I respectfully disagree. the thorough search could've (maybe should've) started months, if not years ago. Only the formal interviews are gated on the actual job opening.
A good AD has a short-list for the "oh **** I need to hire a coach yesterday" disaster scenario.
But the entire point of a "thorough search" is to uncover quality candidates that the AD would not normally come across. I.e. Coaches who are
not already in their "network" or on their "short list."
Those types of searches, in today's day and age, can't be done in secret. Which means you can't really do one if your current coach is, you know, still your current coach.
And to address Duff's point: yes, a thorough search can be done efficiently and in a reasonable amount of time.
But, we should be deliberate about what a "reasonable amount of time" really is. Key dates:
Scheduled Regent's meetings: Nov 8-9
Last game: Nov 24
"off campus"/"in home" recruiting period starts: Nov 25
Scheduled Regent's meeting: Dec 12
Holiday recruiting "quiet period:" Dec 16 (no more in person visits, but contact still allowed)
Holiday recruiting "dead period:" Dec 17-Jan 10 (no contact)
"off campus"/"in home" recruiting period resumes: Jan 11
Scheduled Regent's meetings: Jan 10-11
Potential bowl game practices, team travel, etc might need to be added to the above.
If HCMM is fired on the Monday after the season is over (Nov 26), I think it would be really hard to do a true "thorough search,"
and have a coach in place prior to Dec 16 - and if you can't have at least the head coach in place before Dec 16, the "true deadline" to have the coach and most, if not all, of the staff in place is Jan 10 - which is plenty of time for a "thorough search."
Which brings a side note: if you're not doing a thorough search, you damn well better have someone hired several days before the recruiting quiet/dead periods begin.
I really don't think you can do both a thorough search, and beat the "whatever it is before Dec 15" that they have to be hired so that they can be on board and officially contact recruits on or before Dec 16.
At which point, deep breath: Dec 22, or 29, or whatever is just fine -
as long as you've got a full staff ready to go Jan 11.