He had a lot to prove.
He was a law school dean. An “academic”. Sure, he had been a short-term “athletic director” at some school in South Orange, but they didn’t even have football.
He had a lot to prove.
And then, of course, he had to hire a football coach for a program that was in disarray and to which the term “dumpster fire” was attached by more than a few people. Oh, and he had to figure out how to raise real money in order to be competitive in the Big Ten. And then had to fire a favorite son hoops coach and replace him.