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Alger vs Hauck Pt. Deaux

wbtfg

Well-known member
Screw the game, I’m more interested in the postgame press conference where foes Bobby Hauck and Tyson Alger get to square off once more.

Here’s a reminder of Tyson’s goodbye love letter to Bobby.

Opinion: The legacy of Bobby Hauck
Story by Tyson Alger | December 26, 2009
Montana Kaimin

After seven seasons, seven straight Big Sky Conference titles, an 80-17 record, and three championship appearances with no hardware to show for it, Bobby Hauck’s search for greener pastures is finally over.

Hauck’s run as the head coach of the Montana Grizzlies ended Wednesday when he exchanged his maroon and silver for the red-and-gray striped tie he donned as he was introduced as the next head coach for the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

It was eerie to see Hauck speak about hard work and dedication toward reshaping the Rebel program only a week removed from phrasing similar quotes about the opportunity to win a national title as a proud Grizzly.

But within hours of Montana’s devastating loss to Villanova — the second year in a row Hauck’s team has fallen in the title game — rumors started to swirl that Hauck would interview for the UNLV job. Five days later, Hauck’s dream of becoming a head coach at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level became a reality, leaving Montana without a coach and a city without a championship.

“I just can’t tell you how excited we are to be here,” Hauck said to the Las Vegas media Wednesday. “I’m appreciative of this opportunity. I’m humbled by the number of people here to hear these remarks, and I’m excited to be the head coach of UNLV. We’re going to make things happen here.”

Hauck’s press conference was short, sweet, and to the point. Similar to a press conference he had almost seven years to the day, when he was first announced as the coach of Montana.

“It’s great to be a Montana Grizzly,” Hauck said Dec. 20, 2002, when the Big Timber native returned to his alma mater to take the reins from Joe Glenn, who — like Hauck — left Missoula after his success at UM for a more luxurious job in the FBS. “I’m hoping this is a long and prosperous run for the University of Montana during my tenure.”

And it was.

Some said all Hauck had to do was keep from crashing the Cadillac he’d just received the keys to. The Joe Glenn era saw Montana go 39-6 in his three seasons, including one national title, another title game appearance, and a quarterfinal appearance. When Hauck took the keys from Glenn, he inherited a program that had history, recent success, and a limitless amount of community support.

During Hauck’s first couple of seasons, he gave a glimpse of what was to come.

His first season, he lead the Griz to an up-and-down 9-4 record, but went 5-2 in conference and secured a playoff appearance — which he would do in every season he was with the Grizzlies.

Then in 2004, Hauck went 12-3 and made his first national title game appearance, a 21-31 loss at the hands of James Madison.

Hauck and the Grizzlies continued to have success over the years, making title game appearances in 2008 and 2009.

Regular season success was never a problem for the Griz during Hauck’s tenure, but a national championship always eluded them. Meanwhile, off-the-field incidents and Hauck’s demeanor with the media started to become as notable as the wins.

The first bout of negative press Hauck received in Missoula came during the 2004 season, when he fired the team chaplain, Father Hogan, after Hogan refused to do team Mass. The Missoulian wrote about the firing and Hauck expressed his distaste for the story.

And that was the start of Hauck’s long and tedious relationship with the media.

Over the years, Hauck would oftentimes be abrasive to reporters who questioned him about players’ injuries or about incidents like those in 2007, when one player was arrested and charged with murder (he was later acquitted) and four players were arrested in connection to a home invasion.

Three of Hauck’s players appeared in the blotter in 2008, when they were charged with beating a student outside a dorm. This year, a story that ran in September about an alleged assault that took place in March resulted in a flap between Hauck and the Kaimin.

That’s not to say that these incidents have anything to do with Hauck, what he believes in, or the players he goes out to recruit. But the way in which he dealt with the media during these moments — generally hiding behind various forms of “No comment” — is part of his legacy.

I got to sit front row to a vast array of snide remarks from Hauck based on questions he didn’t want to answer.

From the start of the season — pre-Hauck-vs.-Kaimin — I had trouble getting a straight answer from the man. I had heard from past Kaimin reporters that dealing with Hauck was a challenge; that he didn’t care much for our student-run paper. But at the time, I, being a bright-eyed, glass-half-full type of fellow, approached my beat as a fresh opportunity and a chance to develop a relationship with the coach.

I met Hauck for the first time walking into the first Tuesday press conference of the season. I introduced myself, he put his hand on my shoulder, said it was nice to meet me.

It was lovely. It was fake. He was grinning.

I made my first mistake a week later when I asked about an injury to Marc Mariani in the game against Western State. Mariani had pulled up lame in the second quarter and didn’t touch the ball the rest of the game.

