re: The Official Coaching Search Thread- updates in OP

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Ha I suppose we were all expecting someone to be on the field. This definitely looks great though! Can't wait to see what kind of impact she makes on the process!

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I know it may seem somewhat anticlimactic on the surface, but this really is a big, huge, hire. She is a key piece to the puzzle that was missing ... been missing around here for years. Spurrier refused to employ someone like her for the role, he didn't think we needed the role in the first place - he preferred to use coaches in the role, and their wives.

Think back to the mess that was made by Jenn Holtz (Skip's wife) during the recruiting season when she was here ... when she resigned her position right in the middle of recruiting season and left everyone hanging for personal bitchy reasons. It was all very public.

Spurrier was never going to allow that possibility under his direction - he wanted it to remain all men, all under contract, all the time. The girls we used were students - and I never liked it, not ever. They were a volunteer group and they were not very good at it.

We've even allowed SC State girls in the past ... to help us recruit (unofficially) as outsiders, being close to the campus and all.

Y'all understand what I am saying.

With this hire this puts us on a very professional approach to doing this in such a way that has proven ultra successful at other programs. And, again, this was all pioneered by Saban the moment he saw a crack in the rules. (As it was explained to me it has something to do with Article 11-2, or something like that, in the NCAA by-laws on recruiting.)

This young lady is just exceptional. I was really worried, as time dragged on after her interview, that we were not going to land her ... that's why I kept urging everyone to keep their fingers crossed.

After I met her, I saw the reaction from all the guys, including some players, and heard the stories from one who had visited Bama when she was there ... and I knew instantly why we were after her so hard.

Then I started hearing about her talking to other coaches at other programs and I started worrying. I really thought Auburn might get her, or she might end-up in Miami. And then when I heard Richt was trying to pull Jenn Jackson outta of UGA to Miami, I figured it was over because I figured she would definitely end-up at Georgia if Jenn left for Miami. But when Jenn stayed at UGA, well ... Richt came after Jess I was like, oh crap. Then we started hearing rumors that Florida had contacted her, then Ohio State (neither of which have filled their positions yet) ... and I started crossing my fingers even tighter. She's an impressive person to meet in person.

Jenn Jackson and Asha Sowell are legends at what they do at UGA and Bama respectively. I've known about them for awhile. They are so good at what they do that there have been attempts to get their positions eliminated by rival programs ... but the NCAA allows it. So with this hire we are really stepping up to the plate. And she was not cheap either, we really had to step-up to the plate to get her.