Could Kansas State (62) vs. A&M (14) impact the governor’s race?
The issue here is cronyism in the 2008 hiring of football coach Mike Sherman, whose brief tenure has so far been, shall we say, less than a spectacular success, culminating in K-State’s pasting of the Aggies last Saturday, a game in which oddsmakers had made A&M the favorite.
Brent Zwerneman, who covers the Aggies for the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News, blogged in June about how Sherman got the job:
Who do you think is most responsible for second-year A&M football coach Mike Sherman being on campus? Let’s put it this way: Steve McKinney [son of A&M chancellor Mike McKinney, a longtime Perry friend and political ally -- pb] played for Sherman when Sherman was the offensive line coach at A&M, and again when Sherman served as the Houston Texans’ offensive coordinator just prior to landing the Aggies gig.
Sherman recruited Seth McKinney [Steve's younger brother, and, like Steve, an NFL lineman -- pb] out of Austin’s Westlake High before Sherman left for the NFL in the spring of 1997. The ties between Sherman and the McKinneys run deep and wide. Why do you think Sherman was athletic director Bill Byrne’s only candidate for the job?
A few days later, a Zwerneman blog was the source of an anecdote about Perry that has received wide circulation:
These are strange days, indeed, for the leadership of Texas A&M, and like all things Aggie, at least some of it relates to football.
For instance, last August a few of us reporters were standing in the south end zone of Kyle Field, waiting to interview first-year coach Mike Sherman after practice.
Gov. Rick Perry had attended that day’s practice, and also greeted Sherman near the end zone. A reporter, smiling widely, asked Sherman if he had voted for Perry in the last election.
Perry turned to Sherman and said, “Of course you voted for me. Who do you think got you hired? I control this place.“ [bold face added]
The problem for Perry is that he and McKinney are not just messing with academics. No one is going to get too excited over who is president of the university, or who is vice-president of student affairs, or who is vice-president of research for the A&M system. (McKinney forced the president out and filled the other two positions with Perry cronies.) But when Perry and McKinney dictate the hiring of the football coach, and the Aggies get slaughtered by an inferior team, and the program is headed in the wrong direction, Aggies are going to be up in arms by the tens of thousands, and if they think that Sherman was hired on the basis of friendship instead of merit, there is going to hell to pay for it. The bill could come due in the voting booth. This is Texas and football matters more than politics.
Tagged: a&m, Bill Byrne, chancellor mike mckinney, mike mckinney, Mike Sherman, rick perry, Texas A&M football.
Pat says:
Sheesh. I knew it was bad, but Perry’s got a finger in every pie ever baked. He’s here, he’s there, he’s everywhere. He’s the Eggman.
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CollinWatcher says:
I heard Perry’s board of Regents at UT got Mack Brown hired too — Scandal!
Hook ‘em.
If the BCS screws UT over one more time, I’m gonna hold Huffines/Perry personally responsible.
What a pathetic thread this is. I thought we were busy pushing for tax increases. . .
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Anonymous says:
LOL!
Well, Paul, since KBH can’t land a punch, you might as well try something like this. I would say it’s below-the-belt, but I don’t doubt the storyline at all – it’s typical Perry. I’m just having a hard time seeing 62-14 K-State impacting the governor’s race.
The real issue is cronyism and Perry’s use of the governorship to benefit himself and his political supporters. Now, if you tie this to the Forensic Science Commission, Texas Tech regents, etc. and keep it in the press you might get somewhere. Problem is – KBH has some of the same dirty laundry, whether real or simply perceived.
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Shad N. Freud says:
add this to the wound…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFc4DC-im54
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Anonymous Reply:
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:36 am
Shouldn’t they be kicked out of the Corps for violating “Don’t ask, don’t tell”?
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Emeyekaye says:
Let’s give somecredit to K-State shall we? Bill Snyder is still one of the most dynamic coaches in the game… And he was en fuego this past weekend.
I actually believe the video of the yell leaders is more embarrassing, and potentially more harmful, for the Governor (thanks ”Shad N. Freud” – if that is your real name).
