When Rob Ash of Drake University is announced as Montana State University's new head football coach today don't credit anyone but Ash for the hire.

He actually wanted this job. That, and attrition, are the reasons why he'll be ushered in as the 31st football coach at MSU.

It's all but obvious that MSU athletic director Peter Fields was favoring Carroll's Mike Van Diest, North Dakota's Dale Lennon and possibly even Jerry Kill of Southern Illinois, who was rumored to be a fifth finalist only to turn down that offer. He finally settled on Ash, who in hindsight probably should've been his first choice.

It could be said that the other three shouldn't have been considered, or considering, at all.

Including that trio in the selection process was inherently risky. Considering the time of year, offering the position to current head coaches meant that a decision already wrought with emotion would be magnified.

With all due respect to Van Diest, Lennon and Kill, Ash appears to be the only head coach out of the four that was able to come to grips with that. For having that kind of foresight he should be applauded.

Van Diest and Lennon both conceded that the timing was critical in their decisions and that had this search taken place back in December or January and not May and June, one of those two would probably be MSU's new coach.

Their inability to fully account for that left a lot of people in Helena and Grand Forks wringing their hands needlessly, while many MSU fans statewide only found a lump of coal in their stockings and some are left feeling a little embarrassed, which they shouldn't.

No doubt knowing full well that he wasn't MSU's No. 1 or even No. 2 choice, Ash could've easily bowed out and no one would have given it a second thought. That he didn't is only a reflection that his intentions were not only good, but also well thought out.

As for thinking things through, none of the other candidates can match Ash in that respect. His academic record shows that he was just one grade of A- from graduating Cornell College in Iowa with a 4.0 grade point average. He majored in history, went on to earn his Masters degree in German history and religion at the University of Michigan, and co-authored a book titled "Coaching Football Technical and Tactical Skills."

Another item of note is that Van Diest, Lennon, and Kill already coach teams with rich playoff histories, while Ash's teams played in a conference with no automatic qualifier for postseason play. At 59, that may have been what lured Ash to the job - a chance to showcase his abilities under a brighter light.

Ash comes to MSU on the heels of a season that produced the No. 5 ranked offense in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA). His career record is 125-63-2 at Drake with four conference championships in 18 seasons.

Senior linebacker and team captain Will Claggett and quarterback Cory Carpenter both told the Bozeman Chronicle that they're excited about Ash.

"I was highly impressed with his research on the school that he had done, and his ability to know what's going on with the team," Claggett, a dean's list student himself, said. "The first thing he said when he came in is he knows the system isn't broken, and we're not trying to start over football-wise. That's good to hear, because we're an 8-5 playoff team coming back; it's not like we're 0-11 starting over with a new coach."

"He was so clean and crisp. Everything that came out of his mouth was so positive. It just sounded good. I liked him from the get-go," Carpenter said.

This was Ash's decision and no one besides Ash should get any credit for the future successes that lie ahead involving Bobcat football.