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Official: John Brannen Out At Cincinnati


Walter

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11 hours ago, Walter said:

More details and final statement below from Brannen's attorney, Tom Mars:

 

In that statement Mars chastises UC for the rushed decision. Meanwhile UC was getting roasted daily in the media for dragging their feet on this.

It will certainly be interesting to see how all this plays out over the next couple years. IMO though, regardless of what eventually happens with this Brannen firing, it is good for UC basketball that they are moving on from Brannen.

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10 minutes ago, Walter said:

You're clearly Team Brannen and that's fine... But at the end of the day the allegations were made for a reason and John Brannen didn't handle certain situations properly which led to him being fired. If he led, communicated, and managed his team better, a stale relationship with an AD wouldn't have mattered. 

These players didn't want to play for John because things were so bad. Neither you or I know exactly what happened but read the Justin Williams Athletic articles. UC had plenty of reasons and cause to fire him, whether you like it or not. 

As far as Fick goes, he isn't leaving because a coach was fired... Especially after that same coach and his petty lawyer made a private conversation public to try to burn the place down on their way out. My guess is Fick never speaks to JB again after that.

I am team no one, I think John got a bad deal, all from an AD that was searching for anything to get rid of him and not have to pay the buy out.  If UC had plenty of reasons and causes to fire him (as you state), they wouldn't have offered a seven figure buyout?  I hope John takes them to the shed, as I would anyone who was treated the way he was.  

I never once said Fickell would leave because Brannen was fired and I will leave it at that.  

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1 hour ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

Can someone explain to me what exactly Brannen did? Whats the cause?

All I've seen was he was hard on players and made them practice more than he should have, but seems like there has to be more detail than that.

Yes, please.

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1 hour ago, bjknku02 said:

I am team no one, I think John got a bad deal, all from an AD that was searching for anything to get rid of him and not have to pay the buy out.  If UC had plenty of reasons and causes to fire him (as you state), they wouldn't have offered a seven figure buyout?  I hope John takes them to the shed, as I would anyone who was treated the way he was.  

I never once said Fickell would leave because Brannen was fired and I will leave it at that.  

How did John get a bad deal? He never once refuted the allegations against him. I will say it again... If he were able to relate to players better, show better leadership and management skills, and not force players out due to his "culture" we would not be in this situation. 

The ONE player (David DeJulius) who actually went on record with positive things to say about JB even said there needs to be a different approach and culture change with how John does things. The difference is he doesn't have the luxury of another free transfer and immediate eligibility at a next stop so he's forced to stay. Davenport would have been out too but his dad made it clear their family sticks to commitments and is a no transfer family. 

As far as a settlement being offered, the allegations were a breach of contract on the University level (student welfare) so UC tried to do what was right and pay the guy a fair sum to go away. Brannen refused because of his ego, and now he is likely to end up with much less or nothing due to the allegations and evidence favoring UC. 

I'm interested in seeing what Mike Saunders and Tari Eason do after a new coach is named. If both come back, that alone should tell you that them entering the transfer portal had nothing to do with "greener pastures" and everything to do with how they were treated and manipulated by an ego maniac,  control freak coach. 

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1 hour ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

Can someone explain to me what exactly Brannen did? Whats the cause?

All I've seen was he was hard on players and made them practice more than he should have, but seems like there has to be more detail than that.

Read Justin Williams two most recent articles on The Athletic.

Poor leadership, manipulation, bad management and communication, as well as lack of empathy for player safety and overall student welfare are just a few things outlined.

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Did UC not do its due diligence when they hired Bannen from just across the river?      Did he have a massive personality metamorphosis when started coaching UC?   Didn't UC know what they were getting.....and accepted it as permissible?     These are arguments I would bring up if I was representing him in a "termination for cause"  action.

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29 minutes ago, Walter said:

Read Justin Williams two most recent articles on The Athletic.

Poor leadership, manipulation, bad management and communication, as well as lack of empathy for player safety and overall student welfare are just a few things outlined.

I'm not a subscriber of the Athletic and don't plan on starting to be.

For those of us that aren't Athletic subscribers, it seems really weak on UC's part and Cunningham appears to be in way over his head, based on what information is easily accessible. Sounds like that might not be the case but from the outside it feels that way.

