Long term recruiting ramifications of Mac's comments

[REALITY]

Starting a new thread to discuss what the long term impacts of Mac staying on would be in terms of recruiting.
I fully believe that it would be very difficult for us to continue to recruit at the level we need to stay competitive in the BE with Mac remaining, unfortunately.

[ZMagic30]

IMO the only way to make it work (I mentioned this in the Coach Mac thread and others might have said it before me) is complete and total transparency with recruits and their parents. Field all of their questions, answer the hardest ones truthfully, and go from there.

[oldbluebeard]

Each year there are usually no more than 4 classes + redshirts at games. After each win or loss Coach Mac says something to the team. Obviously Mac doesn't want to say the same thing each time in a 5 year period as he is trying to inspire the guys (am I racist if I say Boys?) especially after a loss. Someone somewhere probably has a few recordings of his after game talks. How about checking some of them out b4 you/we throw him under the Bus? Yes, he misspoke without thinking. Who hasn't??

I have been going to Anthony's luncheons since Mac came to Omaha. He has his arms around guys, he kids them & they kid back. I have seen or heard nothing which would ever imply racism. I suspect if so we would have heard about it. He Loves his job & team from everything I have seen or heard. I have been a long time 40+ years Jays season ticket holder and I love him as a coach. I feel this can be worked thru & I hope he will keep his job & don't think it will have much of a long term affect on recruits. Yes it may have some.

Someone asked me why the players haven't spoken out for Mac. I said look at todays world, if you're white & support him you may be considered racist & if you're black & support him you just don't care, so you say nothing as gee lets not offend anyone & be considered politically incorrect.

[REALITY]

Each year there are usually no more than 4 classes + redshirts at games. After each win or loss Coach Mac says something to the team. Obviously Mac doesn't want to say the same thing each time in a 5 year period as he is trying to inspire the guys (am I racist if I say Boys?) especially after a loss. Someone somewhere probably has a few recordings of his after game talks. How about checking some of them out b4 you/we throw him under the Bus? Yes, he misspoke without thinking. Who hasn't??

I have been going to Anthony's luncheons since Mac came to Omaha. He has his arms around guys, he kids them & they kid back. I have seen or heard nothing which would ever imply racism. I suspect if so we would have heard about it. He Loves his job & team from everything I have seen or heard. I have been a long time 40+ years Jays season ticket holder and I love him as a coach. I feel this can be worked thru & I hope he will keep his job & don't think it will have much of a long term affect on recruits. Yes it may have some.

Someone asked me why the players haven't spoken out for Mac. I said look at todays world, if you're white & support him you may be considered racist & if you're black & support him you just don't care, so you say nothing as gee lets not offend anyone & be considered politically incorrect.

Very few of us are crucifying him for what happened. He misspoke, awfully, of course, and that happens to everyone. I don't think anyone really believes he's racist, in fact, the evidence speaks to the contrary.

No, the issue is what will happen with recruiting long term and how effective he can be leading the program as a result. I believe you're gravely underestimating how badly recruits are going to see this. I think Mac could definitely give an honest explanation that might satisfy recruits, BUT how many will be willing to open the door for him to do that in the first place? There's a complete lack of understanding of just how dark the world can be for young African American men - a fear of encounters with police even if the person is just going on with their day-to-day business, challenges getting work compared to white counterparts with equal qualifications, institutions that are inherently unfriendly to them, etc. and, of course, just plain racism. So if you're a recruit and you've heard that Mac said something racist (remember, this is what pretty much all media outlets are saying), would you pick up the phone in the first place to have a conversation? And let's be clear, them not opening their doors is not on those recruits, it's on Mac for saying what he did on Saturday.

Now, there are relationships that already exist with AAU coaches that should help to a degree, but still, I wonder how many of those coaches will pick up the phone as well. Some, likely those with the longest relationships, will. Others probably won't.

This is why I believe our recruiting will suffer to the point where we're lucky to get MVC to AAC type players if Mac remains.

[Ethanfor3]

Each year there are usually no more than 4 classes + redshirts at games. After each win or loss Coach Mac says something to the team. Obviously Mac doesn't want to say the same thing each time in a 5 year period as he is trying to inspire the guys (am I racist if I say Boys?) especially after a loss. Someone somewhere probably has a few recordings of his after game talks. How about checking some of them out b4 you/we throw him under the Bus? Yes, he misspoke without thinking. Who hasn't??

I have been going to Anthony's luncheons since Mac came to Omaha. He has his arms around guys, he kids them & they kid back. I have seen or heard nothing which would ever imply racism. I suspect if so we would have heard about it. He Loves his job & team from everything I have seen or heard. I have been a long time 40+ years Jays season ticket holder and I love him as a coach. I feel this can be worked thru & I hope he will keep his job & don't think it will have much of a long term affect on recruits. Yes it may have some.

Someone asked me why the players haven't spoken out for Mac. I said look at todays world, if you're white & support him you may be considered racist & if you're black & support him you just don't care, so you say nothing as gee lets not offend anyone & be considered politically incorrect.

Very few of us are crucifying him for what happened. He misspoke, awfully, of course, and that happens to everyone. I don't think anyone really believes he's racist, in fact, the evidence speaks to the contrary.