When I asked during the post-game press conference why Mariani was favoring his right leg and didn’t get any touches in the second half, Hauck tried his best to abuse my question.

“The quarterbacks threw it to other guys. Maybe it was sore,” Hauck responded to the amusement of the other members of the Missoula media, while wearing the same grin — to the tune of saying, “I know something but I’m not telling.”

The next day at practice, Mariani was wearing a red non-contact jersey, the telltale sign that a player is injured.

It went downhill from there, especially after I first asked questions about Trumaine Johnson and Andrew Swink. I approached Hauck three times about the situation — each time with different information for him to comment on — before his eventual outburst directed at me after I told him we knew about the fight and asked him to comment.

The next three months — the boycott, that national media attention, and his eventual return to Kaimin communication — were a blur to me. But two things held steady throughout all of it: the grin and the wins.

And those wins are what earned Hauck his ticket out of Missoula.

Hauck will have his work cut out for him in Vegas. He takes the head position of a program that hasn’t had a winning season since 2000, in a place where oftentimes football is an afterthought amidst the other activities the city has to offer. Hauck won’t have the benefit of coaching for his home state, his alma mater, and a program with expansive history and undying support.

In 2008, the Rebels, who compete in the Mountain West Conference of the FBS, averaged a meager 20,849 fans a game. That year, Montana averaged 23,923 a game in the less-touted Football Championship Subdivision.

Hauck will have to prove that he can take a program that went 16-43 under prior UNLV coach Mike Sanford and shape it into a contender.

Can he do it? That’s to be determined. We’ve never had the opportunity to see what Hauck can do under less-than-pristine circumstances.

But what UNLV gets in Hauck is a coach that has proven that he can win. No matter how you look at it, 80 wins over seven years is nothing short of remarkable. The Rebels will get a coach who works hard, cares about his job, and won’t stop until he finds success.

But for all of those victories, the conference titles, the wins over the Bobcats and the magical runs to three championship games, one number will stand out in the hearts of Griz fans who are still reeling from last week’s loss to Villanova.

Zero.

That’s the number of championships Hauck brought to Montana. And for all of the accolades and praise Hauck receives about his coaching — while deserved — the fact remains that he jumped ship on this program before he ever took it to its highest peak.

And that will be the legacy of Bobby Hauck.

[email protected]
 
Good point. Alger was and is okay sports writer, but was immature and a jerk on this old stuff with Hauck, in my view.
 
Grest post. Tyson is s great sports writer and did a great job of exposing Bobby for what he really was. It will be interesting to see his write up after the Oregon game!
 
Man. We almost made it the whole week.

Unrelated: I have a fun story coming out on Friday about Dickenson and that 93 team that nearly beat the Ducks in Eugene. Have talked with Dickenson, Bill Moos, Robin Pflugrad and others for it. I think some of you will like it.

The Athletic is behind a paywall, but you can get a free trial at TheAthletic.com/freetrial.

Looking forward to the game. If anyone has any Oregon-related questions, would be happy to answer.
 
PlayerRep said:
Good point. Alger was and is okay sports writer, but was immature and a jerk on this old stuff with Hauck, in my view.

Can you elaborate about his immaturity (he was a college reporter right?) and how or why he was a jerk? Thanks
 
Tyson Alger said:
Man. We almost made it the whole week.

Unrelated: I have a fun story coming out on Friday about Dickenson and that 93 team that nearly beat the Ducks in Eugene. Have talked with Dickenson, Bill Moos, Robin Pflugrad and others for it. I think some of you will like it.

The Athletic is behind a paywall, but you can get a free trial at TheAthletic.com/freetrial.

Looking forward to the game. If anyone has any Oregon-related questions, would be happy to answer.
I really enjoyed your reporting at the Kaimin and the way you handled yourself like a professional journalist. I thought your article posted above about Bobby leaving for UNLV was really incisive and incredibly mature for a college newspaper reporter. Right on. So how do you like being called immature and a jerk for your Kaimin efforts? Really looking forward to your article on the ‘93 griz. Not everyone on this board are sycophants. Thanks Tyler good to read/hear from you again. Go Griz.
 
Dutch Lane said:
Tyson Alger said:
Man. We almost made it the whole week.

Unrelated: I have a fun story coming out on Friday about Dickenson and that 93 team that nearly beat the Ducks in Eugene. Have talked with Dickenson, Bill Moos, Robin Pflugrad and others for it. I think some of you will like it.

The Athletic is behind a paywall, but you can get a free trial at TheAthletic.com/freetrial.

