The Alford plea: Iowa style

There's a legal maneuver known as the Alford plea in which a criminal defendant does not admit the act and asserts innocence, but admits that sufficient evidence exists with which the prosecution could likely convince a judge or jury to find the defendant guilty. Upon receiving an Alford plea from a defendant, the court may immediately pronounce the defendant guilty and impose sentence as if the defendant had otherwise been convicted of the crime.

In Iowa, the Alford plea has new meaning following the departure of Hawkeye men's basketball coach Steve Alford for the University of New Mexico. The move allows Stevie Wonder, as I've derisively taken to calling him, to save face without admitting his many coaching failures. It also spares Athletics Director Gary Barta the eventual task of casting judgment on the tenure of the Indiana golden boy.

I confess that I was an early proponent of Alford. I even sent an e-mail to then-Athletics Director Bob Bowlsby -- which I mistakenly sent to all of the employees of the company where I was working at the time -- encouraging him to send the likable Tom Davis packing and hire the hot coaching prospect out of Southwest Missouri State.

But that was eight years ago. A lot of things have happened over that time to change my perspective of the man hired to take Iowa basketball to the next level, not the least of which is that he didn't. One NCAA tournament victory in eight years. A losing record in regular season Big 10 games. Pierre Pierce.

This is not what anyone imagined the next level would look like.

Sure, he won two Big 10 Tournaments and had a school-record seven straight winning seasons, but he never endeared himself to the same Iowa fans who cheered his arrival. His approval ratings would mirror those of George Bush following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- universal support squandered.

Laking professional teams, Iowa's Division I sports programs are subject to intense scrutiny. Alford was subject to so many rumors, it's impossible to say if any were valid. But I'm inclined to believe that most rumors have some basis in reality, such as the repeatedly denied rumor that New Mexico was courting Alford.

Regardless, Alford is clearly a confident man. There's nothing wrong with that, necessarily, unless confidence is read as cockiness or arrogance by the fan base. Worse yet if your performance doesn't measure up to your self esteem.

I wish Alford nothing but the best in New Mexico, but I'm glad he's gone. I have no intention of expressing my views to the Iowa AD about who the next coach should be. I only hope lessons learned from the Alford era will value substance over style.