Having known a few people who have worked in the NCAA circle, my understanding is that our belief that they cowtow to certain big name programs is not accurate. They do, however, give more attention to the Power 5 conferences (and ND) as that is who butters their bread. In other words, my sense is that an email from any given AD is probably not going to move the meter much, but if one of the conference commishes is unhappy with them, they take note. Take that for what's its worth.
My take on Martin is that the papers were submitted relatively late in the process, its a close call, its taking some time to dot all the i's......