Here’s one scenario that can be envisioned with the conversation Haslam had with Kennedy that resulted in the hire of Bobby Kennedy and the under market salary:
1. You’ve never been a head coach or a coordinator so I don’t have any history to judge your ability to run this program.
2. You have made an impression on being a player’s coach, gotten along with other coaches very well, and have years of success at other programs, with hall of fame level coaches that speak very highly of you.
3. You have a trial season to prove that you can recruit, specifically Missoula area and Montana, improve relationships with the media, show a strong connection to donors and fans, motivate your players, hire a capable defensive staff, and work cohesively with your assistants that translates to success on the field.
4. Most importantly, you need to show me that you can make great decisions when the game is on the line. Down by one, fourth and 2, three minutes left in the game, ball on the 50 type decisions. Or how you use timeouts and the end of a half or game type of decisions. Things you’ve never been asked to do.
Once you prove positive on these critical points, I’ll extend and pay you what you deserve.
That’s why no interim tag. Interim means there WILL be a search and Kennedy will be considered. Doing a one year contract is totally different. It simply means prove yourself or we will make a change. Right now, I think Kennedy has checked many boxes in a very positive way. The last box we most likely won’t
know until November.
