Board of Regents Executive Session Over, No Action Taken

JPat said:

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My wild guess is they are agreeing on some sort of means of pulling a lot of the dictator-type power from HCMG that was foolishly ever given to him to begin with. I bet he's being put on some sort of short leash or probationary period for lack of a better word. He did himself NO favors this year, on any front.

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okay, I'll bet you're wrong. What's the bet?

JPat said:

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My wild guess is they are agreeing on some sort of means of pulling a lot of the dictator-type power from HCMG that was foolishly ever given to him to begin with. I bet he's being put on some sort of short leash or probationary period for lack of a better word. He did himself NO favors this year, on any front.

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Several schools, including OU, have recently hired a GM/CEO-type to oversee the program. I wonder if something similar is in the works here, to alleviate some of the things you mentioned and take away more of the non-football stuff away from Gundy. I know they hired Kenyatta Wright for some of that, but he probably reports to Gundy.

I don't understand the language of "no action." Does this mean no termination or they will not discuss the action until later?

Does anyone care what you guess is or anything you post?

Devil's advocate here. How could the Board restructure/reduce his contract without Gundy's consent? And why would Gundy consent unless he gets something in return? And what could they offer him of personal value? Their only leverage is Gundy would have to accept a restructure/reduction or get fired - with a $26mm payout. That's not much leverage.

My guess is the Board, in short, asked for a plan to fix the issues and communicated a short leash.

GumbyFromPokeyLand said:

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My guess is the Board, in short, asked for a plan to fix the issues and communicated a short leash.

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Precisely, they met to discuss the firings that had occurred and to get everybody on the same page prior to the Main Session, and prior to speaking to the media.

Oh look, a keyboard tough guy. Break's over - Clock back in and cook some fries.

If wrong, I'll chuckle about it and go on with my life. If right, same thing. That's my approach to internet blog comment threads.

Zach Lancaster said:

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CJPoke37 said:

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I don't understand the language of "no action." Does this mean no termination or they will not discuss the action until later?

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Things were discussed, but they won't be taking a vote or moving forward with anything right now.

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OctaviusRex said:

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Death, taxes, and bureaucracy

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Hmmm…

Under the Oklahoma Open Meeting laws, no votes or formal action can be taken in the Executive Session. That is why an action item to vote followed the Executive Session. They chose to not act on that item. Discussions in the Executive Session may not be discussed. The administrators in that meeting may have received informal instructions to develop a plan for future actions or discussion.

speaking of, I'd better get back to work. I'm sure I'm holding up paperwork and red tape at my job as well by following this bureaucratic mess so closely. Refreshing my page every 2 minutes.

Yeah I want in on this bet as well!

LS1Z28 said:

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Mike Gundy is a future college football Hall of Famer. He's by far the most successful coach in school history. Firing him after his first losing season in nearly two decades would be incredibly stupid. He deserves another year to prove he can turn things around.

Hopefully he'll agree to a restructured contract with a more manageable buyout. That would make it easier to make a change next year if necessary.

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No offense, but why would Gundy agree to "Coach, consider a lesser buyout and we won't fire you and pay you the existing buyout"?

Because it is likely this negotiation is take a restructured contract for less money including any buyout, with restrictions on your actions and comments publicly in order to keep your job. If not, we will fire you for cause. Gundy's choice. They supposedly want an answer from him today by 5 pm.

If he refuses to restructure his contract, I could see a scenario where the athletic department tried to fire him with cause. I'm not sure what would happen in court, but it could tarnish his legacy. I don't think anyone wants that.

Sounds like things are getting ugly now. Not sure where this is headed…seems like Gundy has all the leverage, but if he doesn't agree to contract changes it could get REALLY ugly.

was just about to say, think the rest of the country is starting to really take notice now. craziest day I've witnessed in OSU history since I was a student or fan

PistolD said:

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Because it is likely this negotiation is take a restructured contract for less money including any buyout, with restrictions on your actions and comments publicly in order to keep your job. If not, we will fire you for cause. Gundy's choice. They supposedly want an answer from him today by 5 pm.

