Tom Mars Joining Curtis Blackwell Legal Team
This is a very interesting development in Spartyworld today. Tom Mars, the preeminent NCAA attorney, has joined Curtis Blackwell’s legal team in his wrongful termination case. This comes just days after Blackwell alleged multiple NCAA violations against Michigan State.
This is not only noteworthy for Blackwell’s chances of getting a nice settlement or even a win at trial, but it would also seem to increase the chances that there would be a real NCAA investigation into MSU football, which is not exactly attractive for prospective Dantonio replacements.
You truly hate to see it.
February 6th, 2020 at 1:16 PM ^
While I can't say with 100% certainty I have a very strong educated guess that the school would look at it and determine if it felt the actions were part of his job, in which case, MSU likely would cover it.
Now, it's "part of his job" but cheating or doing illegal things is not "part of his job" so they have to make a determination of how far they want to take that. They could not cover, but that gets them into a potentially drawn-out fight with Dantonio about coverage for that section. So they have to make a determination how long they want to continue that on. Likely, given he's still held in pretty high regard at MSU with the potential AD job, they'd cover most or all of it and if they do get something from Dantonio it'd be part of a negotiated settlement where he agrees to contribute a small portion.
February 6th, 2020 at 1:43 PM ^
Is MSU self-insured now? It would seem easier to go that route if the insurance company lawyers aren't calling the shots.
I agree with you, but could see one exception. If Blackwell's lawyer was correct that Dantonio lied about having things approved by MSU's compliance department and it becomes public. That would mean he tried to throw them under the bus and it would be a more NCAA friendly move to cut ties.
February 6th, 2020 at 4:57 PM ^
Last I saw they went to a captive model post-Nassar because they were getting hammered by their former insurer on renewal terms (understandably):
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/midwest/2019/03/08/519915.htm
Agreed on the second point. Interested to see where this goes.
February 6th, 2020 at 1:18 PM ^
Some? Try all. Don't forget, the guy's still on the MSU payroll, drawing $1 million for doing God knows what.
February 6th, 2020 at 11:34 AM ^
but everyone employs recruit's parents at booster's VC firms.
February 6th, 2020 at 11:47 AM ^
Fickell would definitely be better off waiting things out at Cincinnati for a few seasons. A better opportunity will probably present itself in the next few seasons.
February 6th, 2020 at 12:28 PM ^
Definitely. But he won't be able to hold his wad. He'll take the MSU job and three years down the road will have been passed by more attractive candidates for more premier positions. This is going to happen because MSU is topping out at 4th best in the East division for the foreseeable future. They will also probably be behind the top 2 or 3 in the West.
February 6th, 2020 at 11:50 AM ^
Given all of the shit the MSU athletic department failed to police, it would not shock me that the NCAA does an investigation of the MSU football program and finds infractions. Looking more and more like Mike Tressel will become the interim head coach, as no quality hire could be made until all this Blackwell stuff is cleared up and the NCAA snoops go away.
February 6th, 2020 at 12:05 PM ^
If I am an MSU fan, I’d be more nervous about this scaring off Fickell or another high caliber coach than I would be about possible sanctions.
February 6th, 2020 at 12:09 PM ^
Exactly
February 6th, 2020 at 12:11 PM ^
Can they please name their collaboration Mars Blackmon
February 6th, 2020 at 12:13 PM ^
Meh. My money is still on Fickell. If there are sanctions, I doubt they would be severe enough to make their situation much worse than it already is. And if you're an ambitious coach, what better way to pad your resume than to walk into a job where the bar is as low as it has become at MSU right now? Besides, 95% of the time it all comes down to the cash, and there is no doubt that MSU will bury UC in that regard. MSU has no competition for Fickell at this time, and his relationship with Dantonio is just the clincher. I can't see him "waiting it out" for a better opportunity at UC since those opportunities will be there when he's at MSU (lol at the idea of him maintaining ANY loyalty to MSU if hired) .
I think he'll take that job, do a good job of bringing them back to relevance (but not elite status) which will maintain his star rating, and then bail for something more illustrious the first chance he gets.
