Big Dreams and Big Risks in Sports: The Coaches, Owners, and Dreamers Changing the Game

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Never before in college football history have we seen the rash of major college football teams
power for conference teams firing their head football coaches. Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State,
LSU, Penn State, Arkansas, UCLA, Kentucky, Michigan State, California, Florida, Oregon State,
Stanford, and Auburn all kick their head coach out. If you're wondering why suddenly so so many
top programs are getting rid of their coaches, well wonder no more. Much of the trend has to do with
one man. Indiana head football coach Kurt Signetti. Signetti climbed through the college coaching
ranks, succeeding at three much smaller stops in his career. Stop one. This is small. Indiana
University of Pennsylvania. That's small. The two years before Signetti, they went four and ten
in their conference. He took over and immediately there was a turnaround. In his six years there,
IUP, no jokes there, went to three small college postseason playoffs and for his six years there,
he was 53 and 17. That attracted the eye of Elon. Yes, Elon. They were before Signetti arrived
an awful four and twenty in their conference play. But immediately another turnaround,
eight and four the first year, 14 and nine for two years. Next, he climbed the ladder, still
pretty small college program. Now a monster that Signetti helped to create James Madison.
He took over and showed them success they had never seen before. Three, postseason playoff invites
and an outrageous 52 and nine in his five years there. If you're doing the math, in 13 years at
these tiny outposts of college football, Signetti compiled a gaudy record of 119 wins and 35
losses with never a single losing season. But when he arrived in Indiana, that's a much more
daunting situation to turn around the Hoosiers. Entering 2024 when Signetti started there,
the Hoosiers hadn't won the Big Ten since 1967. I remember 67. The Vietnam War was just starting
to ramp up. That's 58 years ago now. They had last beaten Ohio State in 1988 and had lost 30 in a row to
them. Coming into Signetti's term in Indiana, as a program in the history of the school,
they had 713 losses. That's the second most of any college football program in the country.
And the previous three years before Signetti arrived, Indiana's total record was
9 and 27. But then presto, the magic happened again, Indiana began to win and win and win and win
big. So back to our questions at the top. Why the sudden rash of major college head coach firings
because these schools look at more abundant Indiana. One of the worst programs in college football
and they wonder how did they do it and we can't do it. So they begin the search for the next
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What did the new owners of the Dallas Mavericks think about the franchise going forward?
The Adelson family bought the Mavericks from Mark Cuban, at least 73% of them, in December of 2023.
They installed Sun and Law Patrick Dumont as the new head of the Mavericks franchise. He is their
governor. Now the Adelson's are not basketball people. They're a casino family. They made billions in
that industry. Though just a year before buying the Mavericks from Mark Cuban, they sold all of their
Las Vegas holdings. That's the Venetian Resort, the Palazzo, the Sands Corporation and Convention
Center. They got $6.25 billion for it. They still have properties in Macau and Singapore
but apparently the family has now shifted its focus from Vegas to the possible new market in Texas.
Starting years before they bought the Mavericks, the family started pouring money into Texas,
hoping to get casino gambling passed in the state. When they bought the Mavericks,
the assumption was that the new Mavericks arena, which we all knew was going to be built in
2031, that's after the Mavericks lease ran out at the AAC, that the Mavericks new arena
would be part of a huge entertainment complex, including a hotel and casino and restaurants and
shops that as if casino gambling had been approved in Texas by then. How much money had the
Adelson's been spending in Texas, pressuring legislators to push casino gambling over the finish line?
Well, in 2020 for example, the estimates were that the Adelson's spent four and a half million
dollars contributing to house races, races in the house of representatives in Texas,
trying to elect representatives who would be favorable to casino gambling. And another estimated
3.3 million in 2023. They made $10 million in PAC contributions, that's political action committee
donations. And by 2024, they had the Mavericks by then, and we're looking for the new arena and the
casino. The Adelson's handed out another 13.7 million dollars to politicians in this state.
200,000 of it went to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, a million dollars to the Texas Speaker
of the House, date failing. 14 other Republican figures got donations in six figure amounts.
And by the way, it was not only Republicans, the Adelson's did give Democrats a little over $900
million. What was probably the Adelson's plan still? Well, in 2023, they had advanced a plan
that failed in the house, and thus was never even brought to the floor of the Senate. A plan that
would have had eight casinos built in the state of Texas. So what's been happening with all that
money they've been spending in this state, lobbying and trying to convince politicians to pass casino
gambling? Well, basically, the legislators have said, thank you, and then put the money in their
pockets, and then said some nice things about casino gambling, and then everything proceeded down
the road. The explanation of those in power, why isn't there casino gambling here? That the public
sentiment right now does not favor passing casino gambling in the state of Texas.
There's been no comment from the public, though polls show that casino gambling may be
a lot more favorable than we're being told. Is casino gambling getting any closer to being passed
in this state? You know, really, it doesn't seem so to me. So what does the Adelson family,
whose massive wealth was made based on owning and running casinos? What are they going to do going
forward? How long do they think it's going to take to eventually get casino gambling in Texas?
Remember the decades we waited for horse tracks to open here? And what do they do in the meantime?
Do they keep pursuing the new arena? Well, they've got to keep pursuing a new arena for the
Mavs, but does the plan still remain an arena at a hotel and a possible casino? Do they keep
pouring money into pressuring legislators to pass casino gambling in this state?
There are whispers that the family might consider selling the Mavericks.
But right now, that's all they are is whispers.
With sports, pop culture, music woven into interesting conversations. So step inside the
green door, have a seat at the bar, and get in the groove with those shows and so very much more.
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Cherry's a dreamer. He's always been a dreamer and by the way, in a lot of areas that's worked for
Cherry. He dreamed big and hit oil. He dreamed big about getting the cowboys and their value has
skyrocketed. He dreamed big about AT&T Stadium and the star development. But all those are businesses.
Their businesses, Jerry scored big in. Has he scored big as a general manager?
You can make a strong case for the fact that after Jimmy Johnson left,
Jerry's tenure as a general manager has been exceptionally poor. Oh, the cowboys have been
okay team. A lot of years. In fact, not a bad team some years. Have they even been to an NFC
championship game in three years? No. No. But here's the dreamer part again. Here's Jerry dreaming big.
I know this sounds outrageous, but Jerry told us the press conference. He wants to retire. He'll
be 84 next season. He wants to retire being the owner who's won more Super Bowls than any other
owner in NFL history. Right now, Jerry has three. Bob Kraft, the wingland owner, he has six.
So if Jerry's going to pass Bob Kraft, he needs to win four more Super Bowls before your tires.
Let's let's dream outrageously that the cowboys can win four of the next 10 Super Bowls.
At that point, Jerry Jones will be 93 years old. And that press caught will be 44.
Do you believe that's a problem?
Being a dreamer isn't a problem. Jerry as a dreamer isn't a accomplished person.
Jerry as a general manager isn't. The owner has to be a dreamer. He has to be a team's biggest fan.
Not so for the general manager. The GM should be the coldest,
nastiest, most feared, most disliked,
loneliest person in the entire franchise because he's got a terrible, lonely job to do.
A job Jerry hasn't been able to do for 30 years now.
And now a word from our title sponsor. Today's episode has been brought to you by Fluent Financial.
Retire earlier, live better. And by Bob's steak and chop house on Lemon and Dallas
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episode of Just One Ring. I'm Norm Hitzkiss and know that every day I'll be just wondering about
something. And I'm Mary Hitzkiss and I'll just be wondering too.
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