Addressing the "Mike Alden got played... again" narrative

Think this whole “played” issue is just the perfect fit for the self-loathing aspects, the sky is falling mentality we as Mizzou fans have at times. This fits when it seems like we as a fanbase are getting boned left and right as has seemingly been the case since June of last year.
Sorry, a little long. Looking forward to moving forward and beer, lots and lots of beer

I think that only the Anderson situation could qualify as Mizzou getting played. Anderson rightly leveraged Georgia’s interest two years ago and the Elite Eight appearance into a raise. I think he used Oregon’s flirtations last year to drive up his price this year in anticipation of the Arkansas job opening up, but I also think Alden saw it coming a mile away.

But the Big Ten? No. We have no real evidence to suggest that Mizzou was ever a viable candidate beyond the University of Chicago report that said Mizzou and four other schools would be profitable additions. We have no idea what contact the university did or did not have with the Big Ten. Missouri may have been a legitimate target, but when Texas forced the issue with Nebraska, it changed the equation. The Big Ten took the home run choice and then sat back to see what happened. It was a simple business transaction. If Mizzou was played, then so was Pitt, Syracuse and Rutgers.

The Painter situation was, in my eyes, a straight up negotiation just like any of us would do in a similar job situation. I think Painter gave it a fair hearing, did his due diligence, gave Purdue an opportunity to match, and then made the best choice for himself, his staff and his family. Anyone complaining about that who would say that they wouldn’t do the same thing in that situation is a liar. It’s just business. If it wasn’t for the idiot media and Twitter blowing the whole thing out of proportion, and coming so soon off of the Big Ten and Anderson deals, I don’t think the “Mizzou got played” meme gains any traction.

Look, I became a humanities Professor so that I would never once in my life have to think about “holding companies,” so I didn’t get too far into the post, but I’m pretty sure I know what you’re driving at, and no, I really don’t think Alden got “played.”

In my world, I’m involved in job search committees from time to time, and sure, sometimes you worry that if you go after the “dream hire” that person might use the job offer for leverage at their current university, and if they end up taking a raise to stay where they are, it draws out your search, maybe you miss out on other people who take jobs somewhere else in the interim, and maybe the person you eventually hire worries that their tenure case is going to be a lot tougher down the line because they weren’t “the first choice” so they might be a bit more inclined to look to jump elsewhere. And, on the flip side, it can be tempting to go for the slightly less sexy candidate that you are close to 100 percent certain would take the job (whether because of geography, or because they’re fresh out of grad school, or whatever).

But I dunno—if there’s someone you’re really truly excited about, and if their interest in your position seems genuine, you take your best shot. If it doesn’t work out, you move down the list. Of course, in my world we don’t catch much flack for this approach because there isn’t “English Department Talk Radio” where some Nick Wright-esque mouthbreather has to fill 6 hours trying to figure out who got “played.” And, of course, the dollar figures we’re working with are a bit smaller.

I mean, I’m sorry, but in grown up world—not in message board fantasy world—this is how professional hiring happens. You identify the best candidate who would fit at your institution and who you think might be persuaded, and then you try to persuade them. Sometimes they decide they don’t want to move on, and sometimes they decide that they do. If it doesn’t work out, you revisit the field of candidates.

I actually have more faith in Alden, not less, after the way the Painter situation played out—he clearly identified a very qualified, very interested candidate, and gave that candidate a proposal that merited serious thought, but in the end the things keeping him home were more powerful than the things pushing him away. It happens.