BATON ROUGE — John Brady will not coach the remainder of the LSU men’s basketball season and Butch Pierre will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the year, athletic director Skip Bertman announced Friday.
Brady was informed of the decision to remove him from the head coaching position by Bertman on Thursday.
“We thank John Brady for his years of service and the success he brought to the LSU basketball program during the course of his time here,” Bertman said. “He brought some great players to LSU and produced some very successful teams and those memories will forever be written in the history of LSU basketball.”
Brady came to LSU beginning with the 1997-98 season and posted a record of 192-139. In 11 years at the helm of the Tiger basketball program Brady led LSU to three SEC Western Division titles (2000, 2005, 2006), two SEC Championships (2000, 2006), two NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearances and a Final Four appearance in 2006. Four of his players earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors and three players were named SEC Player of the Year. He was named SEC Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2006.
LSU MEN’S BASKETBALL POST-PRACTICE INTERVIEWS
February 8, 2008
Interim Head Coach Butch Pierre
On becoming interim head coach…
“It’s a sad situation because Coach Brady and I have been together for 11 years. Unfortunately in this business, sometimes things like this happen. The players understand and what I am trying to do with them now is make sure that they draw something positive out of all this.”
On if he considers these next few games a try-out for the head coach position…
“That is a premature question right now. Things happen so fast and I haven’t even really thought about that yet. I’ve been an assistant coach for 23 years now and worked for three or four very successful programs, so I have prepared myself for this situation. Hopefully, it will be a great experience for me, my family, and LSU.”
On if he thinks the coaching style will be different…
“Everyone always says, ?Just do what you have been doing.’ When new coaches come in they always want you keep doing what you have been doing. Players have to play the game anyway; the coaches don’t play for you. That is what we are going to try to do Saturday (against Tennessee.)”
On focusing on the game…
“I’ll be happy when all of this is over and everyone can just get back on track and just think about basketball and school. That is what it is really about.”
On his thoughts regarding the coaching change…
“Yes it was a shock to me. I’ve seen other university’s coach’s that when the team wasn’t winning things got kind of shaky. Nothing was really said about this and we all just showed up and found out earlier today.”
On if he feels there is anyone to blame…
“We don’t really talk about blame. We just are all trying to be positive. Even though we weren’t winning, we never pointed fingers. Of course the media and the outside world will bring blame to the coach, but like I’ve always said, the coach can’t lay the ball up for you, the coach can’t make you take a shot, and the coach can’t help you defend. There is only so much a coach can do, but a coach does play a major role in it. I’m not saying that is the reason things happened with Coach Brady like this. A coach is only as good as his players.”
JOHN BRADY QUOTES
On LSU’s decision to make the move in the middle of the season…
“I’ve been asked those questions before. Yes and no. (Alabama coach) Mark Gottfried called me and he said ?This might be a good profession, but it’s a terrible business we’re in.’ (Florida coach) Billy Donovan said the same things. Skip (Bertman) and I had some long talks yesterday and then again this morning. I don’t know what he has told you guys, and we hadn’t scripted anything, but if it was a decision that was going to be made, then you might as well make it now I suppose and not mislead anyone. If they feel those decisions that are being made help the team, then I respect that decision. I certainly have the option to not agree, but I certainly respect it. I don’t accept it, but I respect it because somewhere down the line you have to adhere to what decisions they make. I don’t run this university, but I’ve always been a part of it.”
On how his departure was handled…
“One thing I did not want to do, regardless of the argument for or against me as the coach, in the history of LSU there have been too many coaches that when they have left, for whatever reason, they have left in an inappropriate way – on both sides. Where they don’t speak and I was determined, as was Skip, to not let that happen. Regardless of if we didn’t agree in the principle of who’s going to coach tomorrow, the rest of the season or next year. To harbor those kinds of feelings over a long period of time does not do the soul well. I wasn’t going to do that because if you think back eleven years ago, I was a fortunate choice to be the coach in the first place.”
