Audio From Press Conference is up....

You can go to the BG News site and hear the Press Conference from tonight. I've listened, and here are some comments. Regardless of whether you thought this was the right thing to do or not, I think the media did a nice job of asking some questions that simply had to be asked, because there are some elements of this that require explaining. My editorial comments are in orange.

Essentially, Christopher said that he began thinking about making a move around the time of the Miami and EMU games. But while he said he had been thinking about the move for a while, there was no single moment or loss or NCAA violation that made him make the move, and that it was more an accumulation of things.

He went on to cite them.

• 2008 was an up and down year.
• There were off-field incidents that impacted on the field performance.
• APR issues.
• Team attrition.
• These things impacted the team on the field in terms of consistency and discipline.

He said it was a hard decision because it effects people....the players, and the coaches, who had worked hard and contributed positive memories.

He went on to pre-answer questions.

Brandon will be paid $250,000 per his contract. General fee money will not be used, but fund raising and outside marketing resources will be used. (I am not sure if this will be like the "Save our turf" campaign.)

The assistants do not have buy outs, but will work through the transition, and, of course, the new coach may decide to keep them.

The search will begin immediately. There is no timeline (though, somewhere on the Internet, someone is no doubt enraged that it isn't done already).

He met with Gregg this morning and the assistants as a group this afternoon. He regrets that he couldn't tell the players in person, but they were called.

He said the timing was chosen because he wanted it to be after the Toledo game.

Doug Phillips will administer the program, and work with the verbal committments to keep them on board. He is the recruiting coordinator.

The banquet will go on, but the assistants will run it. He said the seniors deserve it.

Now the questions begin?

Why not Monday or Tuesday? Why today? (This is a really good question. Seems like he could have waited to me.)

Christopher said it was important to get the process moving.

What was Brandon's reaction?

While it will stay private, Christopher said that Brandon was professional and civil (as would befit a man being handed $250,000).

Ryan from the Blade asked if it looked strange to fire a coach that you had given a 3-year extension to only last year. (and it surely does. That decision cost somebody $250,000, because without it you could have fired him for nothing).

Christopher said that last year we were in a different place, and that it was deserved, but that things are different now. And, the buyout did not change. (To be fair, I thought it was deserved last year as well).

One of the reporters than proceeded to read from the official game notes, which cites the following successes of the Brandon era:

• 43-30 overall record, best in the MAC
• 13-12 versus non MAC opponents, best in the MAC
• 30 conference wins, best in the MAC
• Three bowl appearances, best in the MAC
• Two bowl wins, best in the MAC
• One MAC West crown (2003)
• Two MAC East crowns (2005, 2007) (Note that this rather dubiously includes co-crowns in which we did not win the tiebreaker.)
• National rankings in 2003 and 2004

(This serves the University right. They let this stuff go into the media packet for whatever reason, and now it bites them. Let me do my own version.

Since 2004, when Urban Meyer's talent left the program:

• 24-25 overall record.
• 1 bowl appearence, the worst defeat in bowl history.
• No MAC division crowns.
• No MAC Championships.

Christopher responded that it was a combination of on-field and off-field issues that caused him to make the decision, and that some things were public and some where not.

He was asked if calling out the fans was a factor.

He said it was not, calling it "noise in the system."

Christopher also said that there is nothing prohibiting Brandon from coaching in the MAC.

Christopher said he was looking at 15 things in a coach, including midwest ties, a passion to recruit, and a strong mentor, teacher, and leader.

Next, he was asked about Coach Brandon's statement Friday that the team would practice next week, since they are bowl eligible.

Christopher responded that there won't be any practices.

One of the reporters picked up on the statement that some things were not public in terms of problems with the program....

and Christopher immediately regretted saying that. Anyway, he then revealed for the first time that the Falcons had lost 9 (!!!) scholarships due to APR violations. Those are not announced until the spring. But, we apparently took 7 last year and 2 next season. (This is very serious, and certainly makes it harder to defend Coach Brandon. We thought it was a big deal when UT lost a couple. It should not be happening at this program).

He asked how the program looks, given that an extension was just given.

He said such a thing is unusual but not unheard of (though I wish someone had asked him to name another time it happened). He conceded that the timing may seem awkward.

Then, someone asked if we had beaten Buffalo, would we be having this conversation? This, of course, gets to the heart of the matter).

He said he didn't know and that "we may very well be sitting here." (This is, of course, completely unbelievable).

And one of the reporters followed up increduously.

Christopher said it was tough to say, but possible we would have had that press conference anyway, five days before a MAC Championship game.

Sure.

Anyway, more to come, I'm sure. One last note. Christopher mentioned the problems that started with the EMU and Miami games, and I started to remember the constant drumbeat that Coach Brandon beat about the tough pre-MAC schedule banging guys up and hurting the team. Since the AD makes the schedule, was that a pre-defense? I will also note that the only facet of the Buffalo crowd issue that Coach Brandon did not rip was the poor game time, to which he said "I don't set the game times. Of course, the AD does.

I will also say this...if the basketball search is any indication, there won't be a lot of news leaking out. Christopher did a really good job of keeping that quiet, and I suspect he will do the same thing again.

Here's what Ryan had to say.....

Note especially this....

Dan Mullen (offensive coordinator at Florida, former BG quarterbacks coach), Tim Beckman (defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State, former defensive coordinator at BG) and Luke Fickell (defensive coordinator at Ohio State). Those are the three guys I want interviewed. Others who should be considered are Ron English (defensive coordinator at Louisville, former defensive coordinator at Michigan) and Zach Azzanni (assistant head coach at Central Michigan, former receivers coach at BG).

I think many Falcon fans would put Greg Studrawa into the mix. Mullen would top my list, but I have my doubts that we can afford him. The guy from OSU would also be a great hire.