No, the issue is what will happen with recruiting long term and how effective he can be leading the program as a result. I believe you're gravely underestimating how badly recruits are going to see this. I think Mac could definitely give an honest explanation that might satisfy recruits, BUT how many will be willing to open the door for him to do that in the first place? There's a complete lack of understanding of just how dark the world can be for young African American men - a fear of encounters with police even if the person is just going on with their day-to-day business, challenges getting work compared to white counterparts with equal qualifications, institutions that are inherently unfriendly to them, etc. and, of course, just plain racism. So if you're a recruit and you've heard that Mac said something racist (remember, this is what pretty much all media outlets are saying), would you pick up the phone in the first place to have a conversation? And let's be clear, them not opening their doors is not on those recruits, it's on Mac for saying what he did on Saturday.

Now, there are relationships that already exist with AAU coaches that should help to a degree, but still, I wonder how many of those coaches will pick up the phone as well. Some, likely those with the longest relationships, will. Others probably won't.

This is why I believe our recruiting will suffer to the point where we're lucky to get MVC to AAC type players if Mac remains.

Sadly, this is the crux of the matter and if I was in vegas betting, it's where I would put my money.

Should Mac be able to overcome this...maybe. Will he be able to overcome this hurdle...in the world we now live in...I wouldn't bet on it.

He's going to need to do some superhuman work to "advance the discussion" to even approach being able to effectively do his job.

I really wish that wasn't the logical outcome, but it's hard to see it transpiring any other way unless you're really, really optimistic about human nature.

[PHXJayFan]

Recruitment is the reason why I think Mac needs to leave. (Well besides the racism of the comment itself) No kid is going to look at our situation now and want to play for the guy who refers to his program as a plantation. Doesn’t matter the intent because that’s what it’ll be branded as.

I think Moser or DRock is likely to keep Huss on, which is important in the recruiting sphere. And likely to be a grand standard bearer to keep taking the program to the next level.

That said I’d be very surprised at this point if Mac isn’t here next year

[gtmoBlue]

No negative effects on longterm recruiting.

Mac and Co have been recruiting kids for years now. The 2021, 22,& 23 parents and sons all know Mac and staff. Relationships
have been built and are continuing. One word...in a mistated phrase, will ruin all the time and effort built into these relationships?

No. No it won't.

Families, parents, and the recruits all know Mac and staff. They have experience in relating, dealing with, and understanding the type
of man he is and that his assistants are. We will weather the short-term storm. #RDJ

[Realhoops]

Recruitment is the reason why I think Mac needs to leave. (Well besides the racism of the comment itself) No kid is going to look at our situation now and want to play for the guy who refers to his program as a plantation. Doesn’t matter the intent because that’s what it’ll be branded as.

I think Moser or DRock is likely to keep Huss on, which is important in the recruiting sphere. And likely to be a grand standard bearer to keep taking the program to the next level.

That said I’d be very surprised at this point if Mac isn’t here next year

Absolutely no way to possibly know this. You can’t possibly know that no player will play for him. It’s a valid point of emphasis - but the actual answer is still wide open.

[REALITY]

No negative effects on longterm recruiting.

Mac and Co have been recruiting kids for years now. The 2021, 22,& 23 parents and sons all know Mac and staff. Relationships
have been built and are continuing. One word...in a mistated phrase, will ruin all the time and effort built into these relationships?

No. No it won't.

Families, parents, and the recruits all know Mac and staff. They have experience in relating, dealing with, and understanding the type
of man he is and that his assistants are. We will weather the short-term storm. #RDJ

Git you raise a good point. Those that we're already in contact with are probably going to be more receptive, the longer we've been involved, the better.
That said, we normally miss on a good chunk of our "top" targets (as in those we recruit for years i.e. Mors, just to name one) and end up falling back to second and third options. It's these players that we may not necessarily be in touch with at the moment, especially for the class of 23. And that's where my concern about being able to "get in the door" kicks in.

[Realhoops]

No negative effects on longterm recruiting.

Mac and Co have been recruiting kids for years now. The 2021, 22,& 23 parents and sons all know Mac and staff. Relationships
have been built and are continuing. One word...in a mistated phrase, will ruin all the time and effort built into these relationships?

No. No it won't.

Families, parents, and the recruits all know Mac and staff. They have experience in relating, dealing with, and understanding the type
of man he is and that his assistants are. We will weather the short-term storm. #RDJ

Git you raise a good point. Those that we're already in contact with are probably going to be more receptive, the longer we've been involved, the better.
That said, we normally miss on a good chunk of our "top" targets (as in those we recruit for years i.e. Mors, just to name one) and end up falling back to second and third options. It's these players that we may not necessarily be in touch with at the moment, especially for the class of 23. And that's where my concern about being able to "get in the door" kicks in.

You do know that virtually every program misses on their top targets and falls back on the second or third or worse options, right? Even the blue bloods fight over the same guys and because each guy can only go one place the rest all miss out?

If those recruits come next year despite this, I think recruiting will be just fine moving forward. Staff will have to address this with recruits, but they will have the chance to do so and I have faith they can do it.

Only time will tell.