On his time as LSU’s head coach…
“I put my heart and soul into this. I’ve put a lot of my health into this. Nobody can question my passion or my concern. I would have never had this opportunity had it not been for (former LSU Athletic Director) Joe Dean having the courage to hire someone no one had ever heard of. We’ve had some exceptional times here, and some great wins over No. 1-ranked teams, beat four or five hall of fame coaches and had streaks of nineteen-straight SEC wins in a row at home. I am appreciative of the opportunity this university gave me to do that. I will always appreciate that. I could still be at Samford coaching, but they gave me a chance. For almost eleven years, I was a good steward of my time here.”
ATHLETIC DIRECTOR SKIP BERTMAN
Opening statement…
“I, too, want to thank you for coming. Yesterday, about this time, I met with John (Brady) and informed him that LSU and I decided to make a change of leadership of the men’s program. I did this with the knowledge of the present chancellor, president, and board members, who were kept informed through this process. Let me say John accepted the news with some excellent poise and dignity, although naturally he’s disappointed. I can understand the disappointment. He’s a gamer; he’s not a quitter, and he so badly wanted to right the ship that has fallen on some difficult times, particularly this year.
“As a high school coach working as an assistant football coach when our football coach got fired, I really felt terrible. I was very young and remembered learning something at that moment when I put my arms around that coach that I really liked and he said, ?Football coaches, men’s basketball coaches come and go every year, but you have to be a man everyday.’ John Brady is a man. He’s done some great things for LSU. He took over a program that was in trouble. Through 11 seasons he’s led LSU to three SEC Western division titles, two SEC championships, two Sweet 16 appearances and of course, one Final Four, achieving the highest post season ranking in LSU history. He’s done things that will be forever written down in the history books of LSU basketball.
“I thank John for his service to LSU. I thank John, personally, for his involvement in the Baton Rouge community, for what he’s done for juvenile diabetes and many other charities. He’s been a pillar of the community. I thank him for his care of his players and the way those players represented LSU. Originally, I made this decision to do this after the Tennessee game, which would have been exactly the half way point because I was sure the change would have been made at the end of the season. I didn’t think it was fair to the players and John not to do it immediately if he knew that. On the other hand, I had spoken to several good friends of the basketball program, John, some other people and of course, as I said, some people here at LSU, and I was so frightened that word would reach John before I had the chance to talk to him or reach the players before John or I had the chance to talk to the players. That just can’t happen for me, so I rushed in and made a call to John, who came right up. Of course, the decision was made before the Tennessee game for that reason.
“Butch Pierre will serve as the interim head coach beginning with tomorrow’s game against Tennessee and for the remainder of the eight other games and for the SEC tournament. Athletics, being what it is, anything can happen. I do call on the LSU fans, the best in the nation in every sport, to support this basketball team tomorrow and the remaining home games. It doesn’t matter who is coaching. What’s really important is our student athletes and our university. They continue to fight, they play hard and they deserve every opportunity to have an environment in which they can be successful. Now, I’m going to come back, but before, I want you to hear from Coach Brady. I have a lot of respect for this man and a lot of respect for what he has done.”
On the athletic department’s contractual obligations to Brady…
“He gets the salary for the rest of this year, and he gets a base salary for three years. I believe it’s $300,000. There’s an offset indicating that if Coach Brady gets another job, then it comes off the $300,000, and he has to make an honest effort to get that job. That doesn’t mean he has to be a basketball coach; it can be any job. Then, in the contracts, it says that he’ll remain friendly. This isn’t even necessary for John. He’s always been upfront and honest and a great LSU person. It’s not necessary but do everything he can to promote the basketball program.
On choosing the next coach…
“We are going to employ a search firm. I don’t have a search firm now. We are setting no boundaries on the qualifications of the coach other than to say we are committed to fielding a winning team. In my mind, that’s a team that would play in the NCAA tournament on a regular basis and would annually compete for championships in the (SEC) West and the SEC. That would not exclude coaches on our current staff having the opportunity to interview. Please remember, ladies and gentlemen, that this just happened yesterday. I don’t have any other coaches, and I don’t have a search firm today. It will take some time, and we’ve got that. Remember, all sitting head coaches that we would be interested in are participating now, and we don’t intend on interrupting anybody’s season. I’ll do my homework and do a little research to see if we can get a coach that can unite the community, somebody successful like other coaches that have been hired recently, and go through a methodical process of interviewing. You can’t do that, in my opinion, without a search committee, and we will work on that starting tomorrow.”
