Walter Offutt

[Buffett1]

The ISU athletic department does NOT need to
be asked the question to give the answer or at the very least, an update ..Jesus H. ..!
At least address the situation.

 

[Reggie Redbird]

The ISU athletic department does NOT need to
be asked the question to give the answer or at the very least, an update ..Jesus H. ..!
At least address the situation.

Now that the season is over, the Pantagraph’s beat writer is probably too busy blocking more ISU fans and gearing up for local golf than doing some insightful analysis about our future prospects. That’s what Tolentino would do - analyze the potential returning players, biggest needs, etc.

 

[Bird Friend]

Season's over. Offut may--probably--be gone. We'll hear something when we hear something. No use tying ourselves up in knots about something that we have no control over.

 

[gobirds85]

Season's over. Offut may--probably--be gone. We'll hear something when we hear something. No use tying ourselves up in knots about something that we have no control over.

But isn't that one of the main reasons for fan forums? Jk. I agree with you.

 

[BirdGrad2011]

Offutt is and has been gone gone. Just waiting on the university to announce it. Assistant hire watch is underway as teams start losing.

 

[cpacmel]

No longer listed:

Men's Basketball Coaches - Illinois State University Athletics

The official Men's Basketball Coach List for the Illinois State University Redbirds

goredbirds.com

 

[Adunk33]

No longer listed:

Men's Basketball Coaches - Illinois State University Athletics

The official Men's Basketball Coach List for the Illinois State University Redbirds

goredbirds.com

Hopefully, this will give Jim the power and confidence he needs to ask the question and we can get a statement from the team.

 

[SgtHulka]

Hopefully, this will give Jim the power and confidence he needs to ask the question and we can get a statement from the team.

 

[cubird]

Probably a statement wishing Walter the best in his future endeavors and a search for an assistant coach is being conducted. They are not going comment on any potential personal or medical issues.

 

[ISU86]

No longer listed:

Men's Basketball Coaches - Illinois State University Athletics

The official Men's Basketball Coach List for the Illinois State University Redbirds

goredbirds.com

Walter, we hardly knew ye.

 

[TBus_Birds]

From this I gather the only info to this point has been off-the-record. I don't think it's a matter of the question never being asked.

And I look at it this way – this is a story that has the potential to not reflect all that well on a coach in his first year. His very first hire never sees the bench? Ouch. Not a great headline for a team that is looking to get back to prominence.

There is mutual interest in that storyline not being allowed to grow legs. If I'm a journalist building a rapport with a new coach, there is value in letting the school own the story. Protects the program's image a bit and preserves a good working relationship going forward. Just my two cents.

 

[Popsto4]

Hopefully, this will give Jim the power and confidence he needs to ask the question and we can get a statement from the team.

I doubt if Jim even know honestly. Maybe so maybe not. Walter is a good dude though. Sometimes things more important than basketball does happen not matter who or where you are.

 

[MadBird]

From this I gather the only info to this point has been off-the-record. I don't think it's a matter of the question never being asked.

And I look at it this way – this is a story that has the potential to not reflect all that well on a coach in his first year. His very first hire never sees the bench? Ouch. Not a great headline for a team that is looking to get back to prominence.

There is mutual interest in that storyline not being allowed to grow legs. If I'm a journalist building a rapport with a new coach, there is value in letting the school own the story. Protects the program's image a bit and preserves a good working relationship going forward. Just my two cents.

Well I have avoided getting caught up too much in the obsession with some on here on the "where is Coach Offutt" issue, but for cryin out loud, what can you mean by "not reflect all that well" on Pedon, "not a great headline", a "storyline" not growing legs. Etc. My God, the guy's wife had a baby, he took maternity leave, it was unusual, it may turn out he comes back, maybe not, but so what? Some sh*t happened, maybe serious and personal, maybe not. We'll all find out eventually. It means nothing to any of us.

And don't anyone plant any of this pious "taxpayer right to know" crap either, that has nothing to do with it either.

Get off my lawn!

 

[The Beak]

From this I gather the only info to this point has been off-the-record. I don't think it's a matter of the question never being asked.

And I look at it this way – this is a story that has the potential to not reflect all that well on a coach in his first year. His very first hire never sees the bench? Ouch. Not a great headline for a team that is looking to get back to prominence.

There is mutual interest in that storyline not being allowed to grow legs. If I'm a journalist building a rapport with a new coach, there is value in letting the school own the story. Protects the program's image a bit and preserves a good working relationship going forward. Just my two cents.

'Have a good day.' Like a cop after handing out a speeding ticket.

 

[TBus_Birds]

Well I have avoided getting caught up too much in the obsession with some on here on the "where is Coach Offutt" issue, but for cryin out loud, what can you mean by "not reflect all that well" on Pedon, "not a great headline", a "storyline" not growing legs. Etc. My God, the guy's wife had a baby, he took maternity leave, it was unusual, it may turn out he comes back, maybe not, but so what? Some sh*t happened, maybe serious and personal, maybe not. We'll all find out eventually. It means nothing to any of us.

And don't anyone plant any of this pious "taxpayer right to know" crap either, that has nothing to do with it either.

Get off my lawn!

I hear ya and agree - it was turned into something much bigger than it ever needed to be. Not trying to infer there IS something more here, just offering some counter based on what was said by Benson.

 

[Adunk33]

I’m not claiming to be a subject matter expert or anything like that but I have worked in journalism/marketing/PR for a while. Jim’s job as a beat writer is to cover all facets of the team. This has been a story that has been ongoing for months now. The fact he was given the quote that Pedon “assumed” Offutt would be back following his paternity leave, and did not mention that he followed up or asked for clarification is bad reporting. At that time he very easily could’ve said, “I followed up and Pedon did not have additional comment.” Okay, great, at least we know he asked. Instead, he opted to be snarky and block fans for simply asking if there was follow up.

