For decades, most Athletic Directors came from coaching backgrounds. The fraternity of college athletics was a closed shop where who you knew was more important than what you know.
The challenges of leading a multi-million dollar operation that is directing the collegiate sports programs at an institution requires more than just a letter jacket and coaching record, it requires a diligence to monitor programs that are under constant pressure of seeing NCAA rules violations, while making sure that boosters and fans are happy with the bottom line: a winning record.
College athletics is the front porch of a university; the institution’s most visible front. The AD is responsible for making sure that the porch is swept clean every day, providing a shining example that reflects well on the university. In some cases, a weak AD allows the dirt to be swept under the rug where often times, the rug is pulled out from under him or her as the dirt surfaces through the media.
While Pat Haden certainly wore a letterman’s jacket, when he left USC and eventually, the NFL, he became a successful businessman.
“We want to compete ferociously and win in every sport, but we want to do it ethically and within the rules,” said Haden, a former Rhodes Scholar who became a venture capitalist after an NFL career with the Los Angeles Rams. “We’re going to have a culture of compliance around here. Every meeting is going to start with the No. 1 item as compliance. … We’re going to try to be perfect. When we make mistakes, we’re going to fess up, and we’re going to try to do better next time.”
In this case, I believe Haden meets the qualifications as a bright and successful business person, that also has a football background, and in that order!. Yes, the letter jacket helps in the beginning but as in all jobs one has to take the jacket off and deal with sweeping daily that front porch
