A done deal

If there were ever an example of a done deal, it is probably the hiring of Amarillo High football coach Brad Thiessen last Friday to succeed Tex Nolan as athletic director of the Amarillo ISD.

I had people - parents of players actually -- ask me as far as back as last summer if a rumor they heard was true, that Thiessen was going to be the new athletic director after the season.

My response was it was highly unlikely. Probably more like "no way." It wasn't based on anything other than my own opinion that Thiessen, 46, was still young and successful and still had coaching in his blood, and that he had no experience working as an multi-school athletic director or in an athletic department of a multi-school system.

I'm still going down the list of people I told it wasn't going to happen to apologize.

Things become a little more clearer in hindsight. Nolan announced his retirement in April. A month later, after a retirement reception at the administration building, it was announced that Nolan was going to stay on as athletic director into the 2009-2010 school year because the summer wasn't a good time to hire an athletic director.

Huh?

It looks like now it was simply delayed until the football season was over and Thiessen could assume control. There were a reported 15 applicants for the position. Two others -- Amarillo High volleyball coach Jan Barker and Tascosa wrestling coach Joe Stafford -- were the only ones believed interviewed.

Thiessen told the Globe-News on Thursday that he had not had a conversation with AISD officials concerning the athletic director's job. The next day, he's announced as the athletic director. Feel free to draw your own conclusions.

Thiessen may turn out to be a fine athletic director. That's not the point. The point is his hiring seems to be in the works for a long time.