As an Aggie, I would vote for cheerleaders to replace yell leaders… T
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End Guard Tackle says:
Paul, stick to pretending to be a political reporter and please don’t try to talk about sports. You are just embarrassing yourself.
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paulburka Reply:
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:50 am
I bet I know a lot more about sports than you know about politics.
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Harold Cook Reply:
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:52 am
ok now that’s just funny. Advantage Burka!
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Anonymous Reply:
October 22nd, 2009 at 5:10 pm
amen. advantage burka. funny.
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Stevie F. says:
Burka’s posting is a great illustration of the degree to which Perry seems to view Texas government his personal empire.
This might be different if Perry’s judgment was better. However, it’s in football where we have a clear scoreboard result that we can see the result of Perry’s tinkering.
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MonkeyMan says:
I sure hope the Perry campaign is paying for the blog responses — if not, you guys need to negotiate a better deal.
Regardless of whether the team sucks, or the coach is a political hire, what kind of governor would be so arrogant to say “I control this place”? If there’s an argument that he was misquoted or it never took place, so be it, but you have to question the judgment of a governor who would think this was appropriate to say in the first place.
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Moderate Reply:
October 22nd, 2009 at 4:39 pm
I agree – particularly in the presence of a reporter. I’m a former student of Texas A&M and when the subject of Perry comes up, I am always saying “I know he’s an Aggie and all, but I just can’t stand him.” I worked in the same state office building with him when he was ag commissioner. When riding on the elevator with him, he would always see the ring and strike up a conversation. In fact, he introduced himself to me twice in one day. I wouldn’t expect him to know me a week later or anything, but the same day? Always knew he was a big head with pretty hair but full of air.
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Jamie says:
The Aggies will never be good in football. They never really were good in football, other than a temporary “UT didn’t have its act together” timeframe.
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john david crow says:
Im particularly disgusted wtih Perry’s playcalling. On offense the Aggies need to run the ball more.
Hopefully Perry will recognize Tech’s weakness against the inside blitz. Potts is a lot less mobile than Sheffield and he tends to hold onto the ball a bit too long at times. Perry needs to call the dog to put defensive pressure in the A gap early in the game.
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Anonymous says:
This is so pathetic. The blog has stooped so low as to take hearsay from blogs, with no proof, as gospel fact??? Any jackass can put together a blog and make up any goofy story and now Texas Monthly is going to speculate about the impact of these goofy, far-fetched statements on a campaign. It’s going to be a long few months if that’s the case.
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paulburka Reply:
October 22nd, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Thanks to Anonymous for allowing me to use one of my favorite lines. Repeat after me:
This is a blog.
This is not the New York Times.
It is not a violation of the penal code, or the Ten Commandments, to publish hearsay from other blogs.
This is particularly the case when the blog was written by the Aggie beat writer for a major Texas daily newspaper.
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Anonymous Reply:
October 22nd, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Yeah well crap like this debases you and the magazine that hosts this site.
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Louie Gohmert's Nazi Corpse Bride Reply:
October 22nd, 2009 at 6:04 pm
HOW DARE A BLOG ABOUT POLITICS QUOTE A BLOG ABOUT SPORTS?!
Bemused says:
Good posting, Paul. Not because I don’t like Perry, I don’t, but because it’s a little different and easier to understand than the state’s finances.
Along those same lines, an unconventional criticism, I would like to suggest another reason why I think Perry should and will go. I saw a photo of him the other day: bags under his eyes, and he looked jowly. This is not a very scientific description, but he looked corrupt. He looked like he has been at the feeding trough too long. One of Perry’s great assets through the years has been his personal appearance. He was an attractive man (by Texas standards) but that’s no longer the case. Now he looks like, forgive me, a lobbyist who’s been at the capitol too long, drinking too much and eating the wrong thing. This raises the question of personal appearance in politics. KBH was an attractive woman when she was in the House and a TV reporter; I haven’t seen a photo of her recently. Presumably, however, now, decades later, no one will be voting for her for governor based upon her looks. This may be one of those rare cases in which a woman is not being judged by her appearance but the man is.
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CantStandHim says:
The Gov has made 4,759 appointments since taking office:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6674054.html
They are all his loyal footsoldiers, as we all know what happens otherwise.
