Athletic directors are like audio/visual employees at concerts and shows. The less they’re talked about the better. When all is going well, nobody talks about athletic directors. They praise coaches and lionize players, but never the man or woman who set those beings into motion to begin with.
Then when all hell breaks loose, suddenly the athletic director (and by extension, department) is tarred and feathered. He or she is the one responsible for every loss, every misstep and every action (or inaction). It’s a lose-lose job that doesn’t pay you to the level of value you create.