Korn Ferry timing - when were they hired?
Just checked out Twitter this morning, and every sports outlet I follow is reporting that we hired Korn Ferry to help in the coaching search. Didn't we already do that? Why is it being reported today? If we did just hire them, is there any significance to the timing?
December 12th, 2014 at 10:33 AM ^
Korn Ferry? That sounds like a very odd day-cruise for aging alt metal fans...
December 12th, 2014 at 10:36 AM ^
Or a beauty pageant outside of Des Moines
December 12th, 2014 at 10:43 AM ^
or a tiny, winged magical sprite that helps farm crops grow.
December 12th, 2014 at 11:46 AM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 12:16 PM ^
Or something my 4-year-old would watch on TV.
December 12th, 2014 at 10:37 AM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 10:49 AM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 10:57 AM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 11:16 AM ^
Unsurpassed expertise in sports leadership and organizational performance.
Having pioneered senior level search and organizational assessment in the world of sports, Jed Hughes leads Korn Ferry’s Sports practice as vice chair. His high profile placements include New York Jets GM John Idzik and President Neil Glat; Mark Murphy, CEO of the Green Bay Packers; Larry Scott, Commissioner of the Pac-12; Bob Bowlsby, Commissioner of the Big 12; Dave Brandon and Brady Hoke, the athletic director and the head coach, respectively, of the Michigan Wolverines; USC head basketball coach Andy Enfield; and Chris McGowan, president and CEO of the Portland Trail Blazers. Jed has conducted searches for the USOC, LPGA, PGA of America, Seattle Seahawks, Arsenal Football Club, Liverpool Football Club, Ohio State, ATP Tour, and WTA, among others.
http://www.kornferry.com/expertise/roles-and-specialities/sports
December 12th, 2014 at 11:18 AM ^
I wouldn't say to many of the 'high profile' placements they have listed are ringing endorsements for their unsurpassed expertise.
December 12th, 2014 at 11:21 AM ^
That Larry Scott's doing okay.
December 12th, 2014 at 12:00 PM ^
That's why I didn't say all of their listed candidates.
December 12th, 2014 at 11:21 AM ^
on the objectives set forth. I am sure Dave and Brady met the objectives at the time.
December 12th, 2014 at 12:08 PM ^
Executive search firms will find and vet candidates, maybe make recommendations depending on the scope of what they're contracted to do, but at the end of the day, the decision belonged to Dave Brandon. And I would say that it was a high profile placement, whether or not it panned out.
Andy Enfield is a pretty interesting one on the list, as he made the leap from FGCU after their amazing NCAA tournament run to USC.
And search firms have lawfirm like names, like Heidrick & Struggles, Robert Half Associates, Odgers Berntson, etc.
December 12th, 2014 at 10:49 AM ^
One hopes that Bryan Ferry will introduce the members of Korn to his barber and tailor during their recording session.
December 12th, 2014 at 10:49 AM ^
Well...they do know their way around docks after solving the mystery of those pirate ghosts
December 12th, 2014 at 11:19 AM ^
Here is your Korn Ferry:
Because, of course.
December 12th, 2014 at 10:36 AM ^
Because the media probably FOIAed the contract, and just got hold of it today.
Insert UM FOIA joke here.
December 12th, 2014 at 10:36 AM ^
Same firm that reportedly hired Brandon..........hopefully we get a discount for that one.
December 12th, 2014 at 10:44 AM ^
These firms hire nobody. They contact people through back channels, do background checks, gauge interest, compile it all together and drop it on whoever hired them's desk. Then that person says, "I like this one", the firm can act as a go between and such as well. Mary Sue Coleman is the one soley responsible for Brandon's hire, not the search firm.
December 12th, 2014 at 10:36 AM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 10:40 AM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 10:47 AM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 11:01 AM ^
Why do you think the search firm brought them to the table? It's pretty clear in both cases that they were preordained by the university.
December 12th, 2014 at 11:05 AM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 11:10 AM ^
As Brian has said... they go far and wide to put together a pool of interested folks. Why would you not throw David Brandon in there?
Think back to when he was hired.... Michigan was undertaking some massive construction projects - Dominos was undergoing a pretty successful turn around - and here was a guy who was super psyched about Michigan. Of course he would be in the pool.
