Even though both Steve and Steve-N posted almost concurrently, it really doesn't matter who you were talking to. You fly off the handle at someone who doesn't substantiate their claims, and then proceed to make baseless claims about "the major athletic sports departments at OU". Triple-posting your grammatically incorrect, misspelled drivel only makes it worse.

Thanks for the double click advice, Steven, but the webpage was screwed up. I wasn't even talking to you, scroll down and see that I said Steve. He is not you, you are STEVEN. Thanks. And your post makes no sense, and has little to do with what I was saying.

It's just a game. Div I sports are a racket, scholar-athletes my rear.

It will be a shame to give a 5 year contract, then after 2 years fire them. What fool coach will want to accept that type of deal then only have 2 years to perform. They will say, "and he was one of their own!"

Jacob - Maybe the OU folks are right. I graduated from OSU, but you jump to conclusions about my allegiance based on the tone of a comment. There is a difference between objectivity and criticism. You can juxtapose "rule-breaking" in Stillwater with OU all you want, but how 'bout somewhere like Kansas or Texas? How many times have you heard of Brandon Rush or DJ Augustin getting in trouble? Maybe my buddy Marcus Dove should get a mentor? And who on the current team is not one of Sean's recruits? Finally, before I forget, you need to take some of the advice I provided J earlier. You might double-click in windows, but you usually single-click on the web.

J in Tulsa: You must have mistaken me for someone else at McDonald's. I don't know many OSU alumni - or MBAs - that work there. I don't even eat there - unlike you, I prefer to use utensils.

Phil in Dallas...I'm with you 100%...It's unfortunate that this has happened...But this program needs to move forward...and fast...we need a proven winner, a coach with some personality and one who knows how to build a program. Then we need to keep them...Gundy should be next...He has a losing record in his three years as the head football...he needs to deliver this year or be gone...NO EXCUSES....Our School...My school...has to quit accepting mediocrity as the status quo....if we truly want to be a winning institution...then we need to do the things that winning institutions do.

Is anybody else having trouble posting on the other NewsOK article about Sean being fired?

I am an Alum and follower of A&M/OSU for 60+ years. If we are really interested in having a good basketball and football program, then go ahead and fire Sean Sutton, but at least fire Gundy. Gundy will never be more than a 500 coach who will take OSU to a NOTHING Bowl each year just because the Big 12 has to have a representative in a bowl. But don't fire Sean without firing Gundy. Then go out and get some big time coaches and give them the money to stay rather than come to a coaches graveyard. I'm sure if we had put the dollars out there and really got behind the program Les Miles would have stayed.
Phil

I am an Alum and follower of A&M/OSU for 60+ years. If we are really interested in having a good basketball and football program, then go ahead and fire Sean Sutton, but at least fire Gundy. Gundy will never be more than a 500 coach who will take OSU to a NOTHING Bowl each year just because the Big 12 has to have a representative in a bowl. But don't fire Sean without firing Gundy. Then go out and get some big time coaches and give them the money to stay rather than come to a coaches graveyard. I'm sure if we had put the dollars out there and really got behind the program Les Miles would have stayed.
Phil

I am an Alum and follower of A&M/OSU for 60+ years. If we are really interested in having a good basketball and football program, then go ahead and fire Sean Sutton, but at least fire Gundy. Gundy will never be more than a 500 coach who will take OSU to a NOTHING Bowl each year just because the Big 12 has to have a representative in a bowl. But don't fire Sean without firing Gundy. Then go out and get some big time coaches and give them the money to stay rather than come to a coaches graveyard. I'm sure if we had put the dollars out there and really got behind the program Les Miles would have stayed.
Phil

Per ESPN.com....

Source close to the OSU program says Sean Sutton will resign.

Other than the Fab Five, What other teams have been highly successful with as many freshmen getting significant minutes? OSU has 5.

Is it possible that Holder is working to get his next coach in the fold before he pulls the trigger? I think OSU BB is a nice program, but is it a premier job nationally? Worst scenario would be to fire Sean and have to settle for a flyer. See Nebraska football after firing Solich.

