Quotes from DW on clandestine coaching searches

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What college ADs do to try to keep coaching searches secret

The attention reflects college football’s popularity and can renew excitement around a struggling program. But for those running the search and trying to protect its integrity, keeping things discreet until the time is right can be a headache. “It’s not an ego thing; I’m not trying to be Batman, surprising everybody,” Tennessee athletic director Danny White said. “I really just want (the players on the team) to find out for the first time before everyone else who their new coach is.”

Former Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage said he interviewed men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett in Charlottesville in 2009, but he did so after 9 p.m. on a weekday. Tennessee’s White said he has done the same, driving another sport’s coaching candidate around campus late at night. “But nobody’s getting out of the car,” he said. “And if the stoplight’s red, we might not be stopping.”