Could Former Syracuse AD Daryl Gross End Up At UC-Davis?

Daryl Gross stepped down as athletic director of Syracuse Orange Athletics last year. As he put it, it was simply time. Of course, it also happened to coincide with the NCAA's punishments stemming from various violations that happened under his watch, so, go with whichever reason you like.

Whatever you think of Gross, you have to admit that he left Syracuse Athletics in a much better overall state than he found it. The women's programs have never been better. The Olympic sports are operating at higher levels. Syracuse now has two National Championships, one in field hockey and the other in track. Programs like women's basketball and men's soccer have reached heights that seemed impossible only a few years ago.

Of course, the football program is still trying to dig itself out of The Greg Robinson Mess and there's those aforementioned NCAA sanctions, both of which will probably be remembered by more people as Gross' legacy. Still, Gross could easily make a case for himself as an AD deserving of another shot, albeit on a smaller scale.

UC-Davis just so happens to be looking for a new athletic director. The same UC-Davis where Gross played college football and graduated from. Gross' name had been bandied about before when the search began. However, Davis Enterprise columnist Bob Dunning just kicked things up a notch by penning a serious love letter for Gross and his qualifications for the job.

Despite all the evidence to the contrary, some claim that even a "perception" of anything amiss remains as a strike against Daryl’s candidacy for the UC Davis athletic director position.

Which is both sad and tragic. Not to mention overwhelmingly unfair to a candidate who deserves much, much better.

...With all due respect to those who have applied for this position, Daryl Gross offers the campus a rare opportunity to see its proud and long-standing athletic program truly flourish.

It is a fortuitous opportunity that should not be allowed to pass us by.

Given his success with non-revenue sports, it probably would make a lot of sense for Gross to jump into an opportunity like this. If he hires another Greg Robinson for the football team...whatever. Besides, we always knew Gross was destined to end up back in California eventually.