It was a sad morning for many Off Tackle Empire staffers, as SBNation-mandated streamlining led to a round of budget cuts, high-profile executive meetings with site manager Graham Filler, and, eventually, a number of layoffs.
A few of the staffers tweeted their goodbyes and thank-yous to their loyal readers:
Creighton M
I think @Hassel_Chris should write for us at @offtackleempire b/c you can never have too many Iowa guys. We can split my bonus this quarter
— Creighton M (@CP_McEleney) April 27, 2017
Which was awkward timing, because
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8419935/creighton.png)
Chris, if you’re reading this, we are hiring...
Stewmonkey13
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8419913/stew.png)
AlNamiasIV
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8419943/alnamias.png)
Aaron Yorke
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8418763/yorke.png)
Nate Peterson
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8419957/nate_p.png)
babaoreally
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8419953/babaoreally.png)
Andrew Krasziewski
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8419979/andrew_k.png)
Candystripes for Breakfast
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8419985/candy.png)
Thumpasaurus
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8420003/thump.png)
There were a number of similar tweets that were just...shocking. We have forwarded them to the FBI and hope that Thumpasaurus will be dealt with accordingly.
WhiteSpeedReceiver
I was hoping that ESPN would encourage more people who aren't very good at their job to find new career paths.
— Ben Dawson (@BenjaminJDawson) April 26, 2017
Take a hint, bub.
Thomas Speth
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8420017/speth.png)
We’ve learned of a few hints as to next plans for the writers. Creighton, Stew, and Al plan to join Chris Hassel in his new YouTube endeavor, the Primarily Iowa Sports Station. Rumor has it babaoreally is looking to join One Foot Down, and Candystripes for Breakfast is considering a similar offer. WhiteSpeedReceiver plans to take a position with True North Elite, the Minnesota United FC supporters’ group, despite their insistence they don’t know PJ Fleck and do not plan to get #HYPRR. Nate Peterson will join NBCSN, because I don’t think anyone else in sports media knows what hockey is anymore. Thomas Speth could understandably not be reached for further comment, and Thumpasaurus plans to blog about Illinois from his padded cell.
We’re also pleased to announce that we have re-hired C.E. Bell, who definitely does not still have pictures of Graham from the 2011 company trip to Nicaragua—or was it Costa Rica? Guatemala?
In the meantime, we hope you enjoy Off Tackle Empire’s existing content, which will consist mostly of rutger recruiting updates, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Northwestern news and photoshops, Mailbag, and Jesse claiming he’s going to write something then never actually following through.