An open letter to Boise State regarding that time you fired Gene Bleymaier

is wondering if this is beginning of the end to our glorious blue field.

like a small toaster oven flare-up perhaps.

I mean that would answer some of your concerns, no?

Well said, Nick. Rec’d.

In employment law, the less the employer says, the better. Gene serves at the discretion of Kustra. As the State Board of Education noted, they have only one contract, and that is with the Boise State president. We may never hear an official explication, as none is necessary and the less you say the less you have to defend.
Parenthentically, should Kelly leave Oregon, Coach Pete’s apparent personal loyalty to Gene may add anothher straw to an already deep pile leading to his taking the Oregon job, which I say is 70% assured at this point.

I concur. thanks for that

I like your insider’s perspective. There were elements of what came out in the public (lawsuits, allegations, etc.) that hinted at this being much bigger than any of us had thought. I am not in a position to say wrong or right. It’s just kind of … sad. End of an era and all.

I won’t disagree with that, and all things considered, I suspect the folks in Boise will again show the world how you deal with issues such as this. I see them giving Gene his 3 cheers and deserving respect while moving on smoothly.

Now is not the time to pile on anyone or question motives until we all know more. Obviously some regrettable things went down and Kustra felt necessary to take action.

It’s just a sad ending to an era.

If you were rooting for a great next AD, root for Apsey, Gene’s assistant. I think he would be outstanding and the best any Bronco could hope for. I really hope he applies for and gets the job and you should too.

Are you sure this isn’t Bob or his wifey?

While I acknowledged GB’s amazing achievements yesterday (and stand by that), I was thinking about it today and discussing w/ some coworkers. We kind of came to the conclusion that there was a strong likelihood this was a “forced hand” move.

I mean, if there was evidence GB knew what was happening on some of these violations and chose to turn a blind eye then that leaves Kustra a choice between keeping GB or letting the NCAA throw the USC banhammer on us. Boise St. can’t whether the banhammer like USC can, it would wipe our program away in the blink of an eye imo and I’d guess Petersen would bid adieu. So there really is no choice there.

Similarly, if GB was facing some serious sexual discrimination related lawsuits or whatever the heck he got himself tangled up in…the program would likely suffer too much with a scandal like that.

In essence, we don’t and probably never will know the true story, but I have to wonder to myself if GB hung his own rope. Whether it’s petty or silly or flat out wrong this much is true; at the level and type of business these guys are involved in, perception is king and you absolutely can’t afford to be in any sort of position that could challenge your character.

The fans will deliver the support, rain or shine.

do the math

As much as we all hold Pete in the highest regard and recognize how much he means to Boise St., but how many people are consulted by their boss’ boss about the termination of their direct superior? I would tend to say never, one it is a major HR no-no to discuss anyone’s termination outside of those directly superior and involved in that termination in an organization and two it has no bearing on the issues that led to a termination.

Now, I certainly do believe that Pete was immediately informed after the meeting between Kustra & GB by Kustra of what just took place. It would be unfair to involve Coach Pete in the matter of GB’s termination at any time of the year, especially 3 weeks from a difficult opening game with UGA.

Again, not trying to be disagree because it could have occurred in just that fashion. Just want to point out that terminating someone from essentially an executive position is generally handled in a very delicate manner.

If GB has a week in which to decide whether to quit or get fired, it’s likely it was discussed with Petersen. I’m not sure how much Kustra spoke to him or not (or speaks to him or not). I also don’t know enough (other than from what I do know is that he makes appearances but doesn’t glad hand the way say Urban Meyer had to do for Florida recruitment, fundraising, etc. or the way they do in the Big “10” (one of the other failures of Rich Rod was this).

There’s an axiom in the military. Sometimes you have to cut the deadwood loose to get fresh, new ideas and strategies. Sometimes when a person gets ensconsed in a position for a long time, such as in Gene’s case, they be come stale, so to speak. This could be the launching point of even greater things. On the flip side of the coin, this could be the start of a downward spiral. Ugh….

“Interesting” is what you say when you were expecting something else.

Your family making that trip to GA? Hope to see you this season.

Couldn’t have said it any better. Thanks, Gene. It’s been an amazing career and Bronoco Nation wishes you nothing but the best.

The program will be fine, the turf will be fine, Coach Pete will be fine. Business decisions like this happen every day. My bet is that it IS NCAA connected and that regardless of what he says now (in the interest of finding a new job) Gene knew it was coming. What kcam says about not being present at the MWC thing speaks to that. Anytime “lack of institutional control” comes up, the buck stops at the top, as it should, regardless of how we feel about all that Gene has done for Boise State.

Ultimately, Kustra has to do the best for Boise State that he can with the cards he’s being dealt and I’ve got faith.

Like some have stated, we may never know the real reason why.

Pretty sure he was gone a long time ago.

It’s what for breakfast

Gotta be one of the BWiest jobs in the world. And, no, I’m not Bob or his wifey.

Except for the “insulted Idaho” part.

Academics are in a perpetual state of “ticked off” at every school in the nation. Want to know why faculty feuds are so nasty? Because the stakes are so low.

Kustra has brought BSU as an academic school to a whole other level. Boise State Employees love Kustra. Who are you to judge Kustra? Alumni? Emeritus employee?

Both Gene and Kustra are great men, let this pan out and have faith it was done for the right reasons and done properly.

All the people pilling on Kustra kind of remind me of the Brotzman haters from last year…

Kustra is well-respected in Illinois as one of the last “clean” politicians (if you believe there is or was such a thing) to hold a major state office. He served as lieutenant governor under Jim Edgar for two terms (91-98), which was the last time Illinois had a balanced budget and was relatively scandal free politically at the state level. Both Edgar and Kustra had reputations as the rare politicians who tried to do things the right way and for the right reasons. Hardly “scandalous.”

I see Jim Edgar in town every once in a while – he is a professor of something or other at the U of Illinois. I’ve heard people beg him to re-enter the public service sector to clean up Illinois. He was the last governor that the state populace – Democrat AND Republican – actually respected. I served in a think-tank session that included him regarding Illinois government, and he thinks the world of Kustra.

Finally, it is also my understanding that Kustra holds a standing offer to return to the U of Illinois as a professor in political science if he so chooses. He doesn’t need to make any “career moves” because he has options.

you’re such a cute little visitor, hope you’re having a great day in gobbler land

I would like to know what other junior college has risen through the ranks to become a top 5 team in the highest level of collegiate football.

Just because Bleymaier got fired doesn’t mean everything is going to fall apart. We still got Coach Pete and a top 10 football program. If fact, maybe Gene has taken Boise State as far as he could. Replacing Bleymaier could turn out to be the best thing that happened to BSU. You know, getting some new perspective is not always a bad thing.

When Koetter left, it was “the end.”
When Hawkins left, it was the “beginning of our downfall.”
More than a few people doubted we could continue such high levels of performance when team leaders like Zabransky and Tadman left.
More than a few people are no doubt wondering if we can continue such performance when Moore and Martin graduate from the program.

My point is that just because something monumental happens, doesn’t necessarily mean that it is “the beginning” of a downfall. Only time will tell.

FWIW, Kustra doesn’t need to make “career decisions” out of hiring and firing people. He holds a standing offer to return to the University of Illinois or any other state-funded school in the state of his choice and become a professor of political science – he holds a Ph.D. in the subject from Illinois.