On Bertman’s decision…
“Once I made this decision, and no one told me to do this, I did this myself, I felt that if I had waited until the end of season, which is normal procedure, knowing that I was going to do this, then I was just cheating the coach and cheating the kids. Then, I decided to move it to the halfway point of the conference here. I sped it up one game because I was afraid it would leak out. I think there are some advantages for John. I think there are advantages for LSU and most importantly, the players to compete in the next nine games plus the SEC tournament. I spoke to the team today after John. I fully expect them to compete hard in every single ballgame. Nothing less is acceptable. If the score is not right, then we can live with that but nothing less than 100 percent effort, of course.”
On the attendance…
“Attendance, to me, is very important. Our attendance in soccer, softball, gymnastics and every other sport is very important to me. Creating an environment that makes it easier for a team to compete. Women’s basketball attendance has been outstanding. As it drew from 425,000 to an average of over 600,000, but basketball has been stagnant at about 7,000 season ticket holders. Even though we went to the Final Four, we only had a few hundred additional season ticket holders. My opinion is that I’m not sure the answer is in the coach or whether it is this non-basketball town. I think we’ve split the fans pretty wide. We’ve sent them to women’s basketball, softball, football, of course and baseball, of course. I wouldn’t blame the basketball coach for the lack of attendance. They won 18 games in a row there, and we didn’t increase (attendance), yet we put promotions money there. I don’t know the answer to that question. I’m going to find out because having people in the seats is very important to me. We are going to try and get a coach that’s fan-friendly, that can unite the community, that can get them excited, and as John pointed out, I think the coach is starting out at a higher level than John did in terms of the facilities and personnel.”
On how the new hiring period will work out with a new athletic director coming in…
“This basketball coach won’t know the new athletic director. He won’t know who the athletic director is or who the new chancellor is. I begged Les Miles to come here. I begged Van Chancellor, Paul Mainieri, Brian Lee. This is a place that is very unusual. Here, the community will attach to your vision and attach to your dream. If they see you as a strong worker, strong community person, strong family man and strong LSU person, they will jump on your vision. We have other things. We have an incredible Tiger Athletic Foundation that’s available for us that can do so many things and is poised to do so many more things. I just don’t see why anybody would worry who the athletic director was or who the chancellor was. I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”
On the final straw that made Bertman’s decision…
“It’s a fair question, but I don’t have an answer. I just thought about it, thought about it, thought about it. I spoke to a lot of people in the basketball community to get some input, and nobody is really happy that John is gone. On the other hand, there are other people not involved that see us winning in football or other sports, particularly women’s basketball and not expanding men’s basketball. The ultimate reason that John was fired isn’t attendance; they just didn’t win enough basketball games since the Final Four.”
On if Brady will coach tomorrow…
“He will not be at practice today or the game tomorrow, but he can do anything he wants to do with my blessing, which I mentioned for instance, I thought that it would be good to make sure the media could get to him today, and then, I thought it would be really good if he did his radio show. Of course, he suggested that he get to his booster club. Remember, he’s an employee here through June 30. He’s not going to turn his keys in and leave. He’s employed here, and he’s getting paid, but he can come and go as he pleases, Naturally, if we needed him for something, I’m sure he’d be glad to comply.” He will not coach tomorrow night’s game.”
On hiring before the new athletic director is hired…
“We think so. We think that’s the case. The new athletic director won’t be able to raise ticket prices for at least four years. I already took that sphere. Now, I’m taking the second sphere. I don’t think he has much to do.”
On if Bertman thought of allowing Brady to finish the season…
“I thought that this was the easiest route to go with fewer disruptions for the players. I spoke to a lot of people. They had other ideas. I spoke to some other professionals, and I thought it was best for LSU and for the players to do it now. I would have waited until after Tennessee only because it would have been eight games with eight left (in the conference schedule). That was my plan, but as talented and ubiquitous as you (media) are, I figured it would slip out, and that’s something that is not acceptable for me, for him to come say to me that he read in the paper or heard from so-and-so, and I moved it up because I was nervous about that.”
