I was a 10 year old living in Iowa City at the time, and I remember being a bit disappointed at his Stanford record and wondering why we hired a .500 coach. I also wondered why a doctor decided to get into coaching.
However, after reading probably every word of every article in the PC and Register twice, I think there was a feeling he actually had some solid success at tough places to win (Stanford and Lafayette) and very good success at Boston College.
As people learned more about him, I recall there being some mild excitement for the entertaining style he supposedly played and a respect for his integrity.
Kind of sounds familiar, doesn't it?