Was O'Brien's Hiring Unethical?

Last week N.C. State hired Boston College head football coach, Tom O'Brien. It came as a shock to BC players, fans and administration alike. Lee Fowler, N.C. State AD, sought the permission of BC to speak with O'Brien. That permission was granted. Then on Wednesday of last week word came down that O'Brien has accepted the position and that it was the first time the conference (ACC) had learned the two parties were talking. That made the talk of the moral code, or some unwritten rule, being broken.

Was N.C. State out of line by hiring O'Brien? The answer is simply...NO! If O'Brien felt like he was getting a fair shake and was happy at BC, then he wouldn't have wanted to leave. State was informed of his interest last Sunday and then contacted him. There is a lot BC is justified in complaining about since joining the ACC in 2005, but being raided for a coach isn't one of them

It is true that while BC has been in teh top 3-4 teams in the ACC since joining the league in '05. They have finished no worse than 3rd in their 2 seasons, but have not played in better bowl game than the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte. That bowl game is 6th on the list as far as payouts associated with the ACC.

However, is that really the fault of the conference? Partly, yes. But a lot of the blame must fall on BC. They are notorious poor travelers. Maybe if they sold out their share of tickets for their subpar bowl game, then next year they would step up to the next level. When there are teams like Clemson, State, FSU, Va. Tech, Ga. Tech and UNC (they travel when they do make a bowl game) that bring fans by the bus loads, it isn't hard to see why BC gets sent to Boise or Charlotte. The Peach Bowl, Gator Bowl, Music City and Champs games are going to be reserved for teams that wil sale tickets.

It's sour grapes in 'Bean Town.' And, I would be the same way if someone did it to us. O'Brien's name was swirling around in connection with every job. It was just a matter of where, not if and when. It just so happens that it was State that O'Brien hooked up with. State wanted him and he wanted State; while, BC didn't appear to eager to pull a West Virginia and do something to keep him there.

There is no rule, anywhere, that says that one school within the ACC cannot hire another ACC school's coach. Had State hired Skip Holtz, ECU head coach, then would everyone be screaming that we couldn't take a little-sister school's coach? No, ECU would have laughed that we were admitting that their coach was better than our former coach.

Simply put, if O'Brien was happy at BC, then he would not have left. He wouldn't have let his name get floated around at Arizona State, Stanford and even Alabama. It has been said that many at BC wanted to see him gone, that he could jog through campus without being recognized and that he wasn't the guy for BC. While he had only been on campus for 5 or 6 hours at State and received multiple standing ovations at a basketball game.

State did not do anything unethical when they hired O'Brien last week. The only point that I will concede to those who believe the contrary is that I do think it was a low blow for there to be a no-compete clause in his contract. Thus, he cannot leave State for another ACC school during the duration of his contract. That detail should have probably been left out. Hopefully, Mark Whipple will work out for BC and all of this will be forgotten.

Photos:
1. http://images.news14.com/media/2006/12/7/images/01obrien2.jpg