STILLWATER -- Sean Sutton is out as the Oklahoma State basketball coach, the school announced with a press release Tuesday. A press conference is scheduled for 4:45 p.m. Tuesday.
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OSU athletic director Mike Holder said he and Sutton mutually agreed on a new direction for the Cowboy program.
"After discussions with Sean, and after examining the status of our program, Sean and I both concluded that it is in the best interest of both the OSU men's basketball program and Sean to go a different direction at this time," Holder said.
Holder and Sutton met Monday to discuss the status of the program.
“This was an extremely difficult decision, and this is a sad day for me personally and this university," Holder said. "We cannot overlook the contributions Sean has made to OSU as a player, assistant coach and head coach. OSU is deeply appreciative and grateful to Sean as well as his father Eddie, who together revived OSU basketball and made the program a consistent contender for conference, tournament and national championships."
Sean Sutton came to OSU in 1990 as a transfer and spent two seasons as his father's point guard. OSU reached the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 both years.
After a year as an assistant coach at Mississippi, Sean Sutton returned to his father's staff and spent 121/2 seasons as an assistant before taking over for his father.
“Sean played a major role in the ascension of OSU basketball into the top tier of the nation,” said OSU president Burns Hargis. “While this was indeed a tough decision for everyone, we all agree that it is the right decision for the future of the program and for Sean.
"I appreciate the professional way in which Sean and Mike addressed the situation and I am pleased they arrived at a mutual decision on how we should move forward. We appreciate Sean’s professionalism and I know everyone joins me in wishing him only the best in the future."
Sutton was 39-29 in two seasons as head coach, not counting a 4-6 record in February and March 2006 after Eddie took a leave of absence following a drunk-driving incident.
“I want the fans and my OSU family to know how much I have appreciated their support over the last 17 years," Sean Sutton said. "It has been a great experience and I have loved every minute of my time here at OSU. I also want to thank our players, coaches and entire staff for all their hard work and support.
"My family and I will always have fond memories of OSU and I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of this great program and this great university.”
Lou Watkins, chair of the OSU/A&M board of regents, said, "While we respect the decision, we nevertheless admire the work of Sean and Eddie to restore OSU basketball to national prominence. We know this is a difficult time for Sean and for OSU, but we are confident under the leadership of our president and VP of athletics (Holder), OSU will find the right person to lead our program. In the meantime, we wish Sean only the very best in the future.”
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I guess now that that Sean is gone T. Boone and his lackey Holder can raise ticket prices for the basketball games. Holder is as AD is a joke. They fired the wrong person. Someone said he is a good businessw man. Well, he needs to find a good business to run and leave OSU athletics alone.
Basketball is not nearly so hard to build as football. Look at what Gillespie did at Texas AM in two years. Osu can be built back quickly with the right hire. Hate it that Sean couldn't have had success. My guess is that he will take his $Million plus payout, get another head coaching job and have a decent career. Good luck Sean!
Bad move, even if a better coach is hired and things turn around--bad move. Points out one thing though, next year Gundy produces or he's out like a light.
There actually is quite a lot of difference between Mike Gundy's results and Sean Sutton's. The basketball program has been to the Final Four Twice, the Elite Eight, and several Sweet Sixteens. Sean inherited this program and its sold-out arena. This level of success deep into NCAA tournaments would compare to a football program playing in numerous BCS Bowl games. Now the basketball team is not achieving anywhere near that level. Mike took over a program that has never been to a BCS game and has had just a few good years here and there. Anything he does is improvement. Now we say we're unhappy and frustrated with close losses to Texas and Texas A&M. It wasn't long ago that we wouldn't even think of competing with them. Mike's doing a good job. He didn't inherit a BCS program, Sean did.
