TMH wrote: ↑Mon Sep 06, 2021 12:49 pm
I'll be the first to admit that I personally know almost nobody affiliated with Holy Cross. I have talked several times with Anthony DiMichelle who played for Tom, coached uner him at Holy Cross and now at Lehigh and let's just say that he, in no way shares your opinion.
Back when Gilmore was first hired, the same cast of characters that hate the pick now also hated it back then. There were a couple of stalwarts from Holy Cross that expressed their opinion objectively.
This is from Sader1
As I have posted often on Crossports, my first encounter with Tom that we both remember vividly was at a local Holy Cross alumni club meeting which I hosted - the first he attended - perhaps within a couple of weeks of him being hired as our head coach.
We had heard about his fiery personality so after the AD and he spoke and time for Q&A, I said: "You come here with a reputation for being 'intense,' would that be an accurate description?" He looked at me and he was caught just momentarily off-guard that someone (who he could break in half) would have the temerity to ask him that. But then he said, "I would rather think of it as being 'focused'." Often we would be at other alumni events in which he would laugh and say, "Tom (me), do you remember the first time we met and the first question you asked me?" and then regale the other alums about our encounter.
We were "friends" (more like close acquaintances, never went out for a beer with him) over the rest of his time at Holy Cross and we were always honest with each other - good and bad.We had a trust. He has always been gracious and polite and warm with me and my wife (who loves him for his honesty . . . . and maybe his good looks too).
I know that I never played for him, being many years older, but I have spoken to some of his former players, after they were "safely" away from him. Without fail, they all said that he turned them from boys to men and they respected him. Tom told me that his job was more than just a football coach but saw his role as preparing his players for their lives after college where they would find as hard as football was, life afterwards was harder. Not everyone can either take that or see that. Maybe I just encountered those who could. He comes from Irish immigrants and had to work for everything he got. Perhaps he is a throwback to another era?
He had justifiably been seen (I've known a number of coaches at Holy Cross) as the hardest working guy on campus - coaches or anyone including faculty and staff. He is a workaholic (his poor wife!) and hates to lose. I have no doubt that he is tough on his assistants and hard to work for because he is as demanding of them as he is on himself and many can't take that pressure.
So, you understand where I am coming from, I've analyzed why I like Tom and wish him success at Lehigh, except when you guys play the Crusaders. I wasn't a coach but a manager/leader/executive for many years. I often heard from my former subordinates (again, after they were "safely" away from me and no fear of retribution) that I was a "tough, demanding boss" who they often said was the best they ever had because I drove them to accomplish things they thought was beyond their capabilities. They also said, "You were demanding but never asked anyone to do anything that you wouldn't do yourself and you listened to us and would change your mind if we had a convincing argument."
That's what Tom Gilmore is like. He definitely is not for everyone. Yep, he's emotional but as he said in the press conference, he thinks he has matured. The Tom Gilmore I know will go out of his way to prove that this was the best decision that Lehigh could have ever made.
I admit my bias but I think you got a good one.
Another confirmed that there were funding cuts and other limitations put on the program during Tom's time that led to a personality conflict between two really headstrong personalities. Pine was ex-military who then left HC inn 2019. As that poster put it, Tom turned a program around that had 11 losing season out of 12 before he arrived and turned it around quickly. As he said, TG didn't turn stupid overnight. There was a lot of turmoil going on behind the scenes.
If you have some evidence to support your claim, I'd be glad to read it.
I know I've said this before, but he sounds like John Whitehead to me. He was tough and made his players tougher and almost to man, they really respected that.
Just my opinion.