On the hiring process…
“I’m going to search it out. I want to find a basketball coach that can not just ?X and O.’ He’s got to do like Les Miles; he’s got to do some community things, and that’s what people want here. They want you to be part of the community here and rightfully so. Almost all of the coaches here do that very well. He’s got to be a reasonable fundraiser because all coaches here raise funds for their programs, every single one of them including the marching band. They all have accounts in Tiger Athletic Foundation that they can use. He’s got to be somebody that can be friendly with the microphone and get out and speak and be energetic. Recruiting is a super issue in the coaching aspect obviously. So many head coaches do the recruiting well. Will he bring all of the old coaches from the old staff? I don’t know. Will he keep somebody from this staff? I don’t know these things yet. I really didn’t think about the next coach. It’s tough. This is the seventh coach that’s been relieved. There are only 14 head coaches here. It’s tough. It takes a lot of time to grow as a coach. I think John showed that he could do a lot of stuff two years ago. I think my staff helped although the players deserve most of the credit. We’ve got to get a coach that can do many things, not just ?Xs and Os.’”
On who was apart of the firing process…
“I didn’t ask anybody. What I did was I kept the Chancellor Bill Jenkins informed. I talked to the president. I spoke to board member, Laura Leach, who is in charge of the athletic committee, like I would do with any coach. No one said ?That’s good.’ No one said, ?I agree with you.’ No one said, ?Don’t do that.’ They all said that it was my call. That’s what I expect. I also expect that during the hiring of the new coach to include many more people than myself, and that would include Dale Brown for example. He would be good for a coach to speak to. Friends of the basketball program over the years would be good for a coach to speak to. The Tiger Athletic Foundation representatives can show him what we have with the academic center and so on. As John alluded to, the about $15 million improvement to the PMAC this summer, which will probably take a year and half to finish. Those things have to be given and explained to the new coach. I’m expecting a lot of people to be a part of the hiring process, but there was no one in the firing or replacement process but me. Then, the question was about the budget. We don’t have a budget for that (hiring a new coach). If we have to we will use the Tiger Athletic Foundation funds for that.”
On next year’s recruits…
“John Brady has agreed to call all of the players’ parents and the recruits. Of course, Butch (Pierre) will call them as well. John, himself, volunteered for that.”
On if Bertman has new coach in mind…
“There is an athletic director’s clich? about always having three names for a football coach in your right hand drawer because it turns over so quickly. No, I don’t have any names in my right hand drawer for basketball. My personal opinion is that everybody is playing for at least one month, so that gives me an awful lot of time. Then, it’s very possible that they’ll be playing for another week or two after that. I think I have a lot of time, but I wouldn’t do it without a search firm because I would never speak to a coach without the athletic director’s permission. If you call an athletic director while the coach is still playing, it’s a big disruption if the athletic director decides to go public it. I’ll probably use a search firm where somebody else will speak to the coaches or the coach’s representative. That’s the reason for the search firm just like for the chancellor or the athletic director now.”
On the current assistants in the hiring process…
“Butch Pierre or any other staff member like John Treloar will be considered for this position. There are no limits or boundaries here. The salary is going to be very competitive in the Southeastern Conference. John’s salary was reasonable, but we will be competitive to the Southeastern Conference coaching price.”
On a minority candidate in the hiring process…
“I don’t think that having an African American head coach in any sport here would be a problem. I think the people, naturally, are ready for that, and I’m going to hire the best available head coach regardless of race.”
On the search committee…
“I have to make a decision on which firm first, but that will start immediately Monday. The search firm will immediately have a dozen basketball names to give to me when I tell them the price range and what we’re looking for. They in turn can reach representatives of those coaches and come back and say, ?Well, he’s available for this or you’ll never get this guy because his contract is too strong where he is.’ I’ll have that late next week, maybe.”
JOHN BRADY QUOTES
Opening statements…
“I agree with coach (Skip) Bertman ? I am not a quitter. I am too competitive to do that. I understand decisions are made and you have to respect the people that make those decisions. You don’t always have to agree with them, but you can certainly respect them. I have always seen friends of mine who are in this situation and I have always tried to be supportive of coaches who were in this situation. It does flash in your mind at times, if it does happen to you, how would you respond? I want to do everything in my power to respond in the right way.”