I can understand maybe splitting ways but maybe after one more year. Honestly I don't think it would have changed much tho. However, I don't understand how they can throw all this money into the football program and continue to keep Gundy...? His little episode was very negative for the school and his teams continue to be just "ok". There have been several good coaches that it took them 3-5 years to really build up a program. But honestly, bball is known at OSU, football, not so much. Yet they are wasting more money and time on football, dreaming that it will be the same caliber as OU. Consitrate on your bball program and throw a little cash at it too... give your coach a chance to drive some change.
Since some are making this about Bedlam, the last 20 years, OU has more wins, series lead, more conference titles, and just as many final fours (2). OSU b-ball isn't anything special right now. The arena is great and the fans can be rowdy, but the new coach must deal with an NBA type owner and GM with curious expectations. If they offer the job to a big time coach, you think he might talk to Eddie Sutton before taking the plunge? Uh, oh!
The worst thing Holder could do now is to go out and hire some piddlydink coach in an intense 24 hour search. I won't be surprised if that's what happens. It's time to fork out the bucks, which O-State has, to get a championship caliber coach.
Mike K. Wasn't he in Monsters Inc.? Did not know he was coaching..... You people are in a dark place. No top flight coach is coming to lose at OSU. We are going to have to get a young, up and coming coach. Time will tell.... But money is not everything to great coaches (they already make tons).....
I'm an OU grad too and this firing is crazy. How can you fire Sutton and keep Gundy? I always respected his dad, but he didn't leave the program in good shape. Sean had a rebuilding on his hands and he gets shot after two years? Bad firing. Too bad.
Lildab. You're smokin crack... And this isn't to slam OSU fans or the bball team, but you are seriously messed up. You said, "osu basketball is alot bigger and better than ou year in and out." Get some facts before you shoot your mouth off. I never said OU BBall was better than OSU but it damn sure is at least on the same level. Take the same time you're using to write the comments and look up the records and final four appearances, BUD!!!
According to a Mark Rogers and Craig Humpreys conversation, and later confirmed by a Berry Tramel e-mail, OSU has finished ahead of OU 1 time since the formation of the Big 12. Saxon quotes stats that say it isn't so. OU leads the all time series. The OU job is probably as good as OSU's don't you think?
L. I am a huge OU fan and dont really care about osu sports . But osu basketball is alot bigger and better than ou year in and out. If you cant see that you are drinking something other than red kool-aid
Now if they will gas Mike Gundy, maybe OSU fans can finally find someone worth all of Picken's money. Probably not. Afterall, it's still OSU....
Oh well. At least now they won't have to hire a kid to follow the coach around, mopping up sweat.
L, I'm a Sooner who doesn't mind seeing OSU succeed in all things execpt beating OU. You'll see nothing emotional out of me on these posts. It's a game to all except who's business it is.
Im sure sean is a nice guy fair coach and all. I didnt think osu should of had him "inherit" the job without seaching for the best candidate at the time. The osu job is a higher stepup than ou so settle down ou nuts. Please find and hire the best there is available!
the field isn't named after snelly's dad, and he didn't spend the past 20 years at the university, small difference. picken's money is turning osu into the rich snobby kid on the block.
patrick, snelly quit, and blake was given 3 years, exactly my point. holder is no castiglione. hes a good golf coach with a wealthy friend. when pickens dies, gundy better be winning big 12 championships or he'll be out the door too.
Once again with the money thing Bob...... When are OSU fans gonna realize that the money is a blessing and a curse. They'll pay a ton of money for the next coach but nere's the rub.... They'll either get a big name guy (like a Tubby Smith, etc) and he'll come in and do whatever the hell he wants and when things go tough and Holder and Co. get pissed, Tubby would say, "whatever... Fire me if you want, but your paying my azz either way." Or they'll overpay for some younger guy that will be a "yes man," which is not what the players at OSY will rspond to...
J-"wealthy arrogance will lead those astray. if you fire a guy after 2 years, the only type of coach taking this job is for the payday. so this is how osu treats family? ouch..." Let's see...OU fired Schnelly after ONE year and fired "family" man Blake after 3 or whatever. That next hire after Blake worked out pretty well, huh?
