“Good afternoon, Mr. Harrigan, have a seat.”
The athletic director holds out a hand, as I pull a chair up to his desk and take a seat.
“I assume you’re aware of what’s been going on with the program?” he asks, sitting himself.
“Somewhat,” I say, taking a breath to gather my thoughts. “We’d agreed to move our program to Division I level several years ago, while I was still a player on the team. Now the board has threatened to pull back on funding across all levels of Bellarmine athletics, which led to a number of players transfering out. Now you’re saying you have a plan to change that?”
“That’s about it,” he sighs. “It’s been a clusterf--- to say the least. You’ve already been doing a lot of work for the team as a grad assistant, and I appreciate the hell out of you for that. But I’ve got a big ask.”
“And that is?”
“We’ve got eight players left committed to our program this season, and they need a coach.”
“They have coaches, don’t they?” I ask. ‘What happened to Bremer?”
“Coach Bremer just told us he’s bailing, he’d rather retire than coach a team he said … and I think I’m getting this right … ‘couldn’t win their way out of a D-III gym with the other team playing blindfolded.’”
“Ouch.”
“Damn right, ouch. And his assistants all got poached for various other jobs, so we’re left with nothing going for us. I’m willing to join in as an assistant, maybe even as Associate Head Coach, but I’m also having to run this department and we’re treading water as it is. I don’t want to be spread too thin to keep all the other sports afloat as well.”
I started to sense where this was going, and felt my stomach drop.
“Are you asking me to take on the head coaching job?” I manage to get out. “I’m only 24, and I just graduated from Bellarmine last spring.”
“Right,” he says, nodding. “But you’re also the best damned point guard we ever had play here, and you know the program in and out.”
“True,” I admit. “But I’m still 23. And in top-division NCAA basketball that’s unheard of. You think I’m Branch McCracken here?”
“No, but damn it, Tyler, you know basketball. You see the game better than anyone around here, and I trust you’d put together a team that can at least make games entertaining. You always had a mind for creating offense, and there’s absolutely no pressure. As long as you’re aware there’s never going to be a ton of money in the job, I’m willing to give you pretty much free reign. I have a couple assistants in mind to join us, guys who know the local area and help scout and run practice, and if you’re willing you and I can hit the ground running and see what recruiting can be done.”
“Eight players?” I ask, my mind reeling a bit at the thought. “We’ll be lucky to keep guys conditioned enough to play through the season at that rate.”
“Yes, eight players. Four are seniors coming back from last year’s team, with two juniors and a pair of freshmen who didn’t leave because they knew no other team in the country at this level would give them any playing time.”
I sit back and put my hands behind my head, thinking. “We’ll have no bench, they’ll all have to play. You really think we can make this happen?” I ask, knowing he’ll give me the good college try to at least sign on.
“We’ll make something happen, at least,” he laughs. “First things first, we’ll make the Courier-Journal: ‘Local Idiot AD Hires Grad Student at $80.000 Per Year To Lead Bellarmine To The Bottom’ or some such headline.”
“It doesn’t have to be that bad, if we do things right,” I say almost to myself. “If we do it right, we could surprise some people and build something really cool here in Louisville.”
“Does that mean you’re in?” he asks, standing.
“I suppose so, Mr. Rancik,” I smile. “At the very least I get these damned student loans paid off. And best case scenario we make some legit news.”
I stand up and walk with him to the door. “I guess it’s time I go find my office and get to work,” I laugh. “We’ve got a lot of scholarships to fill for next year, and only a few months before we get to practice with the guys we have now.”
That’s how I, Tyler Hannigan, at age 24 found myself heading into the craziest job situation I hadn’t even thought worth imagining.
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For this dynasty diary I'm starting from as close to rock bottom as I can. I've sliced and diced my team down to eight roster players, and I have recruiting settings set to as hard as possible. With the modern day transfer rules in effect I may eventually be able to benefit some from that, but with essentially half my team to fill (including four graduating players remaining, really it's MORE than half) I'm already starting out with as much against me as I can. Let's see what happens!