Pac-12 hires Merton Hanks to oversee football operations: His priorities start and end with officiating
As the new chief of Pac-12 football operations, former NFL star Merton Hanks will work with the head coaches and athletic directors, conference officials, NCAA officials, bowl executives and, of course, commissioner Larry Scott.
While describing his vision for the conference to the Hotline, Hanks seemed comfortable with the demands from that disparate group of stakeholders.
His chief concern, it seems, is meeting the expectations of a small but passionate segment of the Pac-12 fan base:
Hanks’ close friends and former 49ers teammates who played in the conference and are disheartened by its performance on the national stage.
Like, for instance, No. 42.
“Ronnie (Lott) and all the guys like Derrick Deese — I’ve got many Pac-12 friends,” Hanks said with a laugh, “and they’re not going to allow me a moment’s peace if I’m not doing my best to make sure the Pac-12 is the best it can be.”
The challenge would be daunting under normal circumstances, for the Pac-12’s football operation struggled long before the pandemic arrived.
The officiating has been messy — when it isn’t a dumpster fire.
The level of trust between the football programs and the conference office is fragile.
The regular-season schedule is an exercise is avoiding the calamitous.
And the lack of representation in the College Football Playoff is a continual source of gloom for everyone associated with the Pac-12.
(Conference executives don’t win or lose games; they don’t recruit or coach players; but they set policies and provide resources that are essential to the football machinery on campus.)
Hanks’ appointment as the Senior Associate Commissioner for Football Operations — he has held a similar role in Conference USA for the past four years — became official on Thursday, but he won’t start work until Sept. 8.
The former fifth-round draft pick who became a four-time All Pro has his work cut out.
“I had a conversation with (former Oregon quarterback) Justin Herbert when I was in Miami for the Super Bowl,’’ Hanks said. “We talked about sports and about life, and he stressed that he wanted to stay on the west coast.
“To me, he’s an example of a Pac-12 athlete. He has a 4.0 (grade-point average). He’s a top-level talent. And he’s a very humble young man.
“My job is to set the conditions to let our athletes flourish.”
Unlike his predecessor, Woodie Dixon, who stepped down recently, Hanks is a former player: all-Big Ten cornerback at Iowa, All Pro safety for the 49ers, a decade in the league, a Super Bowl title.
And unlike Dixon, who doubled as the Pac-12’s general counsel, Hanks will focus solely on football:
He’s responsible for every aspect of the day-to-day operation, from dealing with the bowl partners to managing the officiating — that includes the instant-replay process — to working with the coaches and athletic directors.
He’s well prepared for the administrative tasks, having spent more than a decade in the NFL front office and rising to the role of Vice President for Football Operations.
“Great hire by the @pac12!,” Sunday Night Football rules analyst Terry McAulay said on Twitter.
“Merton was terrific to work with when he was with NFL Operations. Very much understands officiating and its value to the overall program.”
(During his decade-plus on Park Ave., Hanks worked closely with current Arizona State athletic director Ray Anderson, the NFL’s former executive VP for operations. Anderson encouraged Hanks to pursue the Pac-12 opening.)
In 2016, Hanks left the NFL for Conference USA, where he oversaw the football and baseball operations.
That varied background — NFL star and NFL executive, college star and college administrator — should confer Hanks with a level of credibility that Dixon, an attorney by trade, never possessed with many Pac-12 coaches, ADs or officials.
“The Pac-12 is an iconic conference to someone like me, who was reared a Big Ten guy,’’ Hanks said.
“We want to take a great legacy and improve on it. I want to aid the schools legislatively and operationally to position them to play to their potential.”
Hank’s first order of business is to help the conference navigate the pandemic and chart the most advantageous path into the spring.
(He declined to comment on a slew of specifics, including the potential for a winter/spring season, the eternal debate over playing eight or nine conference games and the instant-replay controversy in 2018.)
Asked about his priorities beyond the pandemic, Hanks didn’t hesitate:
“You want to always be looking at the officiating.”
“The three most important positions in college football during the season,” he continued, “are the commissioner, the individual institutions, and the head of officiating.”
In the Pac-12, that would be David Coleman, whose five-year tenure has been less than a roaring success.
“We want the best in class in our officiating,’’ said Hanks, who worked with Coleman in the NFL and anticipates a collaborative approach.
“That was the directive from Larry Scott; he wants to be innovative.”
During a 20-minute conversation, Hanks used that word — innovative — a half-dozen times and referenced his years living in the Bay Area, in the 1990s, when all things seemed possible.
Also top of mind for Hanks: diversity.
“We need to work to reflect the diversity of America and be considered one of the best by our peers,’’ he said.
“We need consistency in officiating. And we need to become more diverse. That’s a reflection of our values.”
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