Thoughts on Danny White's Departure

By now you heard the news. Danny White has moved on from Buffalo, taking a job at Central Florida. This is life as a mid major and it's something every successful athletic department outside of the richest 20 or so will have to deal with at some point in time.

White brought MAC Championships to Buffalo, increased revenue, increased viability, and started to create a game day experience around football. He did a ton of good for this program in the 3+ years spent at Buffalo. It was a tremendous, albeit short tenure.

So while I have been one of White's most vocal supporters in the media you may be surprised to find out I am unmoved by this turn of events. White's going to make a bit more money, be in a slightly better conference, and be near his brother. It's a solid move for Danny and he has earned it.

It's also not the end of the world, or even something to be scare of for UB.

This is the second change in Athletic Directors since this site has been founded. The last happened in 2012 when Warde Manuel took a post with UConn. Manuel had endeared himself to UB fans by hiring Turner Gill and getting us a MAC Championship.

As UB looks to replace Danny White I like to keep in mind that we have a President who approved White's hire and who has given our Athletics Director great latitude as the school tries to position itself among other State Flagship programs. We still have the same Board of Directors who will approve a similar vision.

White was unique in his age and speed at which he was ascending. There is nothing else about him which we can not find elsewhere. In fact this may be an opportunity to keep the vision of a State flagship but mend some fences.

What we might need is someone with more guile when it comes to the Buffalo media. If UB hires someone who still wants to put UB everywhere in NY but at the same time manages to control the media narrative it will be a big win for the department.

Let's face it, White kicked over a lot of ant hills to accomplish what he did. Our next AD can benefit from all that work and build off of it without the perceived baggage of being that young brash guy who fired Reggie Witherspoon.

When we got Warde Manuel we were desperate to belong in division one. Warde did that and it made finding White easier. When we got White we were trying to increase our profile in the state and conference. White did that and it will make finding out next director an even easier task.

Horns up kids, we have a football game to win this weekend!