You're one of the few I guess who isn't impressed. The majority of the Phoenix media and national media think the hiring of Rodriguez was an excellent choice. When you hear the word home run, you know it was a good hire. Even my diehard ASU friend admitted he was jealous of the hire. Of course he wants Peterson or Sumlin, but is afraid Love will screw it up.
By the way, I remember when Sean Miller was hired, there were ASU fans on Devil Digest saying it was not a good hire. Of course these are probably the same who said the gap was closing. We will have to wait a few years to see who hired the better football coach. Maybe both schools will hit a home run. Time will tell.
I think you don't know me very well. I'm not petty. I did praise UA and Byrne for their process, which was swift and impressive. I would be very disappointed if Rodriguez had been ASU's choice. The media has a very poor track record, too. They were ecstatic over the Mackovic hire and the Erickson hire. They love names they already know. They disapprove of names they have to learn about. I work with all of them. Right now they're privately confused why ASU isn't hot after Mike Leach, because they would give a raging thumbs up to that hire. They believe the MOST IMPORTANT thing is their perception of the hire, especially when compared to UA.
I want someone who will win. Period. I can give you my 50-page thesis on what that entails, or I can just tell you my favorite guys are usually the guys that makes people laugh. Before Erickson hired I pushed very hard for Gary Patterson, Mark Dantonio, Ron English and Gene Chizik. Before the Koetter hire I was very in favor of Gary Patterson (who at that time was TCU DC in lieu of being promoted to HC because Franchione leaving for Alabama). I certainly missed on some, too. In 2001, I had no idea Utah hiring Urban Meyer from Bowling Green would turn into a whole new tree on its own. But I usually can spot a successful college head coach, and they're usually not the "name" guys at this level.
I've spent most of my adult life on a college football history project charting football coaching trees. Since 1990 I've maintained a network of coaching friends who tell me stories, feed me info, provide background and context. Someday I hope to write a book on this. In the meantime, I think I see these decisions in a much different light than the typical fan, and most coaching searches I find appallingly focused on the press conference and not on the long-term health of a program. It's not just a short-term investment, it's a 1-month investment on a decision that will cost the school tens of millions and years on the withdrawal from the fan base. It's insanity.