Looking forward to the game. If anyone has any Oregon-related questions, would be happy to answer.
I really enjoyed your reporting at the Kaimin and the way you handled yourself like a professional journalist. I thought your article posted above about Bobby leaving for UNLV was really incisive and incredibly mature for a college newspaper reporter. Right on. So how do you like being called immature and a jerk for your Kaimin efforts? Really looking forward to your article on the ‘93 griz. Not everyone on this board are sycophants. Thanks Tyler good to read/hear from you again. Go Griz.

“Professional”. Good joke. Try unprofessional.
 
It was just an opinion piece. Clear that Alger didn't like Hauck, which was reflected in his "objective" reporting. Probably still doesn't. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, fortunately he is in the minority.
 
Allezchat said:
I can't wait for the post game questions.

I hate to bring the bad news here, but I'm not sure what ya'll are expecting to happen. I cover Oregon, which holds its press conferences in an area nowhere near where Montana is going to have theirs. Only reason I would go to Montana's would be if the Griz could somehow pull off an upset. That would be incredible -- and historic -- and I would love to write that story. Unfortunately, this Oregon team is pretty good.

But that's why they play the games, right? 7:45 kick in the Pac-12. Crazy things have happened.
 
When the reporter is the story, there is no story. :sleep: :sleep:

And no offense to Tyson, he didn't start the thread....

That said, I hope he is at the UM post game presser!!! GO GRIZ.
 
PlayerRep said:
Good point. Alger was and is okay sports writer, but was immature and a jerk on this old stuff with Hauck, in my view.

greenie resorts to being an immature jerk in order to try to denigrate a journalist who prints truths greenie doesn't like. nothing new, of course, but...
 
Hopefully Mr Alger aged better than that hit piece. The stank of sour grapes. So the coach didn’t like talking about injuries and negative press? Most good coaches are like that. Who’s team was Alger supporting anyway? Good gracious why not just send Mariani’s Xrays to the opposing team so they know where to target him?
And Hauck was so evil to take a better job for him and his family; but holy cow, that’s exactly what Alger did, and everyone else. So?
The pejorative theme of the article is simply an Alpha hot-take—Hauck couldn’t win the chipper—which I am sure Alger lifted from here. I guess that must have been the best slant he could come up with to fit the overall negative tone. Because, although the positives of Hauck’s tenure were unprecedented, if any of that got mentioned it was simply to set up another shot taken. Why torch that bridge; what happened to taking the high road.
And not getting a chipper is not Hauck’s legacy; to hack on that seems so cheap, especially looking back now. 80 wins is unbelievable, and I would have traded anything to suffer thru more lost chippers instead of the disastrous last decade, especially Hauck’s refusal to comment on dumb things. :roll: I wonder if Mr Alger looks back at that article and cringes like most of us.
 
garizzalies said:
Hopefully Mr Alger aged better than that hit piece. The stank of sour grapes. So the coach didn’t like talking about injuries and negative press? Most good coaches are like that. Who’s team was Alger supporting anyway? Good gracious why not just send Mariani’s Xrays to the opposing team so they know where to target him?
And Hauck was so evil to take a better job for him and his family; but holy cow, that’s exactly what Alger did, and everyone else. So?
The pejorative theme of the article is simply an Alpha hot-take—Hauck couldn’t win the chipper—which I am sure Alger lifted from here. I guess that must have been the best slant he could come up with to fit the overall negative tone. Because, although the positives of Hauck’s tenure were unprecedented, if any of that got mentioned it was simply to set up another shot taken. Why torch that bridge; what happened to taking the high road.
And not getting a chipper is not Hauck’s legacy; to hack on that seems so cheap, especially looking back now. 80 wins is unbelievable, and I would have traded anything to suffer thru more lost chippers instead of the disastrous last decade, especially Hauck’s refusal to comment on dumb things. :roll: I wonder if Mr Alger looks back at that article and cringes like most of us.

apparently you didn't notice how alger did point out how remarkable hauck's record was, how hard he works, etc.... you just don't like that he also points out that bobby can act like a d-bag in response to questions that other coaches answer rationally, even if they just say 'sorry, our policy is to not give out injury information to protect people's privacy'. the only ones 'cringing' are the bobby-can-do-no-wrong crowd, who are enamored with his puffed up 'tough guy' act with the press.
 
I think Tyson's opinion piece (clearly labeled as such) holds up pretty well. It's balanced and well thought out and reflects exactly what Tyson thinks of his experience covering Bobby. I may not agree with some of it, but that 's the nature of the beast. It's way better than most of the opinion offered on egriz.
 
Let's look at current and future Bobby. Stop living in the past. He will get a NC this time, I guarantee it! Well my wallet depends on it too...
However, the article was probably accurate and a good read. Now forget about it.
 
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