Who Will be Fired First: Al Lord or Isiah Thomas?

They may share little more in common than the name Lord, but Isiah Lord Thomas (his given name), the much-maligned general manager and coach of the New York Knicks, and Al Lord, the oft-criticized Chief Executive Officer and former Chairman of Sallie Mae, are sitting on seats hot enough to make Mount St. Helen's seem cool. With that in mind, Higher Ed Watch takes a look at the two leaders to assess which Lord will be shown the door first.

The Tale of the Tape

        <td width="20%" align="center" valign="top"><strong>Name</strong></td>
        <td width="40%" align="center" valign="top"><strong>Isiah Lord Thomas III</strong></td>

    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td width="40%" align="center" valign="top">62</td>

        <td width="20%" align="center" valign="top"><strong>Age</strong></td>
        <td width="40%" align="center" valign="top">46</td>

    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td width="40%" align="center" valign="top">
        <p>

        CEO, and, until recently, Chairman of <br />
        Sallie Mae Corporation 
        </p>
        </td>
        <td width="20%" align="center" valign="top"><strong>Occupation</strong></td>

        <td width="40%" align="center" valign="top">President, Basketball Operations and Head Coach of the New York Knicks</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>

        <td width="40%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="http://higheredwatch.newamerica.net/blogs/2007/02/sallie_mae" target="_blank">Under investigation by the SEC</a> for insider trading. U.S. Education Dept Inspector General <a href="http://chronicle.com/news/article/3686/sallie-mae-faces-education-dept-audit-over-95-loans" target="_blank">investigating Sallie Mae</a> for claimed "9.5 percent loan" excess billing</td>

        <td width="20%" align="center" valign="top"><strong>Legal Troubles</strong></td>
        <td width="40%" align="center" valign="top">Jury finds Thomas-led business liable for<a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3046010" target="_blank"> sexual harassment.</a> During appeal, Madison Square Garden agrees to <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3149371" target="_blank">settle for $11.5 million</a></td>

    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td width="40%" align="center" valign="top">
        <p>

        <strong>$16.35</strong><br />
        <br />
        The price SLM stocks hit on January 4, 2008, the <a href="http://finance.google.com/finance/historical?cid=30761&startdate=Oct++19%2C+2000&enddate=Jan+4%2C+2008" target="_blank">lowest price since October 19, 2000</a> and 73 percent lower than the $60 a share takeover bid 
        </p>

        </td>
        <td width="20%" align="center" valign="top"><strong>Telling Number</strong></td>

        <td width="40%" align="center" valign="top">
        <p>
        <strong>9-25<br />

        </strong><strong><br />
        </strong>Despite a <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/columnists/dmoore/stories/111807dnspomore.24451b1.html" target="_blank">payroll of $95 million</a>, the NBA's highest, the Knicks have the <a href="http://www.nba.com/standings/team_record_comparison/conferenceNew_Std_Div.html" target="_blank">third fewest victories</a> in the league and are in last place in the Atlantic Division 
        </p>

        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td width="40%" align="center" valign="top">Loses cool during investor conference call, closing with <a href="http://seekingalpha.com/article/57902-sallie-mae-s-albert-lord-the-deathwatch-begins" target="_blank">"There's no questions. Let's get the F*** out of here."</a> Comment strangely left off of <a href="http://jeffmatthewsisnotmakingthisup.blogspot.com/2007/12/expletives-deleted-tapes-erased-its.html" target="_blank">official transcript</a>. Stock <a href="http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-21791468.htm" target="_blank">price tumbles 19 percent</a> in response</td>

        <td width="20%" align="center" valign="top"><strong>Public Relations</strong></td>
        <td width="40%" align="center" valign="top">

        <p>
        Poor record has alienated fans to the point they regularly chant <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3161668" target="_blank">"Fire Isaiah"</a> at home games and created an <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/2007/12/19/2007-12-19_knicks_fans_give_isiah_thomas_the_slip__.html" target="_blank">8-foot pink slip</a>. MSG security guards, meanwhile, stifle free speech, silencing Thomas <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/2007/12/18/2007-12-18_fan_ejected_for_holding_fire_isiah_sign.html" target="_blank">hecklers</a> and ejecting <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/sports/basketball/14garden.html?scp=3&sq=ejected+from+Madison+Square+Garden" target="_blank">sign holders</a> 
        </p>

        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td width="40%" align="center" valign="top">Refused to renegotiate an October 2007 <a href="http://www.salliemae.com/about/news_info/newsreleases/04162007.htm" target="_blank">planned $25 billion</a>, $60 a share buyout deal with JC Flowers & Co. Rejected a $50 a share renewed offer from the same bidder even though that still represented a sizeable premium over the then current share price. The deal <a href="http://chronicle.com/news/article/3117/deal-to-buy-out-sallie-mae-falls-through" target="_blank">subsequently fell through</a> and the stock dropped to $16.35 a share</td>

        <td width="20%" align="center" valign="top"><strong>Worst Move</strong></td>
        <td width="40%" align="center" valign="top">Traded for overpriced, shoot-first point guard Stephon Marbury. Ignored teammates' unanimous <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/rumors/post/Knicks-players-unhappy-with-Isiah?urn=nba,57114" target="_blank">vote against allowing Marbury to play</a> after he suddenly left the team during a road trip following news that he would no longer start. Tales of Marbury's tryst in a limousine with an MSG intern add embarassment to Thomas' sexual harrassment trial</td>

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    <tr>
        <td width="40%" align="center" valign="top">Agreed to buy back Sallie Mae shares at inflated prices thinking that stock price would increase; when the opposite occurred, Lord was forced to <a href="http://www.forbes.com/markets/economy/2007/12/27/sallie-may-update-markets-equity-cx_af_1227markets23.html" target="_blank">dilute shareholder value</a> by nearly $3 billion in order to settle buy back agreements</td>

        <td width="20%" align="center" valign="top"><strong>Worst Gamble</strong></td>
        <td width="40%" align="center" valign="top">Traded a trio of top draft picks and players <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2180298" target="_blank">for Eddy Curry</a>, an underachieving 6'11" center who plays little defense, is a poor rebouder, and, due to multiple fainting spells, is <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/ian_thomsen/10/13/curry/index.html" target="_blank">suspected by his former team of being prone to a fatal heart condition</a>. Thomas waived a cardiac medical test and signed Curry to multi-million dollar contract extension</td>

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</tbody>

Who gets fired first? It's a Toss Up! On the one hand, Thomas has been failing for four years (record 137-224) and team owner James Dolan continues to stand behind him. Why stop the madness now? On the other hand, Lord's mismanagement decisions (e.g. a ridiculously over leveraged company, blown takeover bid negotiation, and assumption of risky private loans) have only recently come home to roost. Over the last decade, Lord did successfully grow Sallie Mae into the most dominant force in the student loan market.

Regardless, both Lords are trying to spin their way out of their respective messes. Thomas says the Knicks are only seven games out of playoff contention. Sallie Mae blames credit market tightening and Congress' decision to cut back excess federal loan subsidies as the culprits for its slide. But don't be fooled.

The Knicks are on pace for the team's worst record since the 1963-64 season. The players are a cohesive unit only in their disdain for Thomas. And scalpers are losing money on season tickets. Sallie Mae's stock has fallen by 73 percent over the last four months, a decline that is 50 percent greater than their closest competitor in the student loan market. Al Lord is seeking to cut back Sallie Mae's core business of originating government guaranteed student loans, but no one else in the industry is doing so. There continue to be thousands of lenders ready to offer government guaranteed student loans.

Don't believe the hype or the spin. Neither of these Lords deserve your faith.