I have no doubt that Mark was and is outstanding in every respect that Vai mentioned. However, all of the positive factors of all of the best candidates do not, by themselves, equal "best match" for the coaching needs of the team.

As an outsider, I have no idea what those exact needs are, other than that since it is a coaching/recruiting position that the "best match" applicant will need to be able to coach and recruit among the student athletes that BYU recruits.

Acknowledging the truth of all of Mark's positive attributes (positive for almost any job), I differ with Vai on 2 points:

(1) why didn't Vai say that Mark was a "slam dunk" to succeed in life and in many occupations?

It's no disrespect if Mark's many positives do not translate to success in genetic research, brain surgery, mechanical engineer, etc. Why did he presume to say that Mark was a "slam dunk" for one of the existing coaching positions? I don't get it.

I do "get" that if Mark played in the NFL/CFL, or had actual position coach experience like most other candidates, that he MIGHT BECOME a top candidate to coach at BYU one day. But what happened, in Vai's eyes, to the concept that a qualified candidate must have full-time coaching experience? Isn't that a minimum qualification, regardless of one's ethnic background?

(2) Why did Vai say that Bronco "missed" on this "slam dunk" prospect?

Since there are only a finite number of actual positions on the BYU football coaching staff, why didn't Vai say which of the existing coaches that Mark should replace - going over a comparison of their actual full-time coaching experience vs. Mark's part-time excellent work over 5 years? Or, if Vai believes that one of the new hires should not have been hired, which new hire shouldn't have been hired? Why? Again, if the actual full-time coaching experience of this "deficient when measured against Mark" new coach is measured against 5 years of part-time excellent work, how does that compute.

It seems disingenuous for Vai to say that he doesn't believe in quotas because they don't work, whereas the actual logical position he is taking is that Mark's race should trump full-time coaching experience.

All his protestation to the contrary, Vai is setting up a quota for Bronco, and states that Bronco "missed" what Vai calls a "slam dunk" candidate.

If there are 10 coaches or senior admin positions on the BYU coaching staff, would Vai please explain to us what the racial composition of those 10 positions should be? Or must be? What percent are Poly? What percent are black? Asian?

If Vai actually believes that he alone has the wisdom to determine that proper ratio among all the races, must his target ratio exist every year?

Or is a head coach allowed to "pick the best match" when vacancies arise, while seeking to have diversity as a secondary goal to the job performance criteria of "pick the best match?"

I think that was what Martin Luther King's statement about judging people by character, rather than skin color, refers to. Even then, character is tough to judge.

If Mark was white, and had 5 years of part-time excellent work on the BYU coaching staff, and had all of the other positive traits that Mark has, would Vai be calling out Bronco for "missing" on the white "slam dunk" candidate?

Isn't it patronizing to suggest that a white coach can't recruit or coach Poly athletes? Or, turn it around, that a Poly coach can't recruit or relate to white athletes?

Or could it be that high-level personal and communication skills - ability to recruit and relate to athletes from all backgrounds - is also one of the "minimum quals" for the position, and that Bronco took that into account for each of the new hires?

Or is the only reason Mark is a "slam dunk" for Vai is that race is supposed to trump actual full-time coaching or professional experience?

Coaching is a brutal, brutal career choice. Poly coaches like Kaufusi or Anae or others have shown they can compete for scarce spots and win, which means they pay their dues over a period of years through NFL/CFL experience or full-time coaching experience at a lower level.

Mark has neither, so far. If he chooses the brutal career of coaching, I wouldn't bet against him.

Like the other successful Poly coaches, we'd know if his choice for a career was sincere if he was willing to pay his dues, through NFL/CFL experience or full-time coaching at a lower level to earn his spurs.