There might have been a worse time for athletic director Troy Dannen to leave Washington in the dust, but nothing comes immediately to mind. Not even Oregon and Washington State, their heads together and imaginations in charge, could have scripted anything to match the reality playing out on Montlake.
Dannen accepted the same post at Nebraska on Wednesday, a mere five-and-a-half months after being introduced by the Huskies and declaring that it would be his “last job.”
Dannen’s time in purple was eventful. The Huskies won the Pac-12 football title, played for the national championship, lost coach Kalen DeBoer to Alabama, hired Jedd Fisch from Arizona and just fired basketball coach Mike Hopkins — all in the 165 days of Dannen’s employment.
Now they must hire a basketball coach without an athletic director. Good luck with that.
What’s next for UW athletics? How will president Ana Mari Cauce manage the searches?
There are three components to identifying Dannen’s replacement: The executive placement firm of record; the hiring model; and the candidate pool.
Let’s take them one by one.
The search firm
It’s standard procedure for universities to lean on executive placement firms during the hiring process, especially for athletic directors. After all, presidents don’t know which candidates across the country are well regarded and which are not.
When Jen Cohen left Washington (for USC) last summer, Cauce retained Parker Executive Search to lead the process.
Believing Dannen met the criteria, Parker placed him on a short list of candidates for Cauce to consider.
Obviously, the fit was wrong — on both ends. Dannen wasn’t well received on Montlake, according to sources, and he clearly never got comfortable in the environment.
And when Nebraska began searching for an athletic director last week, which firm did the Huskers employ? Yep, Parker.
At that point, it became easy enough for Dannen to let his Parker pals know he’d listen to any offer that came his way.
Does Cauce plan to hire Parker again as she conducts the Jen Cohen Replacement Search 2.0?
The hiring model
In our view, it’s imperative that Washington identify candidates for both the athletic director and basketball coaching vacancies who have worked for the Huskies, lived in the Pacific Northwest or, at the very least, experienced the lifestyle of the West Coast.
If Cauce targets someone without ties to the region — someone like Dannen — then her selection must be willing to understand the UW culture and the Seattle community. To listen and learn. To mold himself or herself to Washington, not the other way around.
That’s not an easy trait to identify because every candidate will profess a willingness to listen and learn, which is why someone with ties to the region lowers the risk.
The candidate pool
Is Washington considered damaged goods within college athletics? To an extent, yes. The Huskies have lost their football coach, fired their basketball coach and lost their athletic director after a mere six months.
Clearly, some qualified candidates will be wary. With good reason, they will wonder about Cauce’s commitment to athletics, to the sustainability of success on the field and on the court.
That said, the selling points have not changed: Washington is a terrific school with a passionate, wealthy donor base and a premier football program that, most importantly, will enter the Big Ten this summer.
With major college sports facing an uncertain future as lawsuits mount against the NCAA, only the Big Ten and SEC can offer the resources, platform and security that most athletic directors covet.
The Huskies won’t lure away an established AD from either conference, but they should have a slew of qualified candidates from ACC, Big 12 and Group of Five schools.
In the Hotline’s view, Cauce should focus on six candidates (listed alphabetically):
Washington State AD Pat Chun: Immensely qualified on every front, from his track record for hires (hello, Kyle Smith) and fundraising chops to his understanding of the NCAA landscape, experience in the Pacific Northwest and grasp of Big Ten dynamics (he attended and worked for Ohio State). The one possible snag is the degree to which the Apple Cup rivalry could create internal friction. If there’s no indication it would hinder Chun’s experience in Seattle, he stands as a first-class option.
Houston AD Chris Pezman: Although he’s not well known in the Pacific Northwest, Pezman knows the West Coast. Even better from Cauce’s perspective: He knows the West Coast via experience at an elite academic school, Cal. Pezman spent four years as the Bears’ chief operating officer before taking the Houston job. (It’s his alma mater). Also, he reportedly was a candidate for the UW vacancy six months ago.
Nevada AD Stephanie Rempe: Granted, Rempe is a tad light on the experience side: She’s 21 months into her Nevada tenure and has no prior experience in the big chair. However, Rempe is heavy on UW experience, having worked on Montlake for eight years under Cohen’s predecessor, Scott Woodward. She followed Woodward to Texas A&M and then to LSU. And as a bonus, she spent five years at Oklahoma.
Virginia deputy AD Ed Scott: Another potential candidate who was considered for the vacancy last fall. Scott has never run a department but is well versed in all things UW: He’s an adjunct faculty member in UW’s School of Education, where he teaches a course in Intercollegiate Athletic Leadership (per his bio on Virginia’s website). Scott’s candidacy was viewed favorably within the Husky athletic department the last time around.
Fresno State AD Terry Tumey: We included Tumey on a list of candidates for UW last fall, in part because he hired DeBoer at Fresno State in 2020. But even with DeBoer off to Alabama, Tumey makes sense in Seattle. He played defensive line for UCLA, has a master’s degree from the school (in business administration) and worked in the NFL (for the 49ers) before taking a series of AD jobs.
San Diego State AD John David Wicker: If Cauce plans to hire an AD before finding a basketball coach, Wicker would be a fine first move. After all, he hired the head coach (Brian Dutcher) who led San Diego State to the national championship game. Wicker is finishing his eighth year with the Aztecs but knows the Pacific Northwest, having spent a decade on Washington State’s staff.
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