My wild a$$ guess . . .
is that they have worked a deal through an agent with one of the guys who still has a game left. I am thinking that it is either Randy Edsall or Chris Petersen. My hunch is that it is Petersen. I base my guess on (a) the statement made by Maturi that he has a candidate that was a pleasant surprise; (b) that Bruininks has stated that he is pleased with candidate pool; (c) that Bruininks reportedly told the boosters at the basketball game that they have their man; and (d) that Bruininks has said that he thinks that the fans will be pleased with the guy.
I know, this is thin. But who else would both be the surprise candidate that Maturi mentioned and still be playing? Certainly Edsall he should not be considered a surprise candidate - he pops up as a candidate in virtually every search. Same with the case of Hoke, Calhoun, Golden, etc. Who else would cause Bruininks to be excited enough to telll the boosters that they "got their man"? That statement says to me that they don't feel like they had to settle on a compromise candidate. I believe they saw Patterson and Petersen as the top of the list from the very beginning. Finally, if they indeed have their man, why would they wait to announce it unless there was still regular season football to be played.
There are many things about Edsall that could mean that he is the guy as well. From what I read, he may be very compatible with Maturi and Bruininks. But as I said, my hunch it is the guy from out west. A few weeks ago this would have excited me greatly. Now, I am not sure one way or the other. I would still prefer him to most of the others and still would not complain if it were true. He is certainly a guy who get the most out of players who are not the blue chippers. I am just wondering if we should be pursuing Mullen and wondering if Petersen can get his players to come east. In the end though, if he's the guy, I am on board.