"L" I guess you missed the Marquette, Illinois, and Southern Illinois games! Sean's greatest weakness is that he lacks the charisma needed to motivate players.
Anyone else think that Holder's arrogance is gonna cost him in the long run??? I understand that coaches being arrogant is acceptable but he's not a coach anymore....
Doug... That's not true at all. That's the one thing his teams never did and if you can't see that than you don't know JACK!!! Sorry but anyone can see that!!
I like Sean Sutton, he was a great player, and great coach for OSU, but his team flat out quit on him during numerous games this year. I think a change was needed. Holder made a great hire in Budke, I trust that he will do the same for men's basketball.
A while ago, I posted that if you gave Holder a truth serum, Sean would be gone and he'd take a sander to "Eddie Sutton Court". Bring out the sander, because that's next.
I do agree that OSU athletics has become about money and winning....isnt that what the fans want? to win? It takes money to win, I dont think that is to hard to see in this day and age. I am as hacked off as anyone about the rising FB ticket prices, but if they can turn the program around and make it worth the price, I will happily eat some crow.
I would be willing to bet that Joe C. would never have agreed to the "designate" deal to begin with. Much less to hire someones son to replace them at a D-1 program.
Sorry to say J, the OSU athletic department isn't about "family." It's about money and winning, and it has been that way since Holder took over. As much as it pains me to say it, we need an AD like Castiglione. He knows how to spot talent and keep his coaches happy....I haven't seen that side of Holder, with the exception of Gundy.
wealthy arrogance will lead those astray. if you fire a guy after 2 years, the only type of coach taking this job is for the payday. so this is how osu treats family? ouch...
As an OSU fan I would think that some of this comes back to Eddie Sutton, (or it should). His actions (The DUI, and auto accident) didnt exactly help his son get off on the right foot with the university, the fans, and NCAA basketball in general. I never thought this was a good hire, for two reasons, I am not a fan of nepotism, and as Holder said, it is very tough to follow a legend, especially when that legend is your father. I have heard all of the reasons, like how many kids left the program, or were kicked off. My question to that is, "who recruited them?" Other programs have had similiar circumstances. That is just part of big time college hoops isnt it?
That being said, I wonder how good the chances will be in finding a suitable replacement. IMO (as worthless as it may be) what OSU basketball needs right now is the Bob Stoops of college B-ball. An up and comer with no baggage.
Calipari will come to Stillwater
Self will come to Stillwater
Roy Williams will come to Stillwater
OSU can get any coach they want. They will be lining up to come to Stillwater. That's just my opinion.
From an OU alum, this firing is a tragedy. How long will the next coach have? One year? I'm afraid money is talking a bit too loud in Stillwater these days. Extension for Gundy and stadium improvements for a football program that has absolutely no tradition like the school's basketball tradition. This just seems wrong.
Yep...Calipari. More money and the Big XII is a better league than the - whatever the name of the conference Memphis is in. It's just a thought...but it fits.
I think it was a good move on OSU's part. Did Sutton deserve the job in the first place just because his dad was the coach? He would never live up to his father's record, and would be continuously compared to it! I think it is good for Sean to make his own road. I am disappointed that Eddie was mentioned so much in this article especillay the DUI business. Eddie should be responsible for his own actions - this article should be focused around SEAN, which makes my point about him never being able to be out of his father's shadow goos or bad here in Oklahoma. Good luck to you Sean.....
OSU constantly strives to be better than they can possibly be. They can fire as many coaches as they want and spend as much of T. Boone Pickens money as possible, but some things just can't be. Sorry guys.
Mike, really? I thought Phil Jackson was going to be the next coach...thanks for setting me straight. I didn't say we would get the best coach in the country, and if you will notice, I made no mention of Self. I just said "big-name" coach. It's my opinion.
