Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard walks the sidelines during a game at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames. (AP Photo/Matthew Putney)

One of the most difficult conversations to navigate in today’s college landscape is the place — and role — of an athletic director.

Everything has changed so rapidly. The competitive goals remain the same, but the roads to get there are filled with fundraising and budget landmines in the Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) era.

An AD used to mostly serve as a behind-the-scenes facilitator. Financials were always a factor, of course, but in a much more clear-cut fashion.

Because of NIL — and the dominance of college football in particular over an athletic department, even more so than ever before — athletic directors must simultaneously direct traffic between the haves and have-nots in their own camps, keeping the waters calm and the boxes checked at the forefront while also knowing when to get out of the way behind closed doors.

This has always been an extremely challenging balance. Now that the players are being compensated and the gap widens between sports on the same campus, the ability to work in lockstep with the expectations of everyone has become a monumental task.

There is also the “who’s in charge” discussion — especially when it comes to revenue and expenses. Coaches have their own (strong) opinions. Major donors factor into the equation; they aren’t opening their wallets and checkbooks without at least some strings attached. Players have been empowered by NIL. Fans, by message boards and social media. Journalists by a larger online audience, where clicks and hot takes prioritize relevance over integrity.

All while the AD operates from the eye of this massive storm.

The circumstances surrounding Matt Campbell’s seismic departure from Iowa State reminded us just how hot the seat can