Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Now that the dust has cleared

We have had time to reflect on the hiring of Wes Flanigan as head coach. At the time it happened, I thought it was a good hire, although maybe not a great one. Time will tell how good a coach Wes is, but at this point we are not looking at Wes, but at Chasse.

For years we have wanted to carve out a niche in sports in this state. We have not wanted the state, just the city, just central Arkansas. With the "Little Rock's Team" branding, we have started deliberately down that path. Given that path, the hiring of Flanigan was not only logical, but consistent. I have enough confidence in Chasse to believe that if he had any doubt that Wes could do the job, he would not have hired him. His credibility is on the line just as much as that of Flanigan.

Our goal is to get sports fans in Little Rock to think FIRST about Little Rock, not about Fayetteville. "This is OUR team." A little hometown pride. Last year's version of the Trojans gave us a chance to do that, and now the city has the opportunity to buy into the success. That buy-in was made a little easier for the fans with Wes' hiring. His father is a legendary coach in the area. He has strong recruiting ties here. All the pieces are there. Wes was the last piece in the puzzle. It was the right time.

Even if Wes does not turn out to be a Hall of Fame coach, I still think his hiring on Chasse's part was logical and timely. It was the right move to cinch down what we are trying to do in Little Rock.

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