I was never looking for or expecting the actual details to be publicly reported. At this point, a statement should’ve been released from ISU as generic as, “Coach Offutt is no longer with the program. We wish him well and are thankful for his time as a Redbird. The search for a new assistant is being conducted. We have no further comment at this time”. The reason is he’s gone is none of our business whether it be health, family or whatever. Does Jim know and not saying anything? Doubtful, but that’s beside the point.

Instead, they’ve opted to go completely silent which is why there are so many questions and speculation. I agree it remains ISU’s narrative to control but it is Jim’s job to ask the question and report that he did. Otherwise, fans will do exactly what has been done and have way more questions than answers. Until his tweet above, there was no indication the question had been asked. There are much better ways to interact with fans and handle instances like this. He could learn something from Wyatt Wheeler and Paul Oren.

 

[TBus_Birds]

I’m not claiming to be a subject matter expert or anything like that but I have worked in journalism/marketing/PR for a while. Jim’s job as a beat writer is to cover all facets of the team. This has been a story that has been ongoing for months now. The fact he was given the quote that Pedon “assumed” Offutt would be back following his paternity leave, and did not mention that he followed up or asked for clarification is bad reporting. At that time he very easily could’ve said, “I followed up and Pedon did not have additional comment.” Okay, great, at least we know he asked. Instead, he opted to be snarky and block fans for simply asking if there was follow up.

I was never looking for or expecting the actual details to be publicly reported. At this point, a statement should’ve been released from ISU as generic as, “Coach Offutt is no longer with the program. We wish him well and are thankful for his time as a Redbird. The search for a new assistant is being conducted. We have no further comment at this time”. The reason is he’s gone is none of our business whether it be health, family or whatever. Does Jim know and not saying anything? Doubtful, but that’s beside the point.

Instead, they’ve opted to go completely silent which is why there are so many questions and speculation. I agree it remains ISU’s narrative to control but it is Jim’s job to ask the question and report that he did. Otherwise, fans will do exactly what has been done and have way more questions than answers. Until his tweet above, there was no indication the question had been asked. There are much better ways to interact with fans and handle instances like this. He could learn something from Wyatt Wheeler and Paul Oren.

Agree to disagree on the Benson thing. It's all good. I'm not one to require it be reported that something was asked, I will give the journalist the benefit of the doubt. But if he's lost that credibility with you, that's fine, too. I've only ever had good interactions with the guy but obviously others' mileage may vary.

Let's fill the role and keep things moving forward. Lot of off-season work to be done.

 

[SlackBooDom]

The whiny attitude about Jim Benson while simultaneously talking about how bad he is at his job is so weird. If he's the worst beat writer in the MVC, why does anyone care if they're blocked? Other than they want attention for being blocked. Three paragraphs about how Benson handled a situation that clearly ISU controlled is odd behavior.

 

[Reggie Redbird]

The whiny attitude about Jim Benson while simultaneously talking about how bad he is at his job is so weird. If he's the worst beat writer in the MVC, why does anyone care if they're blocked? Other than they want attention for being blocked. Three paragraphs about how Benson handled a situation that clearly ISU controlled is odd behavior.

We’re on an ISU message board talking about the local newspaper beat writer with one of the biggest platforms about Redbirds MBB. This beat writer has gone out of his way to publicly complain about not receiving special perks and also to block fans who ask some good questions about the state of the program his primary job is to cover. Fans who the department is trying to keep engaged.

I know Adunk. His experience in the sports media business; his passion and support for this program speak volumes. I have zero problems with him asking the questions he is about the beat writer’s job. With a straight face, can you say that Benson does a quality job, like a Wyatt Wheeler or Paul Oren?

Bottom line: we want the best for our program. Offutt’s work as an assistant, or lack thereof, was not best for the program. Like people discussing it or not, the lack of player development and recruiting from that position hurts the program. Poor media coverage is also not helpful for the program. Nobody is asking the local newspaper’s beat writer to write puff pieces about the team, but it is very reasonable to ask for coverage that is mediocre or better.

 

[SlackBooDom]

We’re on an ISU message board talking about the local newspaper beat writer with one of the biggest platforms about Redbirds MBB. This beat writer has gone out of his way to publicly complain about not receiving special perks and also to block fans who ask some good questions about the state of the program his primary job is to cover. Fans who the department is trying to keep engaged.

I know Adunk. His experience in the sports media business; his passion and support for this program speak volumes. I have zero problems with him asking the questions he is about the beat writer’s job. With a straight face, can you say that Benson does a quality job, like a Wyatt Wheeler or Paul Oren?

Bottom line: we want the best for our program. Offutt’s work as an assistant, or lack thereof, was not best for the program. Like people discussing it or not, the lack of player development and recruiting from that position hurts the program. Poor media coverage is also not helpful for the program. Nobody is asking the local newspaper’s beat writer to write puff pieces about the team, but it is very reasonable to ask for coverage that is mediocre or better.

He doesn’t work for the department so why does he care if fans are engaged? I don’t care if he does the best job or the worst job in the world because the idea that someone under the age of 80 needs to read Jim Benson twice a week to know what’s going on with ISU just isn’t true. If he does such a poor job and isn’t Wyatt Wheeler, then being blocked shouldn’t matter. Those who are blocked spend more time complaining about being blocked for social media attention than they do actually caring. It’s a little group of people who all congratulate each other for being blocked and act like it’s the most asinine thing in the world and their feelings are hurt so three people can tell them how ridiculous it is and they feel better because people online gave them attention. It’s weird.