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Unless we don't know something, The Board would massively lose any claim of "cause". IF the Board is asserting that as a leverage point, I predict Gundy will give them the finger and dare the Board to fire him. Again IF true, this WILL get ugly, IMO.

Many contracts for personal services include some boilerplate language about "wrongful actions of the employee being grounds for dismissal without penalty to the employer" or something along those lines. I'd think Gundy's slam to alums opens a possible window of that type depending on contract provisions. Whether a court would accept that as a full release basis, who knows. But it certainly might create an actionable argument raising some degree of risk and perhaps a possible negotiated settlement far below a full buyout cost. Not advocating for anything here, just saying.

No way.

Not suggesting anything by saying this, and I'm surely no "legal whiz", but contracts are restructured, all the time. Not without reason, however, and agreement by both parties isn't always necessary. For instance, if there are stipulations in the original agreement that both parties signed off to, that called for certain "performance" by one of the parties, and the stipulations aren't met, a "breach of contract" has occurred. "Performance" could be personal, or professional, or could be construed to include both. If that's the case, here, then the right to restructure would exist, and in a sense, the second party may be in a position of it being "non-negotiable."

Boomcreek said:

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Not suggesting anything by saying this, and I'm surely no "legal whiz", but contracts are restructured, all the time. Not without reason, however, and agreement by both parties isn't always necessary. For instance, if there are stipulations in the original agreement that both parties signed off to, that called for certain "performance" by one of the parties, and the stipulations aren't met, a "breach of contract" has occurred. "Performance" could be personal, or professional, or could be construed to include both. If that's the case, here, then the right to restructure would exist, and in a sense, the second party may be in a position of it being "non-negotiable."

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Unaware of any performance benchmarks tied to base compensation and/or contract buyout.

I don't know if any of this is true or pure speculation by the fans; but, IMHO,

irreparable damage has already been done by the BOR, they need to immediately issue a statement whether Gundy will be retained (no amendments), or be let go. No other solution will repair the damage and doubt now instilled in the minds of our recruits, potential coaches, and others who seek some long-term assurance that the program is stable, and not subject to short-term whims of the University.

I would not sign uip with a program trying to rebuild when the fate of the HC and replacement coaches may be in doubt beyond one year.

Something needs to be confirmed and communicated immediately. If some buy-down is announced, then hope that we can survive the fallout (which will be impossibly stacked against the HC)

RodeoPoke said:

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I don't know if any of this is true or pure speculation by the fans; but, IMHO,

irreparable damage has already been done by the BOR, they need to immediately issue a statement whether Gundy will be retained (no amendments), or be let go. No other solution will repair the damage and doubt now instilled in the minds of our recruits, potential coaches, and others who seek some long-term assurance that the program is stable, and not subject to short-term whims of the University.

I would not sign uip with a program trying to rebuild when the fate of the HC and replacement coaches may be in doubt beyond one year.

Something needs to be confirmed and communicated immediately. If some buy-down is announced, then hope that we can survive the fallout (which will be impossibly stacked against the HC)

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Correct. The BOR, with apparently no alternative plan, just pointed a loaded gun at the HC telling him to take less money so we can fire you in the future or we'll make false claims and fire you now. Friggin' brilliant.

THE next big question. Who would want to be the head coach at this sh*tshow?

Orangeheart72 said:

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Many contracts for personal services include some boilerplate language about "wrongful actions of the employee being grounds for dismissal without penalty to the employer" or something along those lines. I'd think Gundy's slam to alums opens a possible window of that type depending on contract provisions. Whether a court would accept that as a full release basis, who knows. But it certainly might create an actionable argument raising some degree of risk and perhaps a possible negotiated settlement far below a full buyout cost. Not advocating for anything here, just saying.

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I guess the BoR wants the pub and to divert more money from the AD to try to prove their position.