[Husker] Hopefully Bob Beach wasn't a betting man...

[Steve Stone]

Don Rietsch wrote:

(snip)

>I'm disappointed with the hire.  I have nothing against Pelini and hope he
>is the savior everyone in the state is hoping for.  My disappointment is it
>seems to me that TO came into the AD office, sat down, and asked his new
>secretary: "What's the news out there on the street?  Go to husker at tssi.com
>and read all the posts since the news came out about the pending firing of
>BC.  Give me the names of the coaches the list members want or think would
>be good."  She came back with:  "Dr. Tom, the list says Pelini, Gill, Grobe,
>and Brian Kelly, with Pelini the favorite and Gill close behind."  So Dr.
>Tom went out and interviewed Pelini, Gill, Grobe and (rumored) Kelly.  He
>chose Pelini.  H_ll, this list could have done this job w/o interviewing a
>single candidate. 
>I was hoping the clever and cunning Dr. Tom would beat the bushes in college
>football and come up with a hire that would surprise and absolutely knock my
>socks off.  A guy or gal (wouldn't that have been a bold move) that has been
>operating under the radar, a diamond in the rough like many of the players
>TO recruited, with an incredible record in HS and college football and Dr.
>Tom was a genius for uncovering him/her.

Odd, but I get exactly the opposite reading from the situation: the 
clever and cunning Dr. Tom knew immediately after the USC game (or 
the ISU game at the latest) that the Rubicon had been crossed and 
there was no turning back.
So, in his mind he assessed all possible viable candidates and by the 
time he was appointed Interim AD he had narrowed them down to, say, 
four or five.

Then it became a question of juggling schedules and personalities to 
determine the right man for the moment and, we hope, for the long 
term. In my view, Dr. Tom's immediate goal was to establish stability 
in the program and confidence within the fan base.

If we're looking for drama, we'd better stick to Stephen King flicks.       :-)

Steve Stone