J. Calipari to OSU??? Give me a break. Memphis is a top 10 program in the country now. OSU is at best a top 40 program. Get a grip OSU fans, your program stinks and the best you can hope for is a young prospect coach. No established coach with half a brain would leave any decent situtation to come to Stillwater, especially with the threat of the AD selling them out after a couple years. Attendance is way down and the talent sucks.
Chad in Edmond... a 30th Finish in the National Championship last year and 16th the year before is not great for any other university but for Oklahoma State it is a subpar year. And that is 2 consecutive years.
I'm an OU fan through and through, and I think this is an unfortunate deal. I think Sean has done a good job based on the adversity that he has faced in the last couple of years. Sorry, you can't expect instant success...I think this deal was certainly a little premature. Best of luck Sean!
Sean suffered extreme injury as a player at Kentucky...part of his injury was that every bone in his face was broken. As a coach at OSU, he has suffered extreme injury and injustice at the hand of the Athletic Director. ____We need to realize that the pressure cooker he was sitting on this past season and the distraction it brought about for Sean and for his team had to make a negative difference in the performance of his team. The losses of this past season go on Holder's record, not Sean's! The wins were incredible when you consider the conditions under which Sean was forced to coach. The losses...again...go to Holder. Obviously, the rumors that abounded did not miss the ears of Sutton or of his team. How can you expect a coach to have a winning team when he and the team he coaches all know that the have a vote of non-support and the days of the coach are numbered. Not an environment for winning games!! There is power in positive thinking and power in negative thinking. ___BUT... You have to hand it to Mike Holder for achieving his end...yes, quite a self-fulfilling prophecy by Mike Holder....he wanted to fire Sean Sutton and he let the rumors roll and the pressure build and he made sure that he got his win...the dismissal of Sean Sutton. Holder wanted it and he made it happen!
I'm sad to see Sean go so soon. I was disappointed with this season, but we needed to give him a chance to pull a good team together. I sure hope they have something good up their sleeve as a replacement so that we can get the right mix of players signed up. I'm sure Sean will pick himself up and we'll be playing against him in the near future. Good luck Sean!
That's right Mike, Coach K is coming to OSU. Which of course means Jeff "Hellhole" Capel will be in Durham before nightfall. He would choose that job over ou for oh, probably $50/year in salary. Then, ou will be free to pursue Isaiah Thomas.
It's a sad day for the program. Sean will find a coaching job and he will prove what kind of coach he can be without the "Holder bias" looking over his shoulder, but the program suffers because any coach worth his salt would have to think twice about coming here because 2 years is not enough time, especially if you have your star player bolting to the NBA at the start of the season, leaving you with ONE upperclassman starter. Sean recruited some great players, too bad he will not get to coach them, or will he?
THIS SUCKS! I'm with OSU Fan - there better be a big name in the wings. My source says it's J. Callipari (hello source!), but with the news conference on Thursday it's not looking good. Here's hoping Holder knows what he's doing or I'm gonna be aggravated all summer!! Sean deserved another year. Does anyone know what Holder's record was his second year as coach?
My best wishes to you, Sean Sutton! And to your family! Oklahoma State University is truly indebted to your contribution for these many long years....obviously, there were those on staff in high places who did not wish to repay the debt owed to you! Again...I wish you well. May God Be With You, Keep You and Bless You...now and in the future.
After the way Mike Gundy was treated with a raise and
contract extension after his out-of-control rant embarrassed his team, the school and the state of Oklahoma, I am a little surprised at Sean Sutton's
treatment.
