we make a hire, who makes the announcement? If it’s Wellman, they have completely neutered Currie on the way in. If it’s Currie, then Wellman is a bald-faced liar yet again. Is it both of them? That still neuters Currie - it needs to be his decision and his alone.
- if we wait until May 1, that’s a total shit show
- if they don’t fire Manning, that’s an even worse shit show

I want to assume there are smart people involved here and they have thought this all through, i just can’t come up with a scenario where a change is made in April and the optics are good for everyone involved.
 
When an athletic director fires a coach, by the nature of the move, it creates enemies. It creates enemies with the coaches that were fired as well as their friends in the coaching business. There is no reason to put that on Currie, so it will be put on Wellman as it doesn’t matter to him from a professional standpoint. Currie can then hire the new coach without having any baggage. It doesn’t matter who announces the hiring of the new coach, that’s all window dressing.
 
Henry Chinaski said:
I’m still struggling with this:

- Wellman says he’s in charge until May 1 (at least on the surface)
- Agree all around that this hire is the signature decision of Currie’s start here at Wake
- so let’s say we can Manning (Wellman can do this - no big deal)
- who is leading the search (both internally and externally)?
- if we make a hire, who makes the announcement? If it’s Wellman, they have completely neutered Currie on the way in. If it’s Currie, then Wellman is a bald-faced liar yet again. Is it both of them? That still neuters Currie - it needs to be his decision and his alone.
- if we wait until May 1, that’s a total shit show
- if they don’t fire Manning, that’s an even worse shit show

I want to assume there are smart people involved here and they have thought this all through, i just can’t come up with a scenario where a change is made in April and the optics are good for everyone involved.
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I think you’re overly concerned about optics and who is in charge. Transition periods like this happen all the time. It gives John time to talk to people and get his feet settled in Winston without being burdened by the day-to-day operations of a 100+ person staff. It allows Ron to button up loose ends and hand everything over cleanly in 2 months.

It’s going to be Currie’s hire. Period. End of story. Who cares who makes the announcement? Nobody will remember 5 minutes after the press conference ends anyway. Everyone, including the guy being hired, will know he was hired by Currie and not Wellman. If the coach is successful, Currie will get the credit. If he’s not, Currie will get the blame.
 
Wellmans desk should have been cleared out yesterday and Mannings today. They have both been fairly compensated for their work. There is nothing positive by letting them hang out one more day. Heck pay Wellman till may whats another 300k, but kick his ass to the curb. He has had his run.
 
WakeForest Fan said:
If manning is kept that will literally be the death sentence for fan base
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The fan base has already left and will not come back until DM is fired. Did you see that the color orange outnumbered the color black and gold at the Cuse game?
 
deacsrus said:
The fan base has already left and will not come back until DM is fired. Did you see that the color orange outnumbered the color black and gold at the Cuse game?
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IF everyone sticks around this could be a bubble team next year. We'll still have a crappy senior point guard, but they ought to be in the middle tier ofthe league. That should help attendance.
 
Henry Chinaski said:
I’m still struggling with this:

- Wellman says he’s in charge until May 1 (at least on the surface)
- Agree all around that this hire is the signature decision of Currie’s start here at Wake
- so let’s say we can Manning (Wellman can do this - no big deal)
- who is leading the search (both internally and externally)?
- if we make a hire, who makes the announcement? If it’s Wellman, they have completely neutered Currie on the way in. If it’s Currie, then Wellman is a bald-faced liar yet again. Is it both of them? That still neuters Currie - it needs to be his decision and his alone.
- if we wait until May 1, that’s a total shit show
- if they don’t fire Manning, that’s an even worse shit show

I want to assume there are smart people involved here and they have thought this all through, i just can’t come up with a scenario where a change is made in April and the optics are good for everyone involved.
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You are over thinking. You have the answer at the beginning of your post.

Wellman has been Athletic Director at Wake for 27 years. That makes him the longest tenured Athletic Director in the country. He has accumulated a lot of baggage, both good and bad, over those years. He will be given the optics of looking like he walked into the sunset on his own terms. Thus the "traditional" AD retirement at the end of the school year.

John Currie understands this. He also knows that he, and not Ron Wellman, will have to live with any decisions made in the next two months.

As noted elsewhere, fired coaches have friends in the coaching world. Wake needs a great basketball coach. Wellman and Currie can go "bad cop, good cop" during the firing and hiring process.

With this announcement of Currie as Wake AD effective May 1 it won't "neuter" Currie to have Wellman announce a new coach, or most probably, a joint announcement. The world, including the new staff will know that they work for AD Currie effective May 1 and they would not be chosen if Currie didn't want them at Wake.
 
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