I'm not too scared of Fickell outside of his recruiting abilities. He's a known entity - good but not great. He failed miserably in his golden opportunity at OSU with a roster of elite talent. He's done well at UC, just like almost all of his predecessors over the last 20 years.
Bring it on, you DeSales turd!
February 6th, 2020 at 12:35 PM ^
And if you're an ambitious coach, what better way to pad your resume than to walk into a job where the bar is as low as it has become at MSU right now?
Is the bar low? MSU is coming off three straight winning seasons (10-3, 7-6, 7-6) which would be fine by their '70s/'80s/'90s/'00s standards but is considered disastrous now.
February 6th, 2020 at 12:41 PM ^
I, for one, would not want to be the coach that replaces Mark Dantonio. These last few years have been rough, but he's still in the conversation for the greatest coach in school history. He raised that fanbase's expectations to a level that is probably unrealistic with Michigan, OSU, and Penn State all performing well. It's a little like Saban at Alabama - you want to be the guy that replaces the guy that replaced the man, not the guy that replaces the man.
February 6th, 2020 at 1:34 PM ^
First off, I can't think of a category of people I'd more prefer to see implode in collegiate athletics than OSU alums. So while I have no particular axe to grind with Fickell individually, he self-selected into a group in whose misery I generally experience some degree of schadenfreude.
So ... in addition to all of your points here, I very much cackle at a guy who some consider to be a possible rising star choosing to trade no small amount of his option value into the complete shitshow that is EL at the moment. In addition to all of its historic built-in competitive disadvantages, MSU football is almost devoid of even medium-level B1G talent right now. It's like the Michigan OL roster when RichRod took over ... but at almost every position group. The next coach is set up to fail on the field.
And that would be true even if the Blackwell, etc cloud wasn't hanging over their heads. But it is. They're out $500MM from the Nassar fiasco -- there's no way that number doesn't have repercussions over time. Blackwell has told his side of the story far and wide around the state of MI (especially in Detroit) -- unpoisoning that well is going to take time. The "culture" of the football program, the athletic department, and the school not only enabled all of the Robertson, Corley, et al messes, it also drew in and abetted the degenerate story of Malik McDowell. Not all parents and coaches have their heads in the sand on such things.
The next guy to take this job has the odds stacked against him about as much as in any higher-profile open position I can remember.
February 6th, 2020 at 2:46 PM ^
I agree. If impatience and hatred of Michigan push Fickell to take this job right now, I will not pity him. Success will not easy or fast for the next head coach there.
February 6th, 2020 at 1:46 PM ^
so funny to frame back to back 7-6 seasons as successful, Michigan goes 9-4 and their trash to most... fuck off dude
February 6th, 2020 at 2:59 PM ^
You're cursing out the wrong guy.
I'm not saying they are successful by Michigan standards, but by MSU's pre-Dantonio standards. I've also never said 9-4 is a terrible record. It's slightly below expectations, but Michigan has had a lot of seasons like that.
February 6th, 2020 at 1:53 PM ^
The problem with sanctions in the air would be the potential impact on recruiting. MSU isn't poised to win right away. A new coach needs to boost their recruiting asap.
Fickell was in the conversation for other jobs after the season. One more good year at UC pushes his profile a little higher. A predictably rough season at MSU sets him back. Sure, he'll be in demand if he turns things around. But that's not a given, even for a good coach, and it may take a few years.
February 6th, 2020 at 11:19 PM ^
The safest way for Fickell to pad his resume is to turn down a good offer from MSU.
Having a $5M/yr job offer on your resume is not a bad thing. Nor is showing you're not desperate enough to jump into a bad situation.
Staying an extra year with a very good G5 team has worked very well for some other coaches.
February 6th, 2020 at 12:14 PM ^
This is how you people get off? Reveling in others misfortune? You know, it really says a lot about… j/k, pass the popcorn.
February 6th, 2020 at 1:39 PM ^
"Misfortune"??? Any "reveling" has nothing to do with any "misfortune" on the part of MSU. MSU is directly responsible for not only covering up the gross, in every way, Nassar matter and stonewalling of any investigation at every turn-for several years now...but also the extensions of a culture they have enabled continues as well...the ends to which remain unknown and uninvestigated. There is no "misfortune" here for MSU. This is a despicably evil, systemic behavior that is being allowed to breathe rather freely. I hope their clever little risk management team is finally being made to run for cover...though clearly they continue to benefit by psychologically beating folks like you into "submission". For me, there is no "reveling"...we will know justice when we see it...nothing to revel about at this time.