KWTV is reporting that Sutton has been fired...

http://www.kwtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8099973

Sports Animal is reporting that reports are surfacing that he has been fired. They are attempting to confirm.

KWTV is reporting Sutton has been fired...

KWTV is reporting Sutton has been fired...

Steve, funny you talk about OSU breaking rules. What were broken? All you have to do is look no further then the major athletic sports departments at OU to define "breaking rules". You, my OU friend, are a moron. Anyways, Sean needs one more year to prove if he can win with all his recruits. If they part ways, OSU better have a KNOCKOUT hire. If they don't, it will hurt OSU for a few years more.

Steve, funny you talk about OSU breaking rules. What were broken? All you have to do is look no further then the major athletic sports departments at OU to define "breaking rules". You, my OU friend, are a moron. Anyways, Sean needs one more year to prove if he can win with all his recruits. If they part ways, OSU better have a KNOCKOUT hire. If they don't, it will hurt OSU for a few years more.

Steve, you are talking about OSU breaking rules...Are you kidding me? Look no further then almost every major sport at OU if you want to talk about breaking rules, moron. My gosh, can't even believe the stupidity of OU fans sometimes. Anyways, Sean deserves another season, but rumblings of the Sutton's and Boone not getting along may play a role in what happens today or tomorrow. We will see. I say, with this young team, give Sean one more year. We did it in football, and Sean as proven he can recruit. Give him one more year.

j - "Is hiring a new coach now any less of a gamble than retaining Sean for one more season?" Yes J it's much LESS of a gamble. Because we know the results of Sean coaching this team - and they're not good. And what do you really think one more year is going to accomplish with Sweaty Sutton at the helm? There are no game-changing recruits coming in so we'll have Thomas and Adams in the post still. Eaton will still be turning it over 5-7 times per game. It'll be another NIT one-and-done. It's time for a change.

Irregardless of respective opinions on whether Sean Sutton should be granted another year, I believe the empirical evidence speaks for itself. The Oklahoma State athletic department has decided to explore other options. The time delay is just too great. Why would OSU go through all of this angst and division if its intentions were to retain the man? They would have completed some type of minimal, modest agreement and moved on.

J from Tulsa, I am not totally sold that 1 more year is too long. What if Sean has a decent year nexy year....one that isnt great but is at least okay? Then it would be hard to fire him after that and then 1 year has turned into 2 and then the cycle goes on. I think that Rod is crazy to give every Coach at least 4 years. That would be crazy for a good program to just lose 4 years because they want to give everyone a "shot." A good coach should be able to show quality improvement after 1-2 years. Look at Capel. His record isn't a ton better this year from last year, BUT it is obvious that his OU team has drastically improved this year. Yes they had many games that their offense was a no show, but with the overall improvement and the recruiting for this year....OU has improved a lot. The same cannot be said for the OSU program. It has not improved and there is no sign that it will in the near future.

Holder wants to do it softly because he knows his tail is up for chopping next. Does he really want to bet his future on Sean Sutton succeeding. From what I have seen if I were Holder, I would coach them myself or start interviewing for a new job, somewhere tropical. Who would want T-Bone looking over every shoulder anyway. It is a bad situation where if the wrong decisions are made it will be a longer road back. I don't think Sean has made any progress. They will be in the cellar of the Big 12 south if they retain Sutton. I don't like watching teams who lack whatever makes them sacrifice and play hard, that is OSU mens basketball the last 2 seasons. OU fell off some, but they got up and got it right back. Sean needs to consult with Switzer about how to motivate a young man, he can do it but he has to have the right help. All the money in the world can't but will and desire, or bring it out of a man. He needs to become someone who knows how. Then the rest will fall into place.

Steven - Gundy wasn't the heir apparent? Really? So Miles actually wanted to name his primary competition the offensive coordinator? Riiiiight.

I still think ANY new Head Coach deserves, by minimum, 4 years to demonstrate what he/she can or can't do. I don't believe it's any "death knell" to a program, even if the coach ends up with a lot of L's and gets canned after 4 years. It's the right thing to do....not only for the coach but for the school. The LAST thing we want to get into is a revolving door scenario with coaches. Take your time and make a good decision when picking the next coach and stick with it.
I may have had reservations about Sean getting the job...but he got it and I'm more than willing to give him the 4 years to get this ship turned around.

