MANHATTAN As John Currie exited a late-night flight on the first day of his search for a new basketball coach last March, he turned on his cell phone and heard a voicemail he will never forget.

His 9-year-old daughter was none-too-pleased the Kansas State athletic director left Manhattan without saying goodbye.

Not being able to tell her goodbye was probably the hardest part of that whole week, Currie said.

Out of the hundreds of calls Currie made between the time Frank Martin told him he was leaving for South Carolina and Bruce Weber told him he was coming to K-State, that moment sticks out.

But it was unavoidable. These were hectic times, after all. Currie had just watched Martin take another job, and he didnt want to waste time finding a replacement.

Thats life for a modern-day athletic director. High-profile coaching searches are not only part of the job, they are arguably the most important part. Coaches are leaving for new teams on a regular basis 26 Football Bowl Subdivision teams and 47 Division I basketball teams changed coaches in this offseason and finding the perfect replacement has never been more crucial.

Life and death its not, but its pressure-packed. Currie faced a week of travel, phone calls and negotiations, all in the face of round-the-clock speculation. He felt like he was preparing for battle.

Anytime you go into a process like that, you have to have a plan of attack, Currie said. Any General will tell you that having a battle plan is essential, because once the battle starts the environment changes and the battle plan changes with it. I had one and I was ready.

Currie began examining his list of potential candidates, arranging flights and making calls. Before he knew it, he was on his way to the Manhattan airport.

With so much at stake, athletic directors have their own approaches. And everyone is keeping score.

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Coaching searches — the hot seat for athletic directors