February 6th, 2020 at 6:45 PM ^
Thanks for straightening me out on that.
February 6th, 2020 at 12:18 PM ^
Add the settlement to the $500M tab that they're already on the hook for from the Nassar scandal.
Or is it on us the hard-working taxpayers of MI? I was told otherwise.
February 6th, 2020 at 12:22 PM ^
Insurance policy, perhaps?
February 6th, 2020 at 12:33 PM ^
A couple posters were really confident that MSU had already sewn up Fickell yesterday . . . was that some misinformation?
February 6th, 2020 at 12:48 PM ^
I admit I got roped in by some of these posts. There where one or two posters over on RCMB that kept repeating that the deal was done and there would be a press conference today. There is definitely some backtracking now. Best I can gather from one of the Cincinnati message boards is that Fickell has some previously scheduled appearances at some different events in Ohio today and tomorrow. So far he hasn’t canceled any of these appearances. They aren’t saying he won’t leave but it sounds like Fickell may not make any sort of decision until the weekend.
February 6th, 2020 at 12:43 PM ^
"real NCAA investigation"
LOL. That was a good one, sir.
February 6th, 2020 at 12:44 PM ^
I had a discussion with an MSU friend the other day and got a million talking points about why the Blackwell case "was nothing." "His contract was just non-renewed, how can you claim wrongful termination?" "he lied" "there's no evidence" - basically all the RCMB list of how to look at something through green and white color glasses. I'm an employment lawyer so I went through each one of those and explained to him how it actually works with these type of claims, though he still kept arguing with me about stuff that I deal with everyday. It was pretty eye opening to me just how much their fanbase has their head in the sand, even when confronted with reality.
MSU threw their dirty work guy under the bus and didn't give him anything for it. You don't need to be a genius to figure out what is going to happen.
This just boosts my stance on this. MSU has bungled handling this case badly.
February 6th, 2020 at 1:13 PM ^
Yeah, their risk management team has been "outstanding" but that thin ice they have been skating on may have gotten a bit thinner than they anticipated.
February 6th, 2020 at 1:02 PM ^
“Those allegations were detailed in a court filing in Grand Rapids late Monday night. Hours later, Tuesday afternoon, Dantonio retired as Michigan State's football coach.”
Not a good look. At all. Fickell going to MSU? He have to be crazy.
February 6th, 2020 at 1:41 PM ^
Michigan States Defense team:
Ladies and gentleman of the jury, your Honor, I'd like to present to you exhibit A.
"shows the courtroom the video of Odell Beckham handing out hundred dollar bills to the LSU players"
I'd now also like to present to you exhibit B.
"plays the Burrow interview in which he said "I'm no longer a student athlete so I can confirm those were real $100 dollar bills"
NCAA - Nothing to see hear. Not guilty.
February 6th, 2020 at 2:30 PM ^
And there it is....
Mars the NCAA attorney joining on, is the smoking gun...
Dantonio quit because he knows he is fucked, knowing what's coming
February 6th, 2020 at 2:55 PM ^
This is a big deal to me because it validates that Blackwell has a legit case. All along I thought that it was basically a guy who was fired who found a sympathetic lawyer willing to make a case and get some cash from MSU in settlement. I never imagined that Dantonio would get deposed (and then deposed as HC) and it would drag on this long. Blackwell must have real reasons to pursue this beyond just money and his career prospects.
Mars is a famous lawyer, and you don't get to be that by taking losing cases. He must think this is a good case (for Blackwell at least).
February 6th, 2020 at 3:08 PM ^
If I were Fickell the last thing I'd do is join this potential clusterfuck. Even if you think the chances of NCAA sanctions are pretty low—as I do—why would you gamble and take the chance, especially on a program with some serious roster/talent problems to iron out?
He also doesn't need to prove he can revive a program—he's already done that with Cinci.