[Goose]

I hope tavita wasn't the preferred candidate at the onset and that he actually shined during the process with better football knowledge and vision for the program.  There's too many available coaches with better resumes than his for he to be the defacto preferred candidate at the start.

I would be amazed if Tavita wasn't the preferred candidate at the start. Tavita and Luck know each other well. Virtually everybody involved in the process knows Tavita. They generally would not "know" the other candidates. Sight unseen, Tavita would be the choice. You can't hire a resume as a football coach. You hire a person. It is however also true that part of the process would be to get at least a top-level relationship with the other candidates. Presumably that was done, but at the end of the day Tavita was the choice.
 
IMO the vast majority of the coaches that have a great resume and significant experience would not consider Stanford because (among other things) they don't want to work for Andrew Luck. The role of the college general manager of football is a new one. Exactly how the relationship of the coach to the GM should be crafted is still a work in progress. At Stanford, it is clear that Andrew Luck intends to be directly involved with the players on a daily basis, be on the field during games, and will be the de-facto "face" of the franchise. The coach reports to the GM. In the power hierarchy Luck is above the head coach and is going to be actively involved. Luck is 36 years old. He is a Stanford Icon. He isn't going anywhere. An already-successful head coach is not going to work under such a structure. Said coach will want to be the "big dog". At Stanford he can't be. The ADs for which he previously worked were administrators that were almost faceless. The HC ran the show and got what he wanted. In a "power struggle", the HC would win as long as he was above .500 for sure and probably even if he was below. Against AL, he would not. Saban and his peers (or aspirants) aren't going to accept such a relationship. They don't have to.

[Goose]

I hope tavita wasn't the preferred candidate at the onset and that he actually shined during the process with better football knowledge and vision for the program.  There's too many available coaches with better resumes than his for he to be the defacto preferred candidate at the start.

I would be amazed if Tavita wasn't the preferred candidate at the start. Tavita and Luck know each other well. Virtually everybody involved in the process knows Tavita. They generally would not "know" the other candidates. Sight unseen, Tavita would be the choice. You can't hire a resume as a football coach. You hire a person. It is however also true that part of the process would be to get at least a top-level relationship with the other candidates. Presumably that was done, but at the end of the day Tavita was the choice.
 
IMO the vast majority of the coaches that have a great resume and significant experience would not consider Stanford because (among other things) they don't want to work for Andrew Luck. The role of the college general manager of football is a new one. Exactly how the relationship of the coach to the GM should be crafted is still a work in progress. At Stanford, it is clear that Andrew Luck intends to be directly involved with the players on a daily basis, be on the field during games, and will be the de-facto "face" of the franchise. The coach reports to the GM. In the power hierarchy Luck is above the head coach and is going to be actively involved. Luck is 36 years old. He is a Stanford Icon. He isn't going anywhere. An already-successful head coach is not going to work under such a structure. Said coach will want to be the "big dog". At Stanford he can't be. The ADs for which he previously worked were administrators that were almost faceless. The HC ran the show and got what he wanted. In a "power struggle", the HC would win as long as he was above .500 for sure and probably even if he was below. Against AL, he would not. Saban and his peers (or aspirants) aren't going to accept such a relationship. They don't have to.