I guess the problem is part of societies problem today....instant gratification. Got to have it now.

Steve - I know McDonald's has Wi-Fi access now, but don't you have some burgers to flip? You forgot to give me napkins last time I drove through - get it right. Brandon, James - Do you really think two years is enough? Is one more year too much to give? Are you ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that Sean can't coach and/or lead? Is hiring a new coach now any less of a gamble than retaining Sean for one more season? What if you're wrong? Worth rolling the dice right now? Are you SURE?

If Sean Sutton had not been ordained "head coach designate", he would not have succeeded his father as coach after the Eddie debacle. Every interview with Boone after that incident shows him to be as terse as can be. Although Eddie has "repented", the incident casts a pall over the program integrity-wise.

Beyond integrity issues, there is also the issue of results. OSU is 0.458 (they finished last season 5-10, and were 17-16 this year) dating back to January of last year. Each of the last three seasons have culminated in embarrassing first-round losses in the NIT (!) to basketball juggernauts SIU, Marist, and Miami (FL, not Ohio).

People make comparisons between Sean Sutton and Gundy, but those are not very similar. Gundy was not Les Miles' heir apparent, nor was he raised in the football-equivalent presence of figures like Iba & Sutton. Moreover, OSU basketball enjoyed a much higher success rate than the football program at the start of the Holder regime.

I think the Budke comparison offers some proof that programs can be turned around quickly, but I also think he has benefited from Andrea Riley's surprising success. Aside from her effort, every other player on the team was demolished by her LSU counterpart. I don't say that to bring anybody down, but to point out that the ladies still have room or improvement.

As much as I would like to see continuity here, I believe the late string of uninspired, uncompetitive losses placed Sean Sutton back on the hot seat. The combination of lingering integrity questions and poor results render his status suspect at best.

PS: J in Tulsa, try to click 'Submit' just once. It's funny how that 'innernat' thing works.

HAHAHAHA! Yes, j, the "reason Sean Sutton was hired was because of Kelvin Sampson." It never ceases to amaze the lengths Aggies will go to to blame all their troubles on OU. No, Sean's hiring had nothing to do with Eddie being treated like a God in Stillwater (look no further than the way people there called the athletic department instead of the police when they saw their drunk coach take off in his car, endangering lives." Eddie brought attention-starved OSU fans the national spotlight a couple of times, helping (for a short while) to assuage your jealousy toward OU. Anything that would continue that, whether it involves breaking laws or rules or hiring Eddie's son would be acceptable to Aggies. You have only yourselves to blame for the present situation OSU basketball finds itself in. So what do Aggies do in those circumstances? Blame OU, of course. As I said, HAHAHAHA!

This is in response to J (from Tulsa). Why do you bring up Coach K's situation in this case. Coach K was not part of the Duke program before he got hired. He was an average coach at Army with a record of 73-59. Duke saw something in him and gave him a chance. He took them to the NIT in his 1st season and then had 2 tough seasons after that. One major psoitive about Coach K is that he develops these young boys inot fine, respectable me. Can anyone tell me the last time that a Duke basketball player has been in trouble with the law or the last time Duke has had to kick off "studs" from their team...i.e. Torre Johnson, Keith Brumbaugh, Roderick Flemming, Gary Flowers, and others. Sean has lost many players over the last few years and has had trouble with many others...Obi, Coop(transfer), Curry, Harris, and more. His recruting is not up to par as of this years class and last years class. I know that his 2005 and 2006 classes were really good. Last years class is still up for debate with Ibrahima being a great find, and Brad Garrett's shooting. James Anderson is not going to be any better next year if he does not get a quicker release on his shot. He can rebound well, but his shot is too slow and it was evident after the Pittsburg game. He is too slow and will have to get better to get a clean look at the hole...or at least to be able to knock it down in someon's face. He has not done the job and needs to move on. Another thing about Duke, after those two bad seasons, they reeled of 23 STRAIGHT NCAA Tournament appearances with 10 ACC trophies, 10 Final Fours, and 3 NCAA Championships. Self would be crazy to come to OSU and we do not need to get our hopes up. Let's find a great coach out there that would be actually interested in coming here and let's get this basketball program turned around. The boy's down in Norman are doing a good job so far with their program. They went to the NCAA this year and with the good recruiting class this year they can really improve next year. OSU has to keep up with the Sooners and to do that we need a new coach.

