He might have slipped through nearly everybody’s sight, considering the amount of focus given to Jake Crouthamel from the semicircle of hundreds of people.

He poked his head in and out as Crouthamel owned the podium for perhaps the last time.

Syracuse football head coach Paul Pasqualoni didn’t want to be noticed, because Crouthamel’s story is Pasqualoni’s story. As Crouthamel steps down, it seems Pasqualoni is right behind him, perhaps days from following Crouthamel’s lead.

For a bit, Pasqualoni watched Crouthamel’s press conference as the 26-year athletic director announced his resignation.

What does Crouthamel’s retirement mean for Coach P? Talk about it on The Daily Orange Football Forum

And Pasqualoni should have been more interested in Wednesday’s announcement, which took place at a 12:15 p.m. press conference in the Iocolano-Petty Football Wing, than any other coach who showed up and stayed. Crouthamel is Pasqualoni’s boss. With Pasqualoni’s job status so uncertain, Crouthamel’s resignation could – and probably does – prelude Pasqualoni’s dismissal.

Even in his retirement, Crouthamel played coy. He cracked a few more jokes, but he still protected what was going on behind his drape.

‘Is this a prelude for football?’ Crouthamel said in reference to Pasqualoni’s job status. ‘If you say we are meeting here today on Nov. 17, and the last football game is Nov. 27, then it’s a prelude. Yes, it’s a prelude. It’s the 17th. The football game is the 27th. So it’s a prelude.’

He sidestepped that question like he has done to so many others. But despite Crouthamel’s sly response, that game could be Pasqualoni’s last. If the Syracuse football team wins Saturday – and that appears unlikely, considering SU has failed to win a Big East road game in three years – Pasqualoni is still likely gone. A bowl berth appears doubtful. A new coach seems imminent.

But before you look there, don’t overlook the biggest problem Crouthamel’s resignation creates – legitimacy.

With Crouthamel on the way out and Pasqualoni’s job status still unresolved, how can Syracuse reach a decision that pleases the new athletic director, Crouthamel and Pasqualoni? Since no one knows who the new athletic director is, the answer is simple: It can’t.

Crouthamel is in charge until a new successor is hired, at which point he will become a senior adviser to that person.

Now, look at the timeline and how this creates a potentially irresolvable problem. Syracuse’s last game is Nov. 27 at Boston College.

If Pasqualoni is axed, it would likely come days after a Syracuse loss. Unless Chancellor Nancy Cantor finds a replacement between now and then – approximately nine days – ridding Syracuse of P will be Crouthamel’s decision.

More importantly, finding a new head coach will be Crouthamel’s decision, too. That decision, because of recruiting, would likely come within two weeks of Pasqualoni’s dismissal.

So what happens if the new athletic director, who would take perhaps months to find, doesn’t like the new head coach? Or, if Crouthamel decides to stick with Pasqualoni, what if the new AD wants a new coach?

Of course, this is all solved if Cantor names a new athletic director within the next 10 days. But considering Cantor has hardly started the process of replacing Crouthamel – so far she says she has only appointed Mike Wasylenko to head a nine-person search committee – the chances of finding a new AD within two weeks appear remote.

In addition, few athletic directors would feel comfortable jumping on board and making sweeping institutional changes.

Crouthamel has done so much for Syracuse, but now he leaves Syracuse in an awkward position, considering the enormous transition the football program will likely undergo.

And, what this truly means for Pasqualoni is difficult to gather.

‘I’m not worried,’ Pasqualoni said of his job. ‘I just wish things last Saturday could have gone a little bit better. It would be great to send him away with a great win against Boston College.’

Great, but doubtful. More than likely, Crouthamel’s retirement is the opening act for the main attraction – P’s dismissal. Crouthamel left now, so when it comes time for P to pack it up, Crouthamel appears to be in a lesser role.

But until a new person is hired, Crouthamel is still the captain.

‘How many athletic directors,’ former SU football coach Dick MacPherson said, ‘would like to come here with a new coach being named right before he comes?’

The new head coach? It looks like it’ll be Crouthamel’s decision. Hopefully for the Orange, it lines up with what the new AD wants.