“Every coach has distracters but I am not concentrating on that. What I am concentrating on today are the positives that were created in my time here at this great university. Before I came up here, I prayed for strength to get through this. That is what we are going to do. It is not necessarily because of me but the people I represent ? my wife (Misty), my daughter Brittany and my other daughter Brooke is en route from skiing. I kid with my oldest daughter (Brittany), I call her Paris like Paris Hilton because she has it made. Well Brooke is on her way back from skiing in Colorado some where. So Paris No. 2 is on her way home.”
“This is about appreciating the opportunity I have had here at this great school. I am thankful to LSU for the experience. It is a great university and I have met some wonderful people. I have coached in the best league (Southeastern Conference) in the country and I have coached a lot of great guys. I have coached a lot of great guys who have worn our uniform and represented this school in a great way. Like coach (Bertman) said. Our players have done some things here that haven’t been done in a long time.”
On the people he worked with at LSU…
“I am grateful to the people who have given me this opportunity and the ones I have worked with. Skip, Herb (Vincent) and Verge (Ausberry). I told them before I cam out here that this would be a lot easier if we were sitting around a table. (Former president of the LSU System) Dr. William Jenkins, who was here when I was hired. I remember our first introduction when we really got to know each other was in front of the NCAA Infractions Committee. My first call of duty as the LSU coach, as it was for Dr. Jenkins, was to represent the school in front of the NCAA Infractions Committee for three days. (Former LSU Athletic Director) Joe Dean hired me and Alan Copping was the president. I appreciate the opportunity they gave me.”
“I enjoyed my relationship with General (Ronald) Richard and the Tiger Athletic Foundation, being able to work with the LSU Alumni Association and Charlie Roberts, (men’s basketball sports information director) Kent Lowe and the friends I have been able to make all over the state because of the opportunity I have had at LSU.”
On his involvement in the Baton Rouge community…
“As Skip said, I tired to represent the university as best as I could in the community. Form United Way to JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), the Big Buddy Program, the scholarship I sponsored at Jehovah-Jireh junior high for a needy young lady, serving on the U-High board which put me in a position to support it financially. This job has allowed me to speak all over this wonderful state and the city.”
On the current state of the basketball program…
“The basketball program where it is today is certainly not where I would like it to be. I do think that it is poised, in spite of where the team is now, to be better next year because of the players and the experience they are going through. The whole team will be back and it has a top-15 recruiting class coming in. The program is better off now because of that then where it was when we came. The future of the program is good.”
On how it was when he first started as LSU’s coach…
“Again, LSU allowed me to be able to do this. I am appreciative for that. Everybody knows what we took over when we got here. I don’t have to repeat all that. Coach Bertman alluded to it in his opening. The first time I was involved with President Jenkins was in front of the NCAA infractions committee. What we were able to go through, with the harshest penalties ever put on a program in the history of NCAA basketball, outside of disbanding the program. In my third year here, still on probation, for us to win an SEC Championship was unprecedented. I was glad to be able to do that in part of my services to this university.”
On his team’s accomplishments during his LSU tenure…
“The other things coach Bertman alluded to in my 10 and a half years here, in a 10 year span, three SEC Western Division titles, two SEC Championships, two NCAA Sweet 16 appearances and a Final Four appearance under normal circumstances is a pretty good ten-year run.”
“I will always be grateful to the people who gave me this wonderful opportunity. The wonderful fans that have supported this team throughout my tenure here ? I am appreciative of that.”
On the future of the LSU basketball program…
“The future is bright because of the SEC Championships and the Final Four run. It is my understanding that they are breaking ground on a 10 million dollar practice facility this summer. That may have never happened if the men’s team did not make the Final Four run.”
“The teams got to heights that were recaptured after a 20-25 year span. We have good players here that are good people. They don’t get in trouble and they go to school. We have graduated 19 players since I have been here with 34 SEC Academic Honor Roll members and one SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in Bradon Bass (2005). We have had SEC Players of the Year and SEC Freshmens of the Year ? we have done all of that. I am proud of my time here. I am grateful for the opportunity that Joe Dean, Alan Coppin, William Jenkins and Coach Bertman and his staff here gave me.”
Closing comments…
“This is not a situation where a coach doesn’t show up at this type of press conference and leaves with animosity. That is not the case. I urge everyone to come out and support these players during the rest of the season. I have been blessed. I am looking forward to what lies ahead for me and my family. Thank you very much.”