[CardinalSagehen]

My gut feeling is that if we were to do an internal hire for OC, it would be more likely to be Ron Gould than Pritchard. Gould has a lot more experience, has been a head coach, and doesn't seem either too young or too old (52 I think). But that is purely a guess.

I agree.  This will not excite anyone, but having observed Shaw for many years, I'm guessing that he'll make a safe, unsexy, internal choice for the OC replacement, probably Gould.  For better or worse, Shaw massively values continuity.  He has no desire for a strong-willed, high-profile OC to shake things up and start calling the plays.  The other near-term benefits (in his eyes) would be the avoidance of team confusion and distraction of the coaching staff (including himself) during bowl and recruiting season.  An internal promotion would certainly cost the least, too, leaving more budget for the two backfills (OL coach and the promoted coach).

It may seem a bit lazy, but promoting from within is often the path of least resistance when you value continuity and perceive that things "ain't broke".   

[CardinalSagehen]

My gut feeling is that if we were to do an internal hire for OC, it would be more likely to be Ron Gould than Pritchard. Gould has a lot more experience, has been a head coach, and doesn't seem either too young or too old (52 I think). But that is purely a guess.

I agree.  This will not excite anyone, but having observed Shaw for many years, I'm guessing that he'll make a safe, unsexy, internal choice for the OC replacement, probably Gould.  For better or worse, Shaw massively values continuity.  He has no desire for a strong-willed, high-profile OC to shake things up and start calling the plays.  The other near-term benefits (in his eyes) would be the avoidance of team confusion and distraction of the coaching staff (including himself) during bowl and recruiting season.  An internal promotion would certainly cost the least, too, leaving more budget for the two backfills (OL coach and the promoted coach).

It may seem a bit lazy, but promoting from within is often the path of least resistance when you value continuity and perceive that things "ain't broke".