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Coach's flip-flop has familiar ring: Donovan's
change of heart recalls past equivocations
By MICHELLE HISKEY, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With his crisp suits and gelled hair, Billy Donovan looked the picture of tailored poise at the Georgia Dome two months ago as his Florida Gators won their second straight national basketball title.
Now career whiplash has Donovan wrinkled. First, he says he's staying at Florida. Then he's going to the NBA's Orlando Magic last week. And now he reportedly might remain in Gainesville.
If the double footprints look and sound familiar, it's because so many have been left behind by other college coaches: former Georgia Tech basketball coach Bobby Cremins, who in 1993 said goodbye to South Carolina before he left Atlanta; Glen Mason of Kansas, who said in 1995 he would coach football at Georgia but didn't; and Dana Altman, who is back coaching basketball at Creighton after saying yes, then no, to Arkansas just two months ago.
While coaches don't always explain why - Cremins said he was under stress - executive matchmakers say that off-the-court reasons typically lead to such flip-flops.
In most cases, the waffler hasn't done enough research around the dinner table and only finds out, after signing the job offer, that Junior doesn't want to miss junior year at his current high school.
"It's usually for personal reasons," said Audrey Hogg of Atlanta, senior construction recruiter for Princeton One, an executive search firm. "Life happens sometimes."
She estimates that 3 percent to 5 percent of executives who sign a written agreement to take another job have a change of heart.
A high-profile example like Donovan "is not good news for people in our world," said Dean Bare of Atlanta, managing director of Stanton Chase International, a worldwide retained search firm.
"To change your mind after you made a public commitment is not the best situation. It's better to take time to make a decision. But things can happen after you think you made a permanent decision. There's no rule for always."
Unlike most people in suits, coaches change their minds with thousands of fans and alumni watching.
But like regular folks, coaches sometimes wake up and realize: Uh-oh.
"They get real caught up in the excitement and sometimes overexcitement, and then realize there are problems and issues in their new job, too," said Wendy Boswell, director of Texas A&M's Center for Human Resource Management, who has researched why executives decide to job-hunt. "It's the hangover effect."
For a coach to risk public embarrassment, the reason for changing his mind must be extremely compelling, she said.
"Once you make a decision, it's hard to be swayed from that because you're looking for data to confirm it," she said. "It's like buying a house - you look for reasons to justify the purchase ... and the bigger the decision, the more public it is, the harder it is to move you away from that."
Trey Holladay makes a living persuading people who have a tough time deciding. He owns Skydive Atlanta, and jumping out of a plane might hold some lessons for Donovan and others.
Get over the threshold of thinking too much, close your eyes if you have to and let the rewards overtake the risk.
"Ninety-nine percent of people fear what they don't know," Holladay said.
"If they build it up in their minds and have too many options, we've given them an out.
"If we get them to the door [of the plane], they are so glad they let go."
FORTH AND BACK
Billy Donovan isn't the first college coach to have a change of heart after accepting another job. Both Georgia Tech and Georgia have experience with flip-floppers. A closer look:
Bobby Cremins
In 1993, Georgia Tech's successful men's basketball coach left for South Carolina - for three days. A former player for the Gamecocks, Cremins later said he was "ashamed and embarrassed" and admitted the decision to leave was "a terrible mistake." Cremins stayed for seven more seasons. South Carolina went to Plan B: Eddie Fogler.
Glen Mason
On Christmas Day in 1995, Mason called Georgia athletics director Vince Dooley and said he had changed his mind about accepting the Bulldogs' offer to replace football coach Ray Goff and was returning to Kansas. Dooley had introduced Mason to the Bulldog Nation just seven days earlier. Georgia eventually hired Jim Donnan.
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Copyright © 2010 PrincetonOne
Coach's flip-flop has familiar ring: Donovan's
change of heart recalls past equivocations
June 5, 2007
By MICHELLE HISKEY, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With his crisp suits and gelled hair, Billy Donovan looked the picture of tailored poise at the Georgia Dome two months ago as his Florida Gators won their second straight national basketball title.
Now career whiplash has Donovan wrinkled. First, he says he's staying at Florida. Then he's going to the NBA's Orlando Magic last week. And now he reportedly might remain in Gainesville.
If the double footprints look and sound familiar, it's because so many have been left behind by other college coaches: former Georgia Tech basketball coach Bobby Cremins, who in 1993 said goodbye to South Carolina before he left Atlanta; Glen Mason of Kansas, who said in 1995 he would coach football at Georgia but didn't; and Dana Altman, who is back coaching basketball at Creighton after saying yes, then no, to Arkansas just two months ago.
While coaches don't always explain why - Cremins said he was under stress - executive matchmakers say that off-the-court reasons typically lead to such flip-flops.
In most cases, the waffler hasn't done enough research around the dinner table and only finds out, after signing the job offer, that Junior doesn't want to miss junior year at his current high school.
"It's usually for personal reasons," said Audrey Hogg of Atlanta, senior construction recruiter for Princeton One, an executive search firm. "Life happens sometimes."
She estimates that 3 percent to 5 percent of executives who sign a written agreement to take another job have a change of heart.
A high-profile example like Donovan "is not good news for people in our world," said Dean Bare of Atlanta, managing director of Stanton Chase International, a worldwide retained search firm.
"To change your mind after you made a public commitment is not the best situation. It's better to take time to make a decision. But things can happen after you think you made a permanent decision. There's no rule for always."
Unlike most people in suits, coaches change their minds with thousands of fans and alumni watching.
But like regular folks, coaches sometimes wake up and realize: Uh-oh.
"They get real caught up in the excitement and sometimes overexcitement, and then realize there are problems and issues in their new job, too," said Wendy Boswell, director of Texas A&M's Center for Human Resource Management, who has researched why executives decide to job-hunt. "It's the hangover effect."
For a coach to risk public embarrassment, the reason for changing his mind must be extremely compelling, she said.
"Once you make a decision, it's hard to be swayed from that because you're looking for data to confirm it," she said. "It's like buying a house - you look for reasons to justify the purchase ... and the bigger the decision, the more public it is, the harder it is to move you away from that."
Trey Holladay makes a living persuading people who have a tough time deciding. He owns Skydive Atlanta, and jumping out of a plane might hold some lessons for Donovan and others.
Get over the threshold of thinking too much, close your eyes if you have to and let the rewards overtake the risk.
"Ninety-nine percent of people fear what they don't know," Holladay said.
"If they build it up in their minds and have too many options, we've given them an out.
"If we get them to the door [of the plane], they are so glad they let go."
FORTH AND BACK
Billy Donovan isn't the first college coach to have a change of heart after accepting another job. Both Georgia Tech and Georgia have experience with flip-floppers. A closer look:
Bobby Cremins
In 1993, Georgia Tech's successful men's basketball coach left for South Carolina - for three days. A former player for the Gamecocks, Cremins later said he was "ashamed and embarrassed" and admitted the decision to leave was "a terrible mistake." Cremins stayed for seven more seasons. South Carolina went to Plan B: Eddie Fogler.
Glen Mason
On Christmas Day in 1995, Mason called Georgia athletics director Vince Dooley and said he had changed his mind about accepting the Bulldogs' offer to replace football coach Ray Goff and was returning to Kansas. Dooley had introduced Mason to the Bulldog Nation just seven days earlier. Georgia eventually hired Jim Donnan.
Executive Search | Recruitment Process Outsourcing | Contract Staffing | College Recruiting | Site Map
This site is optimized for 1024x768 resolution and Internet Explorer.
Copyright © 2010 PrincetonOne