I would start by replacing Shalala, since she is the common denominator behind the hiring three of the same coaches.
And who would you replace Shalala with?
Not a clue in the world. But if you are going to argue that not having a good alternative right now means that we should keep a failure, then we can agree to end the discussion at this point, as I find that "logic" to be extremely faulty.
I think replacing Shalala would need to start with a review of why she is being replaced vs. what she does well and then fill that gap in searching for a replacement. Part of the problem is this is a university and not a sports franchise. But even within that facet, our basketball teams have had increased success lately while our bragging right sports, football and baseball, have not.
Since replacing Shalala will likely end in a pointless discussion around race and politics, what realistic football head coach options would you like to see considered to replace Golden should he bolt for PSU or get fired.
I think that she does the "school" side of the equation very well. I am an alum and absolutely love what she has done for my degrees (though the law school is still slacking hard, but that's a totally different discussion). I understand that this isn't a sports franchise, nor have I ever expected it to be. I just believe that at this point, it is clear that she isn't very good (or doesn't care) at the sport's side of the equation. Again, three failed hires, all of whom have been virtually identical in their team identities and records, strongly suggests that to be the case. I truly believe that you do NOT need to have either/or. I don't think the problem is with it needing to be a sports franchise. It's being afraid of our history and wanting to keep distancing ourselves from what made us great. You are right, this discussion will inevitably lead to race and politics, so we can leave it at that.
The first three coaches that come to mind without doing much thinking are (1) Kirby Smart (2) Phillip Montgomery (3) Petrino. I'm not sure Smart would come here for myriad reasons, but I have loved what I have seen from Baylor this year. Dude is a badass offensive coordinator, with a clear chip on his shoulder, and is a southern guy who because of that, would inherently understand what football is all about down here, compared to a Penn State guy. Petrino could be GOAT here, but that would never happen because he is too cutthroat for our nice administration. I'm sure I'll get flamed but there you go.
