Just Lending a Helping Hand..

By Travis Williams
So Card fans here you are. It’s October and the University of Louisville football team is sitting at an unimpressive 2-4 mark in the third season of the Steve Kragthorpe era (yes this is only the third season).


What the hell happened?

Seems like it was ages ago when Louisville fans actually cared how the BCS ranking system worked.

**Sigh**

The city has since gone on to debate much more frivolous things such as healthcare reform and arena funding. Pretty pathetic.

Well I’m here to help. Since Kragthorpe is playing the role of shy girl at the dance, I’m going to make the first move. I’m going to help draft your resignation letter for you Steve. Feel free to wordsmith where you deem necessary but please try to stay within the essence of this draft.

Now to ensure I make this as effective as possible, I took some advice from an article entitled “Resigning with Class: How to Diplomatically Resign From your Job.”  I’m not suggesting that I’ve never resigned or been fired…I’ve just never done it “diplomatically.”

I found two tips I thought would be helpful in your situation. First one, timing. According to the article, the standard time to submit a resignation is two to four weeks but you should “consult your employee handbook to be certain.”

I doubt the university has anything in the handbook regarding resignation time frame when it comes to completely destroying the football program. But to be safe, we’ll go by the standard. Two to four weeks puts you around early November giving you the option of submitting this letter before the West Virginia game. My suggestion however is afterwards. There’s a good chance morale will be low and a resignation letter could be the catalyst that pushes the team into somehow pulling off a surprising win in your final three games. Use it.

The next nugget of advice touches on negotiating a fair settlement. Tread lightly here Steve. I suggest something along the lines of this:

“Upon receiving this formal resignation, I fully expect the University of Louisville to supply me with a bus ticket to the destination of my choice along with the nameplate on my desk at season’s end.”

And that’s it Steve. Don’t stray too far on this one. Keep it simple. Asking for much more than this could make the separation ugly. See you have to understand that you’ve taken so much from the university already.

Our respectability as an athletics program that could do more than just win at basketball to name one. Every Louisville fan remembers that shellacking at Rutgers last year. Getting your tail whipped 63-14 on ESPN on a Thursday is sure to ruffle some feathers.

Lets not visit that memory any longer and focus on the now. The now is that you can use this letter to openly admit the missteps you took during your tenure. Like how your questionable play-calling made hometown hero Brian Brohm’s decision to return for his senior season, regrettable to put it mildly. Or how you failed to build on the momentum of an Orange Bowl victory as just about any other football coach could have. Or that taking over offensive play calling duties isn’t such a great idea if you’re job is already on the line.

Take a deep breath and let all of those things out in your letter. You’ll feel better for it.

And if this gets to be too much you can look on the bright side. You’ll still be known as a coach who can turn a program around.