Bzdelik a Name Out of the Blue Rockies
So what kind of athletics director would it take to fire a coach with a three-year record of 61-31 and turn around and hire one who was 36-58 over the same span?
It would obviously take one who is strong enough in his position, and sure enough of himself, to weather whatever uproar that would surely ensue.
It would take an athletics director like Ron Wellman.
At first blush, the report that Jeff Bzdelik of Colorado is a viable candidate at Wake Forest makes no sense. In his three years at CU, the Buffs have gone 12-20 (3-13 in Big 12), 9-22 (1-15) and 15-16 (6-10). But a closer inspection suggests there may be something to it. It bears noting that the CU program was close to shambles when Bzdelik took over from Ricardo Patton. Bzdelik was 50-16 in two seasons at Air Force, and he was head coach of the Denver Nuggets for three years before that, compiling a record of 73-119.
But more compelling than any of that is Bzdelik’s connection with Wellman. The two obviously know each other from the time they spent together at Northwestern from 1981-86, when Bzdelik was assistant basketball coach and Wellman was head baseball coach. It may be that Wellman became convinced that Bzdelik was the real thing, and would be the type of coach he would like to hire someday if the opportunity arose. Ron is a person who usually knows what he wants and it just may be he wants Bzdelik to be the next basketball coach at Wake Forest.
A less secure AD could never hire Jeff Bzdelik. But then a less secure AD could have never fired Dino Gaudio after two straight trips to the NCAA Tournament.
Wellman returned my call a while ago, and as expected, declined to confirm or deny any interest in any candidate. He did say that the next three days will determine whether the search can be wrapped up sooner rather than later.
“Everything at this point is speculation,’’ Wellman said. “We’ve got a ways to go yet, but as I’ve said we’re going to try to do something as quickly as possible and the next 72 hours will determine if we can get something done next week.’’
Well aware that he would not comment on Bzdelik directly, I asked him the rhetorical question of whether he felt he could hire a coach who was 36-58 the past three years to replace a coach who was 61-31 over the same time frame. His answer came as no surprise.
“You have to dig deeper,’’ Wellman said. “You have to look at the whole situation and determine if that person has done a good job or a bad job, if the skills of an individual are transferable to Wake Forest and if those skills would be what would produce a championship caliber team at Wake Forest.
“I don’t get hung up on who is the hottest coach right now and a coach’s record, if there are reasons for that particular record. It takes time to build programs. If you feel that whoever it is is the right person for the job and the skills are transferable to a championship program at Wake Forest, that’s who we would go after.’’