It's day two of the Kevin Mouton era. What's going to happen today?
To give you a brief recap of the last 48 hours: Sunday, athletic director Bob De Carolis announced that Jay John had been fired from the position of head coach. Jay's contract runs through 2010, so the university owes him around $1.1 million. The fire has been hurting Jay and his family, but he had to see this one coming. Even if you've got a good core of guys assembled, if you can't win on the court, you're not going to last in the head coaching world. Now, with the firing aside, Interim coach Kevin Mouton was in control of his first practice yesterday. First order of business? Kick C.J. Giles off the team. Mouton didn't cite a particular infracton or a particular behavior issue, he just said, "We needed to make a change."
Which means Oregon State can remove two chairs from the end of their bench prior to the USC game on Thursday.
Here's what Mouton had to say to the media on Monday:
"But I'm going to hold guys accountable for the effort they put out at practice on a daily basis. When they practice hard, they will be rewarded. And our team will be rewarded because we will stay in games."
De Carolis is itching to get a new head coach in Corvallis. And it looks as if he'll get the help of a full-service headhunting firm. John Canzano addresses his dislike for headhunting firms in his Tuesday morning column:
In return, it will provide athletic director Bob De Carolis a list that will include the name of the Beavers' next men's basketball coach.
Trust the list?
I don't.
Because some of the headhunting firms are run by men like David and Dana Pump, the 41-year-old identical twins who are linked to sneaker companies and have run a variety of Amateur Athletic Union basketball programs, camps and seminars.
Basically, the Pump brothers, who run a California-based company named ChampSearch, are basketball power brokers. At the NCAA Regional in Oakland, Calif., two years ago, Kyle Singler sat beside the Pumps, spurring rumors about where the South Medford star would sign.
Canzano also has some names that he would like to see Oregon State track down. Ryan White would like to see the Beavers go after Gonzaga coach Mark Few. But I don't see that happening.
De Carolis has said that he's looking for experience and a proven track record in his next head coach. He's willing to take his time to find the right guy, and doesn't believe in contacting coaching in the middle of their seasons.
Which means we'll be riding out the rest of this 2008 wave with Kevin Mouton at the helm.
If you're him, it's a dang good chance to show the athletic department what you're all about.
Mouton's already made some (a) big move off the court.
Now will he be able to make the right moves on the court?
--JB--