It seems to me that Holder should realize that he cut Gundy slack and failed to do the same for Sutton. I feel Sean Sutton was dealt a worse hand to work with and from than was Mike Gundy. I can't see that Mike Gundy has performed better than Sean Sutton. Post season success...some will say..is the difference. Maybe...maybe not. As Christopher, Stillwater, points out the golf team is not in the news. What about John Smith...his team lost the bedlam match...should he be cut some slack? I realize that I am being sarcastic. However, again, I feel that Sean Sutton deserved better and another chance. There was no need to do this at this time. Julie Goodenough's teams failed miserably. Yet, her recruitment has paid off for Kurt Budke. Who knows what might have transpired and what succes might have been achieved if she had been given another year. It takes several seasons to build a team. I am well pleased with the efforts of Kurt Budke and my mentioning the early departure of Julie Goodenough is not intended to take away from what he has done...the great accomplishment his effort and his team have produced. However, we must realize that sometimes the building process reaches fruition after the architect has departed the building site. Sean Sutton deserved at least one more year. The Holder/Gundy/Pickens trio may be in the chips financially, but sometimes it seems their threesome is too exclusive and cozy ....who will they let in their clubhouse when Sean is gone. Will that person reap the results of Sean's effort? It's possible. Personally, I wish Holder had never left his coaching position. There were others who could have done a fine job as AD. At least one good and experienced candidate was bypassed in order to reward Boone Pickens' hunting buddy.
Naive as I may be, I don't think Holder would get rid of Sutton without a big-name coach waiting in the wings. He runs the athletic department like a business, and this will reflect a good business decision IF we bring in a big name. I will gladly eat crow if we bring in a sub-par coach, but I am optimistically hoping that this is the right decision. My guess is that even if Sean was given one more year, he would be out next year. It is widely known that Holder doesn't like Sutton (either one).
Coming from s diehard Sooner Fan, best wishes Coach Sutton. As for OSU's Athletic Director, "What a Joke", and who's on Mr. Pickens short list to be the next coach.
Mike Gundy gets an contract extension, and Sean Sutton gets the boot? Look at both records and explain, please. Come on, Holder! What's the real agenda? Maybe we're going to hire some nobody for $10 grand a year so we can pay Gundy more! SIGN ME; A REAL OSU FAN, MAD AND DISAPPOINTED!
OSU fan-I respectfully disagree, but I really hope you are right. Since they've decided to make the move, I hope they either have or are working on hiring a big-name, successful coach and don't end up with some speculative, mid-major hire or else we could end up right back where we are, or worse. In other words, if we are going to make the move, let's make it a big one.
I am not opposed to the release of Coach Sutton. However, I do believe that our National Powerhouse Men's Golf Program has had 2 subpar years recently and it is time to get a new coach. Coach Holder hand picked his successor just as Eddie did and Sean only got 2 years. Therefore, If Coach Mike McGraw cannot produce another National Championship this year we should have another coaching search as well.
"Mutually agreed"? That is comical. I can't see him agreeing to leave but then again they are paying him for three years without having to do any work.
I guess now they can go after Bill Self, or maybe Roy Williams or Mike Krzyzewski. As great as OSU is who wouldn't want to coach there. Sean is smart for walking away from these degenerates with pockets full of money.
Sean Sutton soundoff 04/01/2008 Amid reports that Sean Sutton is out as Oklahoma State's basketball coach, share your thoughts.
Poll: Did OSU make the right move? 04/01/2008
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88
Oh well. At least now they won't have to hire a kid to follow the coach around, mopping up sweat.
Sean is still a boy.
That being said, I wonder how good the chances will be in finding a suitable replacement. IMO (as worthless as it may be) what OSU basketball needs right now is the Bob Stoops of college B-ball. An up and comer with no baggage.
Self will come to Stillwater
Roy Williams will come to Stillwater
OSU can get any coach they want. They will be lining up to come to Stillwater. That's just my opinion.
contract extension after his out-of-control rant embarrassed his team, the school and the state of Oklahoma, I am a little surprised at Sean Sutton's
treatment.
I guess now they can go after Bill Self, or maybe Roy Williams or Mike Krzyzewski. As great as OSU is who wouldn't want to coach there. Sean is smart for walking away from these degenerates with pockets full of money.
Let the guy have a chance to turn things around.