"Value Over Replacement" | by Jay

I'm combing through the newswire from over the weekend looking for any word of possible AD candidates, and I have to pause for a moment. CBS Sportsline just put out what's maybe the fifth mostly-identical laundry list of names I've seen (Chryst, Orsini, Gene Smith, etc.)

The problem is, I see no corroboration that any of these guys are actually being considered. Reporters seem to be simply sifting through current ADs with Notre Dame somewhere on the resume (as former player or employee), whether or not that person is really a candidate. (Hansen in the SBT at least got his headline right on his regurgitation, saying, in effect, "here's a bunch of guys in athletic directing who passed through N.D. at some point.") In short, they're picking names out of a hat.

Without debating the merits of any of the names mentioned -- and some of them may be worthy candidates -- I expect and hope that we don't limit ourselves to a pool arrived at by Googling "athletic department + Notre Dame." The N.D. athletic directorship is a fairly unique position and defies the usual job description. As such, we need to look beyond the usual suspects.