So ya'll realize this position won't be for a coach right? Ya'll know the department is in financial ruins, the chanselor has openly talked about tearing down the track & possibly cutting the men team? If they dont go to a women xc only team first, theyll be hiring for a fund raiser & administrator. One who will be thrilled making just over 100k with the smallest budget in the P5, who won't be able to pay assistants anything (think I'm wrong? Look up what Tony & the rest make, its a public school), one who thinks they can compete without the full alotment of scholarships allowed & a department that doesn't support track & xc. So who does this mean? That rules out anyone with previous successful head coach (director) experience that still has a job because they're not going to take more than a 50% pay cut to live in one of the most expensive places on earth to risk their careers to become another fund raiser instead of coach. Although Magda is a good coach, that's not what theyre looking for (and that is not what a director does anyway). Alysia Montano is black & female (what someone was alluding to), but she is a known sociopath who's alienated everyone around her. And has no experience with anything they need done. And she's broke so she can't even donate ha!
Helen & Diljeet are good ideas but they make more now in their current positions as assistants than they would at Cal as director with a lot fewer headaches now with A LOT more potential for success in their current jobs. Since I think both are wealthy through spouses who can work anywhere and are from the area, that may not be big for them so still good ideas if they want to give up actually coaching. Plenty of out of work or soon to be out of work names are probably throwing their name in the hat because a job is better than no job ha! But there is a reason they are out of work & they don't know Cal. James Li is an interesting name because he's expressed interest before and things aren't looking good at Arizona right now so he may want to get out before they all go down ha! Just depends who he knows. Kadevis? Hes making A LOT more at OSU now and would have no idea what to do at an elite academic school. And he doesn't know anyone there.
But if I have to guess they will stay in house. One of the current assistants between probably Houlihan, Gipson & Satara since they are known, know Cal, may know the people with the money, probably want to keep their jobs (and Cal wont have to pay them anymore) and know how to not rock the boat after 6 or 7 years there with moderate success. I think? From there, the kids like Satara and Houlihan and so do the alums so probably depends what the administration thinks of them? Gipson would seem to be next based of his time there and title (and he's black...just sayin') but the kids despise him, alums think he is a clown and I dont think the admin respects him. That and he doesn't want them digging too far into his past around Sacramento and all the jobs hes been fired from. Or checking to see whether he actually graduated from Air Force or not from a new AD who came from the academy and has a military background ha! Either way, will be interesting! Just don't expect anyone without big experience at Cal or very good connections to the admin who understand that place...and who don't mind being poor fund raisers ha!