Based on whats public about all this, Id stay away from having Cunningham as my boss.

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1 hour ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

I'm not a subscriber of the Athletic and don't plan on starting to be.

For those of us that aren't Athletic subscribers, it seems really weak on UC's part and Cunningham appears to be in way over his head, based on what information is easily accessible. Sounds like that might not be the case but from the outside it feels that way.

Based on whats public about all this, Id stay away from having Cunningham as my boss.

Exactly spot on!

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1 hour ago, Walter said:

How did John get a bad deal? He never once refuted the allegations against him. I will say it again... If he were able to relate to players better, show better leadership and management skills, and not force players out due to his "culture" we would not be in this situation. 

The ONE player (David DeJulius) who actually went on record with positive things to say about JB even said there needs to be a different approach and culture change with how John does things. The difference is he doesn't have the luxury of another free transfer and immediate eligibility at a next stop so he's forced to stay. Davenport would have been out too but his dad made it clear their family sticks to commitments and is a no transfer family. 

As far as a settlement being offered, the allegations were a breach of contract on the University level (student welfare) so UC tried to do what was right and pay the guy a fair sum to go away. Brannen refused because of his ego, and now he is likely to end up with much less or nothing due to the allegations and evidence favoring UC. 

I'm interested in seeing what Mike Saunders and Tari Eason do after a new coach is named. If both come back, that alone should tell you that them entering the transfer portal had nothing to do with "greener pastures" and everything to do with how they were treated and manipulated by an ego maniac,  control freak coach. 

"UC tried to do what was right" .  That is laughable and funny you believe that.  When this is all over, we will see how Cunningham botched this whole situation.  Now their going to have to pay John and also overpay their next coach.  Will be interesting to see who they hire, as any up and coming coach is going to have to be overpaid to come work under Cunningham.  All, but I forgot, the coach won't be reporting to Cunningham.  🙂   

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30 minutes ago, bjknku02 said:

"UC tried to do what was right" .  That is laughable and funny you believe that.  When this is all over, we will see how Cunningham botched this whole situation.  Now their going to have to pay John and also overpay their next coach.  Will be interesting to see who they hire, as any up and coming coach is going to have to be overpaid to come work under Cunningham.  All, but I forgot, the coach won't be reporting to Cunningham.  🙂   

 Do you think Brannen is blameless in all of this?

 If not, how do you think UC should have handled the situation?

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I keep seeing Archie Miller's name pop up for this job..... didn't he just get fired at IU? If he couldn't lead that program a month ago why is he going to be able to fix this mess? Who are names some of you think are candidates? Hey, how about Sean Miller lol?

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21 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

 Do you think Brannen is blameless in all of this?

 If not, how do you think UC should have handled the situation?

It is obvious Cunningham doesn't have the goods he needs to get rid of Brannen and not have to pay the buyout.  I believe Brannen is getting a raw deal, plain and simple as that.  If UC wants to get rid of Brannen, that is their prerogative.  However, they need to honor the contract and pay the full buyout.  

Do you think Cunningham is blameless in all of this?  From my perspective, he seems to be in a little over his head and it has showed with the way he has handled this from the beginning.  If I am the president of UC and see my basketball coach is not reporting to the AD, I am going to have some very serious questions for the AD.  Your AD needs to be involved and know what is going on with all sports and their coaches.  Who knows, perhaps if Brannen is reporting to Cunningham, like he should have been, there may have been a different ending to the story?      

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President, AD, and Board of Trustees were all involved with the internal investigation of the program. Outside legal counsel also confirmed findings and signed off on UC being able to relieve John of his duties and move in a different direction, based on the language of John's contract and how the findings breached his contract. Again, Brannen never denied any allegations and neither did his lawyer. 

Whether some of you like it or not doesn't matter. UC did things by the book and how they were supposed to. It's not the AD's fault that John Brannen couldn't successfully live up to the standards and responsibilities outlined in his contract. The strength and conditioning coach had issues with Brannen too and resigned at the end of the season. It wasn't just a group of players.

And FWIW, John wasn't the previous AD's first choice. The guy they wanted wasn't signed off on by the president so they were forced to go with Brannen instead.

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