J- College basketball is full of great basketball minds. Their are hundreds of assistant coaches in the college ranks that know as much about basketball as any head coach. I think that Sean knows alot about basketball X's and O's, is a good recruiter, has learned from the best and has a great legacy. However, I'm not sure he's a great leader, and that is the main difference between average coaches and great coaches. Can you inspire your people to exceed expectations. A leader can get more out of their players than even the players know they're capable of doing. There are many examples of coaches showing instant improvement with the same players just due to their ability to inspire and lead. I'm not sure that Sean has that part of the equation. Also, in terms of the potential negative recruiting if Sean is let go, even if he is retained for another year, that will be used as a tool to recruit against us because this book won't be closed until Sean gets us back among the elite in the Big XII and deep into the NCAA Tourney.

Holder has no right to be "miffed" at how anyone was hired after being hand fed the AD job by Boone.

Holder/Sutton history was two kings in one kingdom; now Holder is the king and will clear out people that aren't "his guys". Like most business.

Raymond, how quickly we forget. The reason Sean named the eventual successor to Eddie was to counter the negative recruiting by the likes of Kalvin Samsung and others who were trying to scare kids off by pointing out that Eddie was close to retirement. Not to mention we had just gone to the Final Four and it was widely known that Sean had a big part in the success of OSU basketball. It was a novel approach, and a gamble, but it worked. We signed the #1 recruiting class in the nation (yes I know that class never materialized for a variety of reasons). Sean has earned his opportunity, but that opportunity materialized in the midst of unforeseen chaos. He deserves one more year.

Holder has a right to be miffed at the way Sean was hired. Eddie pulled a fast one on the Bd of Regents. A job like OSU BB should be open to other alumni and top coaches, not just the outgoing coach's son. He's had his chance, now let's open it up and see who is interested. Eddie was a fine player/coach, but it isn't his program. It's time to look elsewhere.

James, your logic is flawed. If you are going to hold Sean responsible for Eddie's last season (1st round NIT loss), then you must give equal credit to Sean for the season before that (Sweet Sixteen) and the season before that (Final Four)... etc, etc. Where do you draw the line? You can't just cut it off at whatever point supports your position. The fact is that Sean has only had two seasons AT THE HELM. It is unfair to include the last 1/8 (or whatever it was) of the season before he was the head coach, especially considering the circumstances. And if you remember correctly, the team actually showed improvement after Eddie's departure. The only fair way to evaluate Sean is by considering ONLY his tenure as HEAD coach. So now I ask you and all others who may be leveling premature judgment - Is two years a reasonable time period to give to a coach who inherited a substandard team? Is that fair? What if Duke had fired Coach K after two years? Don't get me wrong, I am as frustrated as anyone with the results on the hardwood. But can we really be so sure that Sean isn't cut out for it? I have a strong suspicion that Sean just may turn out be a GREAT coach. Think about his life - absorbing Sutton/Iba basketball knowledge from the day he could talk. Don't kid yourself into believing he doesn't know basketball. We have him now - what's one more year to give him a chance to rise above the chaos of the last three seasons? Every coach has struggled at times, including the great ones. Remember OSU's slide after the 1995 Final Four? Nobody was calling for Eddie's head then. Sean deserves one more year. If there's no improvement, so be it. But for those who wish him gone now, I say be careful what you wish for because you might just get it.

