I'm just curious as to what leads you to conclude that "his Butler candidacy was very real" and "there was mutual interest for that job".
I get that he didn't make some announcement that he was not interested but I can't conclude from that that there was a serious threat of him leaving or an explored interest.
I'm certainly with you on the rest of the post. Lord knows we don't want to return to the Hipsher days!
I hear there's an ultralight flying of a remote clearing of grass in Hudson tonight headed for Chapel Hill, North Carolina, under the radar. I will continue to monitor and keep everyone advised.
I only see Groce laving for a "prestige job" or in a situation where he's just fed up with the administration and the "ceiling" on the program (not unlike Dambrot). I never saw Butler as a "prestige" job so that one didn't worry me. We'll see what happens with the NC and possible Kansas fallout (good call by @kreed5120).