USC AD Tanner says he still backs Holbrook
Before Friday’s baseball game between South Carolina and Vanderbilt, the SEC Network’s “Paul Finebaum Show” set up shop on the first-base concourse at Carolina Stadium.
Finebaum’s first guest was USC athletics director Ray Tanner, the school’s former baseball coach, who took the program to 14 NCAA tournament appearances in his 16 seasons, a stretch that included national championships in 2010 and 2011.
One of the topics addressed was the team’s struggles under third-year coach Chad Holbrook, Tanner’s assistant for four seasons and his hand-picked successor. The Gamecocks began the season with 17 wins in 20 games, but they’ve stumbled the past month, losing 13 of 19 games, including 10 of 13 SEC games.
Tanner expressed his support for Holbrook on the show, and he expounded on that view afterwards in an interview with The State.
Tanner, who took USC to six College World Series, three with Holbrook as his top assistant, stated that he “absolutely” stands behind his coach.
“This is his third year (as USC’s head coach), and he’s been a part of tremendous successes in college baseball as an assistant at another school (North Carolina), as an assistant here, and as head coach here the last couple of years,” Tanner said. “There’s peaks and valleys in all sports, and we’re going through the valley right now. It has lasted longer than he would want it to last and we would all want it to last.”
Holbrook, who also coached on three UNC teams that went to the CWS before coming to USC to start the 2009 season, took the Gamecocks to the 2013 NCAA Super Regional against UNC before falling one win shy of reaching the CWS. His 2014 team hosted an NCAA regional but was eliminated by Maryland.
Tanner had two teams miss the NCAA Tournament, four teams lose in the regionals and four more get eliminated in the Super Regionals. He understands the difficult nature of competing for titles.
“You have some ups and downs. I know that I have been in similar situations in the past. I’ve had a lot of times that were very, very difficult,” Tanner said. “They’re difficult if you care, and we’ve got a coach who cares and a fan base that cares. You either have expectations, or you don’t. We have them. That’s where we want to be.”
He also knows that an elite program is going to have fans who vent on talk radio and Internet message boards when things aren’t going well. He admits to hearing from fans about the baseball team’s current situation.
“I’ve received correspondence from our fan base across all sports, and right now, I’m getting some correspondence in baseball. I see some emails and phone calls,” Tanner said. “People want to win. I don’t take that as a negative, and I don’t take it personally. I tell student-athletes and coaches that they’re pulling for you. Sometimes the delivery might not be exactly what you want, but they want you to be successful.”
Tanner admitted that his close relationship with the program’s coaches adds another dynamic as their boss. He hired Holbrook to follow him and has admired him since Tanner coached N.C. State and Holbrook played at UNC.
Pitching coach Jerry Meyers also served as Tanner’s pitching coach during the 2002-04 CWS runs. Recruiting coordinator and third-base coach Sammy Esposito is the son of Tanner’s college coach at N.C. State, Sam Esposito. Volunteer assistant Brian Buscher, who played in the major leagues and works with the hitters and infielders, was a stalwart of Tanner’s 2002-03 CWS teams.
He concedes there are advantages and disadvantages to being close to the staff.
“We’ve got some great coaches here,” he said. “I was a coach and a colleague of most of our coaches here today. We were all in the same position, and now I’m in a little bit different position. But I understand that you don’t win them all. You’d like to do that and have some great runs, but I feel like a lot of times I’m able to say the right things. I’m supportive.”
Holbrook, whose current contract runs through the 2019 season with an annual guaranteed salary of $400,000 and up to $170,000 in incentives, has watched his team lose four straight SEC series heading into the Vanderbilt series. But Tanner remains convinced the team can turn it around with a good stretch run.
“There’s still time left in this season if you get hot and win a few games,” Tanner said. “People say, ‘What do you need right now?’ We need a win. We’re dealing with amateur players, and you feel better when you win. Our players need to feel good.”
This story was originally published April 17, 2015 at 6:22 PM with the headline "USC AD Tanner says he still backs Holbrook."