The timing of the retirement

[Porkchop.sixpack]

makes me nervous. If it were the end of the season, and we had....say, a month...to find a new coach, I think things might stay pretty focused. I don't like all the press influence, etc. that is likely to occur along the way in this looooooonnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggg journey we are now on.

 

[Todd4State]

It's not going to get really serious until the season ends anyway, more out of courtesy for the coaches that have teams in the postseason. The season doesn't end until June, so we probably won't have a coach until then at the earliest. I would not be opposed to July because Polk and LT will be gone by then.

 

[Duane Chapman]

but not because of the press. I don't like it because we don't have a real president or athletic director. It's clear Polk is deliberately attempting to take advantage of these circumstances to get Raffo in when he knows he doesn't have the credentials. It's quite telling that he made such a big deal about it from the beginning. He knows he wouldn't have to do this if Raffo had the resume.

I actually like all the publicity because it could help with recruiting and it keeps Larry in the spotlight; it'll be harder to justify hiring Raffo and the like with coaches obviously more qualified talking about the prestige of the program in the papers. It won't be necessary if Byrne gets to call the shots, and I agree it could backfire on us if it turns into a war of words, but I'd be much more worried if the press weren't following it.