Such a (respectful) dichotomy in the above. Thanks to all for the lively discussion.
As previous posts of mine have stated, I am no fan of Lovie and never was. His tenure and results on the field were exactly what I expected. The nepotism and other stuff was worse than expected. He was only here for a (big) paycheck, IMO (I know others, including Robert, feel differently). But that should not take away from Whitman's success here.
Nobody wanted to coach here at that time. Nobody. We were getting a preemptive 'no' from multiple potential candidates. Lovie's hire brought the name recognition, respectability, and hoped-for improvements in Chicago-area recruiting. Real out-of-the-box thinking by Josh.
So I was simultaneously ticked that Lovie was the choice, and happy that we had an AD that could make such a thing happen.