Vulcan Sports and Entertainment CEO Tod Leiweke To Resign
News just coming in, reported first by 710ESPN's Mike Salk via his Twitter account.
Vulcan Sports & Entertainment announced today that CEO Tod Leiweke is resigning to join the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning as CEO and part owner.
If for nothing else, this is interesting because Leiweke denied having interest in the Lightning opening back in April.
Update 1: Greg Johns of the Seattle PI reports that Leiweke will stay on until a replacement is found.
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You mean getting the rookies in camp?
John Idzik is still here.
by jacobstevens on Jul 26, 2010 10:51 AM PDT up reply actions
not to dissapointed honestly
He always said he wasn’t much of a football guy, just a good business man. The Seahawks as a business are fantastic (low ticket prices, VMAC) but maybe someone with a football mind is necessary.
I guess that's what Carroll and Schneider are for.
I see your point. It’s hard to know what kind of an effect it might have. Maybe none. Maybe you want a CEO to be your CEO.
by jacobstevens on Jul 26, 2010 10:53 AM PDT up reply actions
I've always wondered though
how much of the Pete Carroll, Jim Mora, and other hirings were Todd Leiweke’s doing. That is what Carroll and Schneider are for but ultimately Todd is the boss. I’d want the CEO of my football team to have good business and football sense. It’s definitely an interesting situation.
by Hancock.Brett on Jul 26, 2010 10:55 AM PDT up reply actions
I had the impression that those moves came more from Allen's unhappiness with the team's performance
My read from what was written back then was that Leiweke was in Ruskell’s corner—he was his hire—and that Ruskell not being retained and Mora being fired were moves done at the owner’s behest. I’m sure Leiweke had considerable influence on the Carroll and Schneider hires after those moves were made,, but it didn’t seem like his decision to create openings in those positions.
by lemonverbena on Jul 26, 2010 11:01 AM PDT up reply actions
Ultimately, Paul is the boss
I just don’t think a billionaire buys a sports team to let somebody else make all the key decisions.
Seahawks Fans Cannot Be Cured
Sure, I would, too.
At what expense of business savvy if you can’t have both? As much as possible I’d want football sense, of course, but I guess to me it would play second fiddle.
How much football sense? X’s & O’s? Eye for talent? Personnel and coaching decisions don’t go up that far, and they shouldn’t. We want the guys on the coaching and personnel level to have the acumen there, and the autonomy.
I’m not dismissing the value of football knowledge at the top, I am just thinking out loud about how much difference it could make.
by jacobstevens on Jul 26, 2010 11:01 AM PDT up reply actions
I can see that side
but if Allen is unhappy with the team (rightfully so) he’ll put Tod on the case. Tod is going to hire the GM/coach that he feels is best, without a solid football understanding to pull from how effective of a hiring can that really be? He had great business sense but like everything in sports it’s easy when you are winning.
I don’t know how much difference it will make either, that’s why I’m kind of apathetic about it. I’m leaning on the side of positive though.
by Hancock.Brett on Jul 26, 2010 11:07 AM PDT up reply actions
Possible, but I doubt it
More likely, Tod will hire the GM/coach that Paul thinks is best.
Seahawks Fans Cannot Be Cured
depends on how much Paul delegates
it looked like a ton with the Holmy, Ruskell era but then he hand picked Carroll so who knows.
by Hancock.Brett on Jul 26, 2010 11:10 AM PDT up reply actions
You're right, Paul Allen is absolutely not heavily involved.
His demand that Mora be fired was rare.
by jacobstevens on Jul 26, 2010 11:18 AM PDT up reply actions
To respond more directly to your point, though,
I see what you mean, you want a guy who knows football enough, to make the right hire.
But it’s a bit of a dilemma. You want to hire the guy who hires the football guys, to be a football guy. But how do you know? So you have to be a football guy, or hire a football guy, to know a football guy who can know and hire football guys when he sees them. And then, it’s turtles all the way down.
Again, sorry, not trying to be dismissive. The biggest football impact Leiweke and his role has, is those hires. So how does he know enough to pick the right guy. I guess that’s where the consultant agency and Lance Lopes and stuff fits in.
I’m involved in personnel in my work, and currently interviewing recruiters. We’ve brought in a specialist, to assist with the search, since personnel is mission critical (services organization). I can’ use that to make a definitive point about how things are,but there’s a lot of parallels and from that perspective I don’t think football background is critical to CEO here. From the President to CEOs, the best guys in charge, are the best in no small part because they recognize what they don’t know, and surround themselves with the best people to help hem make the right decisions.
by jacobstevens on Jul 26, 2010 11:16 AM PDT up reply actions
great points
You don’t seem dismissive, it’s hard to want to continue posting about this when I truly am apathetic. It’s impossible to tell how much and what type of impact this will have over the years. I’m curious to see who we bring in though.
by Hancock.Brett on Jul 26, 2010 11:22 AM PDT up reply actions
Leiweke originally came from the NHL, not from another football team. He may have been a great football guy, but that wasn’t where his CEO experience came from. He was a part of two different NHL teams before moving on to the Seahawks.
