DENNY O'BRIEN | Help wanted: Mover and shaker [fb-bk-ba-oly-021813]

Anytime a school assembles an oversized group of individuals to guide critical hiring decisions, individual agendas have more potential to interfere with the process. That naturally can lead to contentious discussions that ultimately culminate with the selection of a compromise candidate that appeases all sides.

We’ve seen it before at ECU. But hopefully not again.

East Carolina’s best bet would have been to leverage the expertise of an external consulting firm to do the majority of heavy lifting — and at least there is some indication that Chuck Neinas and Todd Turner have some degree of involvement — and then use a small committee for interviews.

Regardless, ECU will land a good athletics CEO as long as the following criteria are considered:

• Ability to identify and hire coaches: This easily is the most important trait of an ECU AD, especially as it pertains to the direction of the Pirates’ football program. East Carolina football, when prosperous, has the capability to sell itself with very little marketing around it.

With ECU’s pending move to the Big East, the Pirates’ next AD will need to quickly evaluate the football program and take decisive actions on the long-term status of the coaching staff. A good season next fall should lead to an extension for Pirates head coach Ruffin McNeill, while any backsliding would naturally need to prompt further evaluation.

By far, Terry Holland’s best moves while at East Carolina were the quick decision to fire John Thompson after only two seasons as football coach and then select Skip Holtz as his replacement. Those actions led to the surprisingly quick restoration of the Pirates’ program.

An athletics department is only as good as its head coaches, especially as it pertains to those guiding the revenue producing programs. East Carolina needs a whiz at this.

• Ability to think outside the box: This is largely what has defined Holland’s tenure at ECU. He often sought new ways to navigate the Pirates’ waters, refusing to accept the status quo.

This was especially true when it came to non-conference football scheduling and East Carolina’s conference future.

No doubt, part of the resurgent interest in ECU football was Holland’s aggressive scheduling philosophy, in which he struck home-and-home agreements with numerous regional opponents. That led to ECU establishing records in season ticket sales on numerous occasions.

Holland also kept his eye on the Pirates’ conference future — which included outlining several possibilities within the changing landscape — while always seeking methods to improve the present scenario. He was by far the most outspoken of Conference USA’s ADs, which led to needed changes in conference scheduling to alleviate some of the travel burdens.

• Comprehensive Rolodex: East Carolina won’t be able to replace Holland’s national clout, but at the very least it needs an individual with numerous strategic contacts within the industry.

Unlike neighboring rivals, ECU can’t sell itself nationally on name alone. While it isn’t exactly a national unknown, it also isn’t within the name brand category of the nation’s all-sports giants.

Holland’s widespread contacts landed home-and-home series for ECU that generated desirable television time slots. It also landed East Carolina’s name in the press anytime a national writer needed a quote on the direction and impact of conference expansion.

Some drop off should be expected here. But East Carolina can’t afford an AD who has to start over.

• Corporate fundraiser: At some point, the money fountain of some of ECU’s most generous donors will dry up. At last check, they aren’t getting any younger.

That means the ability to expand the number of donors and the overall amount they contribute is an absolute must. When you consider the number of fans who attend football games, the overall percentage of them that are donors is relatively low.

So opportunity for growth is there.

Given the financial gap between the automatic access conferences and those that lack it, ECU athletics won’t be prosperous on individual contributions alone.

East Carolina’s next AD must increase the school’s corporate reach. The best-case scenario — even if it is a difficult one to achieve – would be to find corporate sponsors willing to contribute enough to rename each of the Pirates’ major athletics venues.

Wake Forest did this in football. UNC-Charlotte has done it in other sports. East Carolina needs an AD who can do it for all its venues.