Most people had some negative feedback after Maryland hired Kevin Anderson as their AD, but most of that backed off in time, especially once his history became clear. Sure, maybe he didn't have the on-field results everyone wanted, but all indications are that they were moving toward that, and he certainly had the off-field creds.
And hey, as long as the coaches like him and he supports the coaches, how bad can it be? Luckily enough, Gary Williams seems to fulfill that first part pretty well.
Gary's poor relations with Debbie Yow are so well-chronicled that I don't really see any point even in recapping them. You know the story, and if you don't, you can probably figure it out pretty quickly: the two really didn't like each other, and it led to some heated moments (and some frosty ones).
As long as Anderson and Williams, who is essentially the face of the athletic program, can get along, things couldn't be much worse than they were under Yow, at least for the basketball program. If early feedback's any indication, that's the case.
From the Post:
Gary Williams, Maryland's men's basketball coach, called me yesterday and he must have used the word "cohesive" four times during our conversation. He feels Anderson is the type of person who will make the athletic department a more cohesive unit, and Williams said that is very important to him, perhaps the biggest factor in his mind.
And the Sun:
"If you're a coach, you got the feeling he is a coach's AD," said Williams, who leads Maryland's biggest revenue-producing sport.
"He would look for the department to be unified. I always looked at the department as a team," Williams said.
Is it the company line and the "correct" thing to say? Certainly. But it's also a lot better than saying the wrong thing or dropping a "no comment". And it's a whole lot better than his attitude and quotes regarding Yow were.
Love Yow or hate Yow, she had her plusses and minuses. One of the undeniable minuses was her frosty relationship with Williams. If that can be avoided on this go-around, everything should be a little better as a result.