That wasn't my literal google search, if you are wondering.

The basic idea was to consider whether Jeremy Foley truly deserves to be considered the best AD in America.  I thought the best way to begin was to ask, who's clearly better?

As you might imagine, there isn't a clear answer to this.  In a Bleacher Report  (I know, I know) ranking from 2 years ago, Foley was #2.  As of last year, Foley was #3 among all NCAA schools in compensation, which means he commands a lot of respect in his field (one could argue Foley's really #2, since the Vandy EVP who also has athletics is counted as #1 in compensation).  The point is, a couple of quick third-party assessments indicate Foley is very likely near the top, if not #1.

I then started to think about who might be better from a simply qualitative assessment.  Who did more with comparable resources?  Which programs accomplished a lot more over the last 10 to 15 years?  Obviously, beauty is in the eye of the beholder here, but even this becomes difficult to find ADs with better overall records than Foley.  Here are a couple I believe might be comparable:

Chris del Conte, TCU.  Think about what has happened since they've gotten Patterson to join and stay at TCU.  They've been able to increase the football budget to one of the largest in the country.  For a private school with only 10K total students, you have to say del Conte has done a tremendous job.

Chris Hall, Utah.  This guy hired Urban Meyer before he was a BCS winner and Kyle Winningham.  Talk about an eye for talent!  He also navigated Utah into the Pac 12.  Utah isn't just good at football, either.  I realize UF has more victories in sports -- but consider the differences in these two schools.  Hall has been superb for Utah.

Then I started thinking about our rivals who have seemed to make all the right moves all across their athletic departments.  The one that comes to mind most quickly is Alabama.  Unfortunately, Mal Moore passed away last year, and he was the architect for much of Bammers' current success.  How does Foley compare to him?

I think even this comparison is favorable for Foley.  Yes, Moore was a tremendous fundraiser in a state that has far less wealth than Florida, and he was able to grab Saban (when UF could have done the same).  However, Moore made mistakes, too -- see Mike Shula. 

Does this mean Foley deserves no criticism? Of course not.  Foley has been weak to date hiring coaches who make a lot more than him, i.e., the football coaches.  The Muschamp contract terms were done by an amateur.  Hopefully, that is corrected this time around.  Even the McElwain negotiations almost got away from Foley, who was almost caught with his pants down in Colorado. The main point now is Foley was able to close that deal.  We'll soon see how Foley handles support for Coach Mac and how well he addresses true (not perceived) facility shortcomings, as well as getting back superior fan support for UF football, which is at a new low since Foley has been AD.

I invite everyone else who criticizes Foley (like I will do) to try the same thing.  Who's been consistently better?  Who's been perfect over a long period of time?  I spent a little time thinking about it, and I find the list to be extremely short -- and maybe the answer is nobody.