James, your logic is flawed. If you are going to hold Sean responsible for Eddie's last season (1st round NIT loss), then you must give equal credit to Sean for the season before that (Sweet Sixteen) and the season before that (Final Four)... etc, etc. Where do you draw the line? You can't just cut it off at whatever point supports your position. The fact is that Sean has only had two seasons AT THE HELM. It is unfair to include the last 1/8 (or whatever it was) of the season before he was the head coach, especially considering the circumstances. And if you remember correctly, the team actually showed improvement after Eddie's departure. The only fair way to evaluate Sean is by considering ONLY his tenure as HEAD coach. So now I ask you and all others who may be leveling premature judgment - Is two years a reasonable time period to give to a coach who inherited a substandard team? Is that fair? What if Duke had fired Coach K after two years? Don't get me wrong, I am as frustrated as anyone with the results on the hardwood. But can we really be so sure that Sean isn't cut out for it? I have a strong suspicion that Sean just may turn out be a GREAT coach. Think about his life - absorbing Sutton/Iba basketball knowledge from the day he could talk. Don't kid yourself into believing he doesn't know basketball. We have him now - what's one more year to give him a chance to rise above the chaos of the last three seasons? Every coach has struggled at times, including the great ones. Remember OSU's slide after the 1995 Final Four? Nobody was calling for Eddie's head then. Sean deserves one more year. If there's no improvement, so be it. But for those who wish him gone now, I say be careful what you wish for because you might just get it.

You want improvement after only two years? Look no further than Kurt Budke and what he has done for O-State women's basketball. I don't see Sutton and the OSU men improving.

You misspelled "resolution" in the first paragraph.

Based on the last 2 or 3 years, who of you could say that Sean Sutton deserves a contract extension or raise? Holder can do nothing and Sutton has 3 years remaining on his contract. As I have said before, don't hold your breath until things get better at OSU basketball.

Let me start off by saying that I'm not anti-Sean. However, I think that saying that Sean has only been the HC @ OSU (while factually correct) is a bit misleading. One of the reasons for the justification of naming Sean as the HC prior to Eddie leaving was due to the fact that Sean had been running practices, recruiting, calling plays etc. for several years, and the transition would be seamless. We were lead to believe that Sean had been in a sense running the program while Eddie was still there anyway. Also, he did take over the team mid-season when Eddie decided to drink and drive. So, although he was officially just the interim coach, he wa still in charge and responsible for our poor finish that year. I just don't think you can have it both ways. The main reason for promoting Sean, was so we didn't have to go through a rebuilding process. Well, we did that and now we're rebuilding anyway. When he took the reigns, we were among the top 3-4 teams in the Big XII. Now we are in the bottom half, and based on our recruiting to date, I don't see it getting much better.

Coaches will ALWAYS protect their own. Do you really think Rick Barnes or anyone else would ever say anything negative about a peer--warranted or not? Will never happen. Yes, it is not that great for recruiting, but it is still early. I like to think he is waiting for the tourney to end. Maybe to talk with Self, or as one of the locals up here stated, Lavin. He is also under contract until the end of the tourney with CBS/ESPN, whoever. I could live with him as our coach. Regardless, Holder has yet to hire/fire anybody. Talk about giving Sutton a chance, I think the first trip around the block deserves a little bit of leeway. A little bit. Rod, four years of a bad coach will not only bring down a program but will destroy it for 20 years. Four years is an entire recruiting class come and gone. Two years. If after two years SUBSTANTIAL progress is not made, get out. All excuses about "someone else's team" are null and void. I do not agree with it, but I will give a basketball coach one year to make his adjustments. By the start of the second year, at an absolute maximum, the program is his/hers to be fully responsible.

I understand your position Jack, but the fact is we've lost in the first round of the NIT for 2 straight years and thats not acceptable for OSU BB. However, I believe that Sean (as any new coach hired) should get a minimum of 4 years to provide them every opportunity to turn the ship around and see what their capabilities are. Sean may indeed be a good coach, but to date hasn't been demonstrating it via W's and L's, which is the bottomline in any sport.

I think Holder's position is putting future recruiting in jeopardy. It is very much an ego trip. If he had the best interests of OSU in mind he would not play this out this way. He has the advice of some of the most successful coaches in America that have universally endorsed Sean as one of the best coaches around. Sean should be give the chance to play out his contract. Anything less than that would cause any coach that would think of coming to OSU to be leery. It makes OSU look like it doesn't honor it's commitments.