So, I’m minding my own business today hanging out at work, and an email from a co-worker stating that Ron Prince will resign. Welp needless to say I was shocked, but not by that much.  The events that transpired followed very awkward day, from going from resigning to firing to the weird as hell conference call, I’m still left wondering just what exactly is going on.  Did Ron Prince get a fair chance?  Did K-State fans get a fair evaluation?  Is Bob Krause for real?

So I blipped out over IM and Twitter about Ron Prince resigning and proceeded to knock out the rest of the tasks ahead of me.  I got done early, and puttered out of the work parking lot around 4:30 pm.  I was already shocked that the decision came so quick.  Even last Saturday I said the picket line was firing up.  So I punched like crazy to find a decent sports radio station to catch up on the news.  Both KC sports radio stations had the conference call live.

It was my first real experience listening to a live breaking news conference call on the radio and it was a super strange experience.  Questions were fielded and answers spilled out.  Here’s some of what I caught:  Ron will payed out about 1.5 million bucks from his contract.  He’ll finish out the year coaching the team.  Not winning the North was the deciding factor.  Potential bowl talk will happen as it comes.  There were two things that popped out that was very interesting.

First, Neil Jones asked Ron Prince about former players of Bill Snyder.  He stated that a former player of Snyder’s confided to Jones that many of the players from that era had their back turned to them from the Prince run.  Ron Prince answered, stating that many of the All-Americans names are pasted in that athletic office when you roll into the lobby.  Ron also said that Bill Snyder is involved weekly with the program, even showing up around the complex.

What stuck out in my head was an experience I ran into at a Hooter’s after the Danny’s Bar & Grill barspot.  I rolled over there with some K-Staters and sat next to a group of people getting ready to eat some wings.  When we fussed over playing the K-State vs Montana State game, they picked up our vibe and went right with us.  During the game we found out that they were a couple of former coaches and players for Snyder under K-State.

The player, Al Jones, actually went to school with my older brothers over at Shawnee Mission South.  When we were talking about K-State, and more specifically Ron Prince, he laid it on the ground for us.  He pretty much said he will not set foot in Manhattan until Ron Prince was out.  We didn’t believe him obviously, until he told us of Andre Coleman.  Coleman used to play for the Chargers and went to the K-State vs KU game but Ron Prince refused to give him a field pass for the game.

Coleman ended up buying a ticket for the game.   Somehow, he was down in the front toward the KU side of the field.  Mark Mangino, a former assistant of Snyder’s, saw Coleman and asked him why he wasn’t on the field.  When Coleman told Mangino that it was because Ron Prince refused, Mangino yanked off his field pass and gave it to Coleman.  Andre Coleman watched the game from the KU side of the field.  We didn’t believe him then, but now I can see some truth to this.

The other thing that stuck out is what Kevin Kietzman did to Bob Krause during the interview.  Kietz asked Krause why he didn’t wait until the end of the season to do it.  After some shuffling and punting by Krause, Kietz went on the state that he must have had a plan in action to fire Prince today.  Krause confirmed such a plan.  He also said that he wants to hire a coach with head coaching experience and he wants to do it by the end of season, thanks to some smart questions by Kietz.

There’s no way a current college head coach can take a job and then be ready to coach another team at the end of the season.  The reporters smelled blood and pressed Krause into saying that he was considering Bill Snyder but he hasn’t talked to him yet.  Krause also stated that Snyder will be involved in the hiring process as much as possible.  Krause is out of his league here and the constraints he put on the job search made it real easy to guess candidates.

Did Ron Prince get a fair deal?  Granted he kinda snake oiled some things and yes he has yet to have a marquee wing this year, but after listening to the conference call, I’m not sure he was to blame fully.  I pretty much called that the KU game sealed the deal, but 2 3/4 years worth of work doesn’t make a legacy.  He was still playing with Snyder’s kids.  This seemed a little knee jerk and Ron Prince, after call came out looking alot better.

Did K-State fans get a fair deal?  So now we are coach less again after this season.  What coach will come by and take the reigns when the expectation is so high, you don’t have a chance to recruit your boys?  Not any good ones. Are we left to languish for a couple of more years before the program turns around again?  The K-State legacy is a small one, but the expectation must be kept.  It was the greatest turn around in college, dare I say all, sports history.  The fans have a right to expect more and this kind of move throws the program into the wind.

So where do we go from here?  Welp the names are being tossed out.  Jim Levitt, Gary Patterson, Brent Venables, Bill Snyder, and Phillip Fulmer are all likely or wannabe candidates.  Whether or not we get them is another story.  For the rest of the season, will the kids play inspired ball?  I want to say Mizzou better watch out, but the staff are already writing off this game and hoping to be bowl eligible by winning the last two.  Bowl eligible in the Big 12 will take 7 wins however.  Especially if you don’t have a marquee win.

I was gonna post about the ‘Secret’ Ron Prince had against Mizzou this weekend.  I was gonna say how goofy it sounded and how amateur it felt.  Well after what happened today, it looked like he was punting the game and getting ready to announce the change.  After Bob Krause and his lack of tact let loose some crazy speculation, I’m gonna go ahead and say the whole Kansas State Football program is punting for the next couple of years.  I’m going to sip some Franzia and reminisce about the Big 12 Championship game rout.