If Pearl's gone Hamilton will be too. :twocents:
I believe that Hamilton is chiefly responsible for the many maladies and missteps of the last several years (and both his job description and common sense agree with me) - and think that he should go. In fact, I hope that he is no longer the AD, once all is said and done.
However, while I considered it in the course of the hypothesis, I don't think that happens in the immediate aftermath of firing Pearl. I base this on the following:
1. There are many reasons to be believe that Pearl's (soon-to-be) abrupt departure has already been decided, but the timing seems to suggest that none is considered larger than the advantage of hiring his replacement in this optimal, albeit narrow, timeframe. As Hat has said elsewhere, the field of candidates will never be better than it is in March and early April. Firing MH would almost certainly mean that his replacement would have to be made before we could then seek to hire a head coach (perhaps someone would take the job without knowing who their boss might be.....but likely nobody that we'd want), and I doubt that this could be done in the next 3-4 works, or very well, I should say.
2. I don't mean this to sound as pointed as it might come across, but any ideation that MH actually makes (read: decides) these hires is in error. He plays a role, for sure, but his primary job is more closely related to that of a headhunter and not a hiring manager. He goes out and finds people, gauges interest, or simply brings in those whom he's told to bring in. Most importantly, he is the public face and mouthpiece for those actually deciding the process - and who's task would become considerably more difficult and far less easier to conceal, without him. Simply, while he doesn't make the hire, he still serves a purpose.
3. I think that USC's handling of Mike Garrett offers the best and strongest indication of what MH's future will entail. He'll hang around to live through the investigation, sleep and suffer in the bed that he has made with the 'AA, and be unceremoniously let go as soon as sanctions are announced. Besides, no other serious AD would assume the position until these issues were resolved, and the punishments made fully known.
So, as much as MH may deserve to lose his job for this (you'll get no argument from me), losing it right now seems both counterintuitive and counterproductive to the larger goals we are trying to achieve. But, give it time. He's not out of the woods yet, by a long shot.