Moving on from a program legend is a delicate situation. The Gophers surely knew that as they engaged with the idea of Lindsay Whalen — arguably the program's greatest player and head coach for the past five seasons — departing her head coach position.
Almost from the start of that process, though, and again this week with new information coming to light, this has been the reality: If the Gophers and Athletic Director Mark Coyle wanted the process of transitioning away from Whalen to be clean, it has been anything but that.
What was initially presented as a mutual decision for Whalen to step down appeared more one-sided when Whalen did not attend the scheduled press conference with Coyle to discuss the move.
"My sincere apologies for not being there today as I was overcome with emotion in the elevator on my way to the press conference," Whalen tweeted later to explain the decision. "I am a human being."
As we learned this week — and I talked about on Friday's Daily Delivery podcast — Whalen ultimately decided not to accept the role as a special assistant helping the U with fundraising and name, image and likeness, opting instead for a $215,000 payout.
Whalen signed that initial agreement on April 6 — more than a month after initial news of her departure and more than two weeks after the Gophers hired Dawn Plitzuweit as their new coach.
Walking away from what one imagines was more money to stay in the department to instead have a clean break is an interesting development that likely reflects both Whalen's mindset and her overall personality. It is not indicative of someone who wanted to leave her job as coach, even if she did agree to it.
"Obviously, you move on," Whalen said this past weekend while being honored with other all-time Lynx greats, her first public comments since separating from the University. "There are certain parts that I'll always miss. It's my alma mater. It was tough, no question. I don't know what's next to be honest with you."
