What's a school purchasing when it hires a search firm? Due diligence and plausible deniability.
That's what Florida State's contract with Parker Executive Search lays out. The firm will handle FSU's concurrent searches for its new AD and head football coach.
The AD search is up first. Michael Alford was fired Sept. 14, a month and a half ahead of head coach Mike Norvell. Parker's contract outlines that FSU president Dr. Richard McCullough would announce a new AD 30 days after beginning the search. Obviously, 30 days have come and gone since Sept. 14, but McCullough said that the school hired Parker on Friday.
"We hired Daniel Parker, Parker Associates, to run our AD search. We literally made that decision based on Friday. He's already begun on the AD search. He will also do the coach search as well. So we are going to be running those simultaneously," McCollugh told the Tallahassee Democrat. "It's complicated, but we're already on it."
The timeline outlined by the contract states that Parker will deliver eight to 10 recommended candidates to FSU within roughly two and a half weeks of starting its search, the committee will begin interviewing those candidates four to five days thereafter, and on-campus interviews will be conducted four weeks after the search begins.
In the meantime, Parker will conduct "extensive background checks" on all candidates. What is an extensive background check? "Credit, criminal, and motor vehicle background checks, confirm degrees, NCAA sanctions reviews, media reviews for potential areas of concern, obtain candidates' signed statement of resume accuracy, and reference checking."
Parker also arranges all scheduling between the candidates and Florida State. Parker does not get a vote on the hire, but offers to assist in contract negotiations upon FSU's request. If the eventual hire does not last 18 months on the job, Parker will conduct a second search for free. (Via Noles 247)
The head coach search contract does not include the day-to-day schedule. Florida State also has the option to terminate the contract for any reason without written notice or penalty up to 30 days after the contract's signing.