There's nothing quite like the sound of a frozen puck hitting the glass. It makes me happy.
Raw Charge, an SBN Tampa Bay Lightning community.
by Cassie McClellan on Jul 26, 2010 2:49 PM PDT up reply actions
Maybe he can move the Lightning to Seattle
if they do something with the arena
Nonsense, Poopy-Pants!
by Lo Pann on Jul 26, 2010 10:53 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
My first thought too.
Hopefully we can be welcoming Tod back up to Seattle soon.
by Dizzy Saturn on Jul 26, 2010 12:32 PM PDT up reply actions
That would be sweet.
My first thought when I read the headline was dissapointment, because I knew he had interest in the NHL, and I had hoped he’d help get us a team. But I guess there is still hope, although I have no idea what the current condition of the Lightning is. I’ve heard that Phoenix and Atlanta are both struggling and could move, but I havn’t heard that about Tampa Bay.
by Mind of no mind on Jul 26, 2010 12:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Do you think the NHL would do well in Seattle? It’s a constant discussion in Vancouver and I think most Canucks fans would be happy to have a rival just down I5.
Tampa had been struggling, but that was mostly because the previous ownership group was comically inept. They were just sold, have hired Steve Yzerman away from Detroit to be their GM and have had a good summer for trades and signings.
My hopes exceed my expectations
-WeepingTile
Personally, I think it would be a huge success.
Right now there is a huge hole in the Seattle sports market after the football season ends until the Baseball season starts (or MLS for some people). Even if the NBA comes back to Seattle, they will have a hard time drawing back all the fans.
I really can only draw on my own experiance and those of people around me, but a large majority of people I’ve talked to, have agreed that we’d love to see the NHL come here before seeing the NBA come back. But the lack of a suitable place to play is a huge problem.
by Mind of no mind on Jul 27, 2010 12:05 AM PDT up reply actions
Very, very doubtful. I’m originally from the Seattle area, and I’d love to see an NHL team in the Northwest. But the Lightning will be staying in Tampa. The New York Islanders have a greater chance of moving than the Lightning do.
There's nothing quite like the sound of a frozen puck hitting the glass. It makes me happy.
Raw Charge, an SBN Tampa Bay Lightning community.
by Cassie McClellan on Jul 26, 2010 2:29 PM PDT up reply actions
The NHL wants to put a team in Seattle, and has for a good 20 years, but there’s no building and no one willing to be an owner – at least, no one’s talked about wanting to buy an NHL team and move it to Seattle.
There's nothing quite like the sound of a frozen puck hitting the glass. It makes me happy.
Raw Charge, an SBN Tampa Bay Lightning community.
by Cassie McClellan on Jul 26, 2010 2:30 PM PDT up reply actions
We wouldn't even have to change the name.
Though they sink through the Sea, they shall rise again...Death shall have no dominion...
Any inklings as to who could be up for hire
besides promoting someone internally?
Field Gulls: my anti-PFT.
Perhaps. But remember, he was CEO of the Sounders too.
It would appear that having a business background is as or more important than being a football guy.
I'm gonna go calm submissive on your ass.
He's listed here as such.
http://www.soundersfc.com/Team/Staff.aspx
I'm gonna go calm submissive on your ass.
Not to split hairs
But he is listed as CEO of Vulcan Sports not Sounders. Paul Allen does not run the Sounders or manage it and only owns a minority share of the team.
by m_b on Jul 26, 2010 5:10 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Eric Decosta is a player personel director.
Vulcan is a lot more than the Seahawks. I doubt whoever replaces Lieweke will have a football backround.
Lieweke didn’t have a football background. He came from a different NHL team – the Minnesota Wild. He started out with hockey and then moved on to football, basketball, and soccer.
There's nothing quite like the sound of a frozen puck hitting the glass. It makes me happy.
Raw Charge, an SBN Tampa Bay Lightning community.
by Cassie McClellan on Jul 26, 2010 2:28 PM PDT up reply actions
I can't say I was big on Leiweke's increasing hand in day-to-day operations
but as Robert pointed out to me earlier, let’s not forget that fan support for both the Seahawks and Sounders has grown a great deal and he’s had a big part in that.
I wonder
if there is any correlation to Paul’s health and some of the family dynamics it may create. Ulimately I guess this is simply Todd becoming a part owner.
As a season ticket holder
Before and after Leiweke’s hire, I can tell you that the culture and attitude of the front office toward the fans changed greatly. Pre-Leiweke, once they had your money in their pockets they could care less. After, they offered perks, kept fans informed of events, and actually listened. In my personal experience, the ticket office actually worked to move me to better seats instead of just ignoring me and handing out those seats to new ticket holders.
More than Holmgren, Leiweke made the Seahawks “Professional”. Best front office guy the Seahawks have ever had.
by Groundhog on Jul 27, 2010 12:55 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs

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