NCAAF teams
Ivan Maisel, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

NCAA's hiring of Oliver Luck a home run

1. The tenure of NCAA president Mark Emmert has been one misstep after another, from his gross mishandling of Penn State to his inability, despite his best efforts, to lead the organization out of the amateur model to one that allows members to provide more benefits to student-athletes. But the hiring of West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck to be the NCAA’s No. 2 is such an inspired move it makes me wonder how Emmert made it. Luck is a talented administrator with the ability to see and synthesize the bigger picture. That’s a hole the NCAA desperately needs to fill.

2. Alabama (formerly) and Michigan (currently) are examples of how chasing a head coach with ties to the university can send a football program spiraling toward oblivion. That cautionary note sticks in my head as Wisconsin hires former Badger and state native Paul Chryst to return home as head coach. Chryst’s coaching style in two seasons at Pitt came right out of the Barry Alvarez playbook: a physical, downhill running game. Chryst receives an Incomplete grade with the Panthers. He has a Midwestern sensibility, preferring hard work to the spotlight. His hiring makes sense. But will he win?

3. Now that Chryst is gone, Pitt will be hiring its 43rd head coach in the last five years, or something like that. If the university is craving stability as well as re-establishing its identity in the still-rich recruiting area of western Pennsylvania, then Pitt will hire West Virginia assistant Tom Bradley. No one has more respect with high school coaches. No one has a better track record as a defensive coach. Bradley spent nearly four decades at Penn State and a long time as Joe Paterno’s right-hand man. It’s hard to imagine Pitt finding a more qualified candidate. Not to mention, he still lives in Pittsburgh. In other words, duh.

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