Most people seem to understand that these extensions are due to Covid. I agree with that. The latest comments are about Bob Marlin more than anyone else. I know I haven't stated my position on him in a while, so let me do that now.
When the announcement was made about his hiring and some of his credentials were mentioned, I celebrated like most others. Pretty good background, certain levels of success at each stage of his career, no nonsense type of person. Seemed like a pretty good fit at the time, especially with the circumstances of Robert Lee's departure.
As I do with other coaches once they are hired, I started doing my own checks on him. The first thought I had about him was "Why, at his age, is the Southland Conference the highest job he's ever had?" I looked into his coaching philosophy, what types of players he recruited, on and on. The more I discovered, the more I realized, "He's not the right fit for here." When he was presented at the press conference, he confirmed what I thought. It's not that he sounded unintelligent, nor unfocused or anything else that might make him seem like a bad coach, I just had the feeling that he was not the right fit to coach here.
I spoke with Scott Farmer, the one who found Marlin, and David Walker, the man who hired him, separately and privately, at that press conference, and asked them to watch Marlin closely. I explained my concerns and that I was hoping to be wrong in my assessment. I appeared to be wrong after that first season. As time dragged on, it became apparent I wasn't.
Like most others, I have nothing against Bob Marlin. I do believe he is an excellent coach, knows the game well, trains his players, all types of accolades you can bestow on a coach. He just isn't the right fit to be coaching here. At age 62, this is likely his last coaching job, so we can expect for him to be here another three seasons.