Many offer Mayo as the obvious successor. While I certainly understand this, I do have some reservations re that choice: 1) He is obviously a defensive coach, and the assertion that the way forward would be with an offensive-minded coach does make some sense, 2) Mayo is obviously "in the Belichick tradition." Given Bill's failures, it is reasonable to question whether this is entirely a good thing. This concern is somewhat mitigated by the fact that most of Bill's recent failings have been as GM, a role which I certainly assume Mayo would not have., 3) It is always unwise to put too much weight on the well-known merits of any internal candidate. Too tight a focus on this can cause one to miss the virtues of candidates whom one does not know, the opportunities for positive change such candidates might offer 4) I have led the hiring process for many openings in academia. I always cited three areas of evaluation: knowledge of subject matter, manner of relating to students, and what I used to call "voltage." It takes a lot of voltage to manage and teach a roomful of students, certainly a buildingfull of football guys. Some people who are otherwise excellent candidates simply lack the juice, the energy, the Moxie, the push to do the job. I have to say I do not see a great deal of such voltage in Mayo to this point. He's a nice guy - fine - but what the hell difference does that make?