He was ultimately promoted to the level of his own incompetence. Failing miserably. Imagine working for 23 years in a two department business. After your department head leaves the company you are promoted into an environment where nothing changes - same people, budget, product, and support.
Disagree with this line of thinking.
Not all middle managers are cut out to be department managers, and you don't fire good middle managers just because they're not made to be department managers -- especially when dealing with such a fantastic employee who completely buys into the company. Pellum has been a good position coach for years, and he's had some great linebacker groups. He was our DC for just two years, and we figured out (relatively quickly) that he wasn't cut out for that management role. He knows how to coach linebackers, but he doesn't know how to coach and coordinate an entire defense. So... let him go back to coaching linebackers.
Seriously, the biggest hangup here would be the demoted person's pride. A lot of people wouldn't be able to handle being demoted in such a high-profile position. But if Pellum has no problem with it, then others shouldn't either.
Pellum has already served the UofO honorably, and our team benefits greatly with him on the staff. He doesn't owe anything to anyone.
And yes, while the UofO has certainly taken good care of him, that's totally a two-way street.