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Briscoe Democrat Reply:
October 22nd, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Can’t Stand Him, Perry is also the SEVENTH Texas governor to serve longer than any of their predecessors and if he wins in 2010 (more likely since the KKKers control the TX GOP), he will outlast everyone by serving 14 years, which will tie records held by Nelson Rockefeller of NY State, William Milliken of Michigan, Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin, James R. Thompson of Illinois.
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Lee Nichols says:
Damn, Rick Perry’s responsible for keeping Aggie football down? Maybe it’s time I switched parties and gave him my vote. Hook ‘em!
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Briscoe Democrat says:
Wasn’t Mack Brown hired as the UT coach under Bush Jr’s tenure as governor back in 1998 ?
He’s NOT Perry’s b*****.
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Anonymous says:
How pathetic…what a loss for the Aggies and for this state…people wake UP!
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Cow Droppings says:
when people look back at this campaign, and how much Burka was in the tank for KBH, I can’t imagine greater evidence than this post: that Perry is somehow responsible for the demise of A&M football.
The demise of A&M football is directly related to the loss of a wrecking crew mentality on defense that has been gone since they entered the Big 12. But somehow Rick Perry schemed up who should be the next football coach, and Bill Byrne saluted three days after firing Fran. Have you lost your mind Paul?
I guess Perry told Byrne to hire Gillespie too within a matter of days after the firing of watkins. I must have missed the speculation on Perry bringing to A&M the best basketball coach they hav ever had.
This is truly insane, and you have demeaned your status for posting such tripe. And who knows if Perry laughed right after supposedly saying that to a sports columnist, as if he were joking.
Blaming Rick Perry for the demise of Aggie Football, and then saying it will hurt him electorally is interesting fodder for a KBH attack, but for the senior political writer of Texas Monthly?
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Bloggers R Us says:
Cow Droppings, you are too harsh in your final paragraph. You’ve got to remember, Paul’s just a blogger. “This is a blog,” he stresses every time he is called out. He may hope for his articles in Texas Monthly to be taken seriously, but not his blog postings. If it rains tomorrow, Paul will tell you how he’s “just wondering” how it could well be Rick Perry’s fault.
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Brent Zwerneman says:
Paul, it’s Brent … with an “n.”
By the way, I’m still fired up at Texas Monthly for not even mention the Express-News, which broke the secret newsletter story, after putting Coach Fran on its cover as the 2007 Bum Steer of the Year.
As a fifth-generation Texan who loves TM and its great writing and stories, I’m sure I’ll eventually get over it.
Take care, Brent “Brett” Zwerneman
bzwerneman@express-news.net
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paulburka Reply:
October 23rd, 2009 at 10:08 am
I have kerrected the tipografical urrer. Sawry.
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Brent Zwerneman says:
“For not even mentioning …”
Where’s the copy desk when I need it?
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Concerned Aggie says:
This was just published and might be of interest:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/10/22/texas#Comments
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Chilicook says:
Once upon a time we had a governor named Clements who liked to be involved in college athletics . . .
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Pauls other inbox says:
Paul, its raining is that Perry’s fault? Or is the drought his fault? With Perry being all powerful like you say that must explain banished the Texas Monthly office from downtown Austin. Some say he got you to move out of the Omni Hotel to try to re-build the relationship with Bob Rawling by getting the Texas Monthly staff away from the
“All you can eat” buffet at the Omni.
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paulburka Reply:
October 23rd, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Obviously you have never been to the “all you can eat buffet” at the Omni, if you think that it was desirable. “All” consisted of a choice of chili or a soup, several salads, baked potatos, and an assortment of cookies. The meat/sandwich tray was shelved long before we moved.
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Texas Aggie says:
This and the Murano deal stink to high heaven. I have never been very involved in politics, but earlier in the week I called for my Aggies for Kay bumper sticker. Put it on the car last night. I do not think that anyone sohuld underestimate the degree of ire among the Aggie faithful at Governor Good Hair.
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John David Crow says:
Thanks Perry for the 22 point beatdown in Lubbock!!! Keep up the good work.
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Aggie for Kay says:
I sincerely hope he doesn’t try to take credit away from our offensive line for the win at Tech…
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