"The thinking being if he was able to hire coaches of stature at a place like SMU then if he were given complete total and unfettered control over the football program he would be able to make a 'walk off' hiring at ND."

No AD will ever be given complete, total, and unfettered control over ND football's program. The bureaucracy at ND would never tolerate an omnipotent AD. Or a football Czar. Or whatever else fans want to call the guy who will magically change ND football into the juggernaut it once was at the snap of a finger.

IIRC, wasn't one of the reason a certain segment of the ND fanbase liked Orisni was because of his personality? His force of will. They made it sound like he was a real life version of Kaiser Soze. He could get things done because he was such a bad ass. His wallet is the one that says "Bad Motherfucker" on it. Maybe he was tough as nails. But he couldn't balance the SMU checkbook. I'm sure a fiscally irresponsible whackjob would have gone over real well at the ND Bushwood Country Club.

In hiring Jones and Brown Orsini showed the ability to hire coaches of stature who were above SMU's norm. The thinking being if he was able to hire coaches of stature at a place like SMU then if he were given complete total and unfettered control over the football program he would be able to make a "walk off" hiring at ND.

Of course IMO the problem is there is a gross, and frankly downright comical, inflation of those coaches relative worth going on by those who subscribe to that line.

Why the fuck would anybody at ND consider those above average hires?

Takes all kinds to fill a village, I suppose.

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I read that report as Orsini not just preferring someone else first, but not wanting Brown at all. If Turner hired him over Orsini's protestations, that's all you need to know about why they parted ways.

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interesting.

That's the whole story right there, imo.

Orsini recently led a wide-ranging search for a new men's basketball coach, which ended with the hiring of Hall of Famer Larry Brown. Brown was not Orsini's first choice, according to sources, but Turner pushed for Brown.

http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2012/05/source-clash-with-smus-preside...

While 30 days in would even set a new record for that noted infighter Larry Brown to wield the shiv, I wonder. One of the prime reasons why nobody wanted to hire Brown is because he has a long standing reputation as someone who constantly employs power plays to oust people above him who don't share his often mercurial views. The general administration feeling on Brown was, 'why hire him. He'll turn around and get me fired'.

The fact that Orsini wasn't a Brown guy and the President was makes me wonder about what, if any, background role Brown may have played. Brown has no SMU powerbase and likely played no role, but having watched him for the past 30 years I don't put anything past that operator extraordinaire.

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1) Orsini wouldn't be able to run a deficit at Notre Dame, so that criticism is invalid.

2) He hired June Jones and Larry Brown, which is way above where SMU should be hiring considering the last couple decades. If you use the Transitive Property of Coaching Hires, he would have reanimated Bear Bryant coaching at ND at a snap of his fingers.

3) Stripper locker rooms.

4) Sandcrawlers.

5) Remember the Five.

....two hookers, a ton of blow, and a bigoted midget!

(Where's my fellow Four Foodgroups devotee?)

the defecit situation would concern me more than Brown running players off. But as I look at the situation and how it unfolded something had to have happened recently to tip the scales against Orsini. SMU's financial situation didn't just appear overnight and catch everyone unawares. The school president knew about spiraling financial situation for years and still allowed Orsini wide operating latitude as recently as 30 days ago.

To me something recently must have occurred that brought things to a point which made the school president escort him out back and offer a blindfold and cigarette.

...never had to help with the long-term cover-up of five dead hookers.

Back to the kiddie pool.

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It wasn't supposed to be like this. When Turner hired Steve Orsini as athletic director in 2006, one of his main goals was to improve the financial situation of the athletic department, Orsini recalled in an interview. Orsini, a former CPA, had the "business expertise that will help us build resources and fan support," Turner said. Since then, the financial situation of the department has changed - for the worse.

From 2004 to 2006, before Orsini was hired, the department's annual deficit ranged between $12 and $13 million. Since Orsini's first full year at SMU in 2007, annual athletic department losses have ballooned to $18 million annually - a 50 percent increase. This jump in losses is something Orsini says he can't explain.

"I can't answer that," he said. "I don't know."

It is indeed a sports station in the DFW area and the most popular by a large margin. They have good sources for all local sports so the info is good. I also think the loss was reported a while ago--doubt it got better.

I mean, you hire a guy in large part because of his CPA/business background and his success in fundraising/getting a program pushed forward over in Florida, and his promises are that he will have you fiscally responsible and at the same time moving forward. Then he immediately takes your program and increases its operating deficit by 50%, and at the time his tenure at the school ends the annual losses by the athletic department equal 40% of the tuition paid by students. Not good.

Plus, there's this:

Hat tip to "the Husker" for adding the extra but oh-so-appropriate graphics.

If it was just about Brown, you fire Brown, not Orsini.

purge of the basketball roster and Orsini's support of it which likely run afoul of the sensibilities of the school president. Of course if the SMU athletic departments books look as rumored things probably reached a point with the school president where Orsini and his managements decisions were causing far more trouble than he was worth.

This article is from 2010 but still has some relevant information. SMU's AD has been hemorrhaging cash even prior to Orisini, but the losses increased by almost 50% under Orsini:

The article is a pretty interesting read about the "culture of secrecy" at SMU.

This "Orsini got fired" thread is longer than their thread.

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couple weeks.

He's leaving for the Big East job.

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Oh yeah, that's why.

To hide their (lack of) numbers.

And what does this mean for the unsinkable Larry Brown?

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--
Sometimes I rhyme slow sometimes I rhyme quick.

I view a site called PonyFans.com and some guy named LA_Mustang is apparently listening to "The Ticket" (presumably some sports radio station). Anyway, The Ticket reported that the SMU athletic department lost $120 million under Orsini.

Five of them.

A certain Senatorial candidate wanted him gone.

TED CRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUZ!!!! /shakes fist

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SMU fires athletic director Steve Orsini, school president says change was needed

DALLAS - SMU athletic director Steve Orsini has been fired, effective immediately.

School president R. Gerald Turner announced the move in a news release Thursday. There were no specific reasons given for the decision, which came only weeks after Orsini hired Hall of Fame basketball coach Larry Brown.

Turner says it became apparent to him that a change was necessary after several discussions over the last few weeks. Turner thanked Orsini for his contributions and said a national search would begin immediately to find a new athletic director.

SMU is set to move from Conference USA to the Big East Conference in July 2013.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/7d95509c91a8470ba2fda0fa70030678/SMU-Orsini-Fired/

EDIT: Wonder if it was over Larry Brown's housecleaning.

That doesn't sound good.

He gone.

@ArtGarcia92: SMU athletic director Steve Orsini was "dismissed effective immediately" via a school release. No other details given.