Chuck, you wrote, "With the "interim" tags still attached to their titles,
Coaches Wood and Jones face the future (long-term or otherwise) with questions, and precious few answers. There have been no statements of outward or even implied support from Athletic Department leadership (perhaps an oxymoron there?), and so two promising young assistants who encountered a series of obstacles not of their own making, wait without assurances to learn of decisions as to their fates with the UNH program ... figuratively twisting in the wind."
Generally I agree with what you say (if I know what you are talking about: your sense of hockey history, both recent and past, and hockey knowledge vastly exceeds mine
and accept what you say if I don't know -- you have a great deal of credibility in my book. That said, I must question your initiative to raise these questions, and to keep raising them despite very simple and reasoned responses from Watcher and others. I have absolutely no insight into this situation, nor inside knowledge. I only know what I have read on the matter, and a lot of it is speculative at best. From what I gather, there is now a gag order of a sort imposed on university athletic department staff (and probably the women's hockey team as well) by their legal representatives, due to a probable pending lawsuit (maybe "probable" is naive or uninformed.) The unfortunate consequence of this is the (at least outward) appearance that the team is in limbo, since there is little or no conversation about the program. However, the answer to the question you posed in your piece "Who is minding the store..." is Coach Wood and Coach Jones, and that they are fully aware of their uncertain future at UNH -- their titles, after all, are "Interim Co-Coaches," and as you said, Coach Wood studied law. If Marty Scarano et al have to maintain silence in this matter, so be it, but that doesn't necessarily mean that there is nobody minding the store. I would find it very reasonable that there is a lot happening in the background, in terms of sub rosa conversations with prospective coaches that we don't know about. I'd also find it reasonable to asume that the interim coaches are doing their best to assuage the concerns of underclasswomen players as well as
incoming freshmen. How effective they may be, given the coaching uncertainty, is a legitimate concern.
I won't pass judgment on whether or not the AD's actions were justified, because I, like most of us, were not there when the precipitating incident -- whatever it was -- happened (though they were certainly ham-handed at best.) I have a feeling that the words he used to justify the firing (inappropriate physical contact, or somesuch) will be mightily vexing for Marty Scarano, should it come to light that Coach McCloskey's actions didn't warrant that description that brings to mind evil doings.
