Don't you DARE give up on Pearl this easily, Hatter. DON'T YOU DARE.
who says I've given up on Pearl? He's my numero uno. God, read his resume' on wikipedia. It's gorgeous. Second fastest to 300 wins and 6th fastest to 400 wins in history of D1 coaching. His resume', coaching, and magnetism are unparalleled in this search.
People go, "oh, we can't hire him because of 'show cause'". Well, eff show cause because we wouldn't need him to do ANYTHING in the first year other than coach his ass off. His assistants show cause expires in August so he should simply keep Lamont and Underwood and then not hire one of his hot recruiters until August. Until then they can Hugg it up (unemployed huggs) talking to recruits as much as they want. Then bring him on in August. Sign a great class in 2013 and go from there. This isn't rocket science. Pearl simply couldn't talk to recruits for a few years but by the time that gets here he's already got a few winning seasons and a helluva recruiting class.