It is on Michigan for hiring him.
December 12th, 2014 at 11:23 AM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 10:42 AM ^
Obvious smokescreen is obvious.
$250k to keep the public from knowing that Jim Harbaugh has broken ground on his new mansion along the banks of the Huron? Money well spent.
Next, I expect to see a press conference from Hackett where he says that there are just too many candidates from which to choose. Meanwhile, Harbaugh will be choosing between reclaimed woods for his new home office/trophy room.
Two weeks from today, Hackett will hold another press conference to complain about Angelo's not being open the week after Christmas. He will look confused and disheveled. Jim will be somewhere in South Dakota with his wife and kids in the family truckster en route to Ann Arbor via Green Bay (you can't pass on fresh cheese curds).
By New Years Eve, we will rest comfortably knowing that we have a new coach.
I read between the lines.
December 12th, 2014 at 12:29 PM ^
...goat cheese curds.
And he would only need to go as far north as the Tipsy Cow in Madison!
December 12th, 2014 at 10:42 AM ^
The search firm is cover for "we looked high and low before hiring the guy we were always going to hire." Hopefully, it will work out that way here too.
December 12th, 2014 at 10:47 AM ^
How does one get a job at a search firm? Might be the best job out there. Get paid a lot of money to find out if someone is interested in a job.
December 12th, 2014 at 11:00 AM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 11:15 AM ^
Good search firms are all about having good connections, and controlling information. You have to have the trust of both the potential targets and your client. It is a good gig, but a superior search firm can open and close all the right doors.
They also can gather information as to what it might take to secure a coach, so you can determine if you are in the "zone of yes" - i.e., whether the University's top line is over the coach's bottom line. In short, there's a lot more to it than meets the eye. They are still very well paid for what they do, but they also provide value by virtue of being a knowledgeable intermediary.
December 12th, 2014 at 11:21 AM ^
Nobody know anything about the Michigan Coaching Search.
So, All they can do is guess, speculate and when they are tired of doing that they will spend a day talking about how "not elite" Michigan is because they have "NO" other information.
Bet this pisses them off in the Sports World!
December 12th, 2014 at 12:33 PM ^
Nobody know anything about the Michigan Coaching Search.
Well, except for Gil Brandt.
December 12th, 2014 at 11:17 AM ^
and like the idea of placing people in jobs that you think might fit their qualifications. Mostly, it's just about selling and good research on the marketplace you're working in. Not too different from working as a real estate broker or talent agent. Same basic skillset with an emphasis on being good at selling.
December 12th, 2014 at 10:46 AM ^
Not sure about the Brandon hire, but it kind of appears that Brandon was going to hire Hoke no matter who the search firm found when they shook the tree. And they do other things besides 'recommend' candidates.
December 12th, 2014 at 10:40 AM ^
They really need to add a third partner, one whose name does not resemble a commonly used word. Schladogowitz or something.
December 12th, 2014 at 10:40 AM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 10:47 AM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 10:40 AM ^
I would guess this is the search firm that Michigan hired from the outset. Why the name of the search firm is being revealed now is beyond me. However, in an article from December 4th, "Hackett...said he has a timeline in mind that he chooses not to share publicly and will utilize a search firm to assist in the process. Hackett said he will reveal the name of the search firm at some point." I guess we are now at the point that Hacket has revealed the name.
December 12th, 2014 at 10:46 AM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 10:51 AM ^
Possibly, but it seems that Korn Ferry is Michigan's go-to search firm, as they are the world's largest and were used in the "searches" for Brandon and Hoke. I would think that the decision to use Korn Ferry (again) was decided from the outset.
December 12th, 2014 at 11:02 AM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 11:07 AM ^
More likely, they hired hired from the onset, but Michigan held off on announcing it to allow them some time to work without having to deal with it being public. Being a public university, the name was going to get out eventually, so Michigan made it public when they were comfortable with it being public, for whatever reason.
December 12th, 2014 at 10:41 AM ^
Hired them by mistake, thought it was CORN-Ferry.
*rimshot*
December 12th, 2014 at 10:41 AM ^
You put your Korn album under the pillow, and in the morning you get a dollar.
December 12th, 2014 at 10:53 AM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 11:11 AM ^
December 13th, 2014 at 2:05 AM ^