I wonder if AD Rich will have very real conversations with potential replacements and feel comfortable that a good hire is very likely before making a change. I am thinking there are <wink> tampering rules about such things.
Well, she's the compliance expert, so she'll know the do's and don'ts, I would think. But so long as the potential candidate(s) she approaches are not under contract with another NCAA school at the time of the contact - except promotions - I'd think she'd be in the clear. Think just how often NCAA D-1 Football head coaches materialize in short order at the end of the football season, even when some are finishing up their NFL assistant commitments.
Two guys I'd have at the top of my "check out their interest level" list would be
Jim Tortorella (assistant at Harvard) and
Jeff Blashill (assistant at Tampa Bay), and I'm sure our intrepid posters could come up with more. Torts is probably a little old (approaching 60) but knows the joint and might like what amounts to a no-lose proposition at UNH - I mean, how much worse can it get? Torts knows the recruiting, knows the game, and his last name still has some currency. Blashill - who I raised as a possibility this time last year - is recharging his batteries under Coach Cooper, in what was basically a convenient "coach swap" with the Wings (FWIW Coach Lalonde looks like he will be bringing in DRW with their first winning season in awhile, as the Yzer-plan steadily advances). There seems to be some slippage with TBL this year, so Blashill presumably hasn't made any permanent lodging plans along Florida's Gulf Coast, and has to be looking for his last big (or long-term reliable) paycheck next time around. He was successful at every level except a daunting Motown rebuild, and is a respected teacher of the game, so he'd have a lot to offer for UNH (not sure about vice versa, although the no-lose proposition applies equally to him).
I understand
Steve Saviano is knocking it out of the park in his business exploits. He's back near his childhood home these days, maybe someone connected with his alma mater should give him a ring about a volunteer assistant's job??
