Evaluating Martin Jarmond's time at Boston College
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00:00 Good morning, happy Monday, this is AJ Black here with another Morning Bulletin exclusively
00:07 on Facebook.
00:08 Today, we're going to answer a question someone had about what grade I would give
00:13 Martin Jarman for his job during his reign at Boston College from 2017 until yesterday.
00:22 I've seen a whole range of reactions from fans online, from those that were supportive
00:27 and understand why he left Boston College to those that were really angry at him.
00:32 And I am much more in the supportive end.
00:34 When you get a job like he got, you have to take it.
00:38 Jarman is now going to be the highest paid AD in the Pac-12, making over $1.2 million
00:45 a year according to a report by the LA Times.
00:47 See, I don't know, I don't think you can hate on him for taking a job.
00:51 I know it hurts that he left so early, but I think he had every right to do so.
00:56 Now, looking at the job he did, you have to take in more than just the coaching changes.
01:01 I know when I hear some of the fans and they talk to me, all I've heard is, you know,
01:07 he didn't move on past the basketball coach, he didn't move on past Christian quick enough,
01:11 he didn't move past Adazio fast enough.
01:14 There's more to it than just coaching with an AD job.
01:17 I think you need to look at the whole picture with him.
01:20 First off, the biggest job an AD has other than coaching changes is their work in finance.
01:27 How does Martin Jarman do in terms of getting donations?
01:32 And I would give him a strong grade for that.
01:35 I thought he did an excellent job.
01:36 He started that Greater Heights campaign that was way beyond where it should have been by
01:41 the time he left.
01:42 They were shooting for $150 million and I think he had a date next year to have that
01:47 goal by and he was well ahead of that.
01:50 So he gets a good check mark there for me in terms of that piece.
01:56 Another piece I would look at is how his programs were run.
02:01 Did Boston College in the last three years have programs that were run clean and didn't
02:05 do anything that were egregious?
02:07 And I think he did a good job there.
02:09 You know, Boston College, I think that's a big goal of our school is to have clean programs
02:14 and Jarman did that.
02:15 He had all the school, you know, there were no NCAA violations, there were no embarrassing
02:19 stories.
02:20 So he did a good job.
02:21 He got the check mark in the right direction.
02:22 The final piece, and I know some fans are not happy to hear about this piece, is the
02:26 fan experience.
02:28 It is important and it is part of his job and I thought he did an excellent job with
02:31 that.
02:33 You know, he brought alcohol to both the Conte Forum and Alumni Stadium, which I think is
02:39 a big move in terms of, we saw sales and then he worked to improve it because the first
02:43 year that they had beer at Alumni Stadium, it was a mess and he figured out new systems
02:48 with his staff to figure that out and I thought that was positive.
02:51 And to be honest, you know, just like Bates before him, the basketball team still is struggling
02:57 and it's been really difficult to get fans in there.
03:00 You see no students at the game.
03:01 So you got to give them a bit of an incomplete there, but that kind of loops in with the
03:07 last piece we're going to grade him on, which is coaching changes.
03:09 But in terms of fan experience, there was no better face for the Boston College program
03:17 than Jarman.
03:18 He was excellent with that.
03:19 He was always up front with fans.
03:20 He was interactive with them and you couldn't ask for a better AD in terms of that piece.
03:25 Another piece you'd look at is facilities.
03:27 Quickly looking at it, he didn't do the indoor practice facility for football.
03:31 That was Bates.
03:32 He was working on the Greater Heights campaign, but he did do the Pete Freight's baseball
03:39 facility.
03:40 So he does get credit for that and that thing is going to be beautiful when it's up.
03:44 But I know a lot of people are still waiting for it.
03:46 The basketball practice facility has not been built and that's really hurting the basketball
03:50 program.
03:51 I know that that was something Jarman really wanted to get on, but it hasn't happened.
03:54 So I can't give him credit for that.
03:56 So hopefully that'll get done soon with whoever his predecessor is.
03:59 But given the state of the world right now, that might be a while.
04:03 So that's an, you know, I don't know if I can give him a full grade on that one, but
04:06 there are definitely positive and negative marks there.
04:10 And finally, his grade on coaching.
04:14 I agree with some that say that they waited too long with Adazio.
04:18 You knew what you were getting with him and you don't need the amount of years that they
04:21 had with him to get that answer.
04:24 But he was decisive when he needed to make the move.
04:28 I always think back to that picture of him at Pitt, the Pitt game, hucking Adazio and
04:32 just, you know, after they got Bull eligible and then firing him 24 hours later.
04:38 He was a strong leader in that point.
04:40 Like he just, he knew what he had to do and he did it.
04:43 So I'll give him credit for that.
04:44 The piece I, and Joanna McNamee obviously is a huge hire, brought our women's basketball
04:49 program from a real bad spot to one of the best in the ACC.
04:54 And then finally, he didn't make the move on Christian.
04:57 I know that COVID-19 was an issue this year, but Christian should have been gone last year
05:02 and they should have been able to figure out something.
05:05 I just don't think he's the future of that program.
05:08 And I get it with, you know, hiring freezes and stuff like that.
05:11 But look at what Wake did.
05:12 Wake Forest was able to do it.
05:14 So Jarman should have been able to too.
05:17 So in terms of his overall grade, he was definitely not an A AD.
05:22 I, you know, there were certain things that he didn't get done.
05:24 He was only here for three years.
05:26 I'd give him a solid B. There were certain things I wish he did more of, you know, like
05:31 move on from coaches quicker.
05:34 But I thought overall he was a very positive AD for Boston College and a good one.
05:39 So this is AJ Black.
05:40 This was a long morning bulletin, but I had a lot to talk about.
05:43 So thank you for following and make sure to like and follow us on Facebook.