Optimistic about the hire. Seems like a good fit.
Curious if Mora got serious attention. Also curious who was in the mix? My sense is Grinch was, and then withdrew his name (not sure).
Others...?
My curiosity is..."why does it matter now"? Is it just to provide ammo for sniping later, if things aren't great after the first year?
This is the kind of speculation that usually takes place within a short period of time (days/week or two) after the hire. Not at a point where the second LOI day has come and gone, spring practices are on the verge and the new hire has been "most visible" in the greater Coug community, preaching the gospel.
To me, this sort of suggests than there may have been other, better candidates who were overlooked. Of course that's always possible.
But the situation really suggests to me that the AD was aware of Leach's proclivities (no matter what Chun said publicly) and had his ducks in a row, in case a move had to be made.
Look at the struggles Colorado is having with their hire. First, their coach leaves them in the lurch. Then the top replacement candidate (in most people's minds) looks like he wants to stay with the NFL. Then it seems they had maybe settled on "Cutty Sark", only to have him decide 'Bama was the place he wants to be, after all. The Air Force coach was another main target, supposedly. It was said he would shift away from the triple option and was a very strong candidate for the job.
I haven't looked at what news is out there yet today, but yesterday it seemed like they might be back to reopening interviews and exploring further candidates? Most of the names thrown around are "the usual suspects"...i.e.- many of the same names bandied about when we were looking.
So....what's the big deal? Do we REALLY CARE who else was interviewed? Or are we actually happy Chun acted quickly and avoided and couple of weeks of shet-show, with a program twisting in the wind? Maybe things work out spectacularly for them in the end? Maybe it would have for us, too, if more time was taken and more/other names considered? Maybe it did and we are seeing it unfold in front of our faces?
On balance, I don't care. We got a guy who seems like he's a good fit (as you said) and seems like he has the energy and enthusiasm to do the job for us. Can he WIN at WSU?? Time will tell. And that's the bottom line, anyway. Doesn't matter now even one whit who else was considered, or interviewed.
Curiosity is one thing. Reality is another. Maybe it's just a dead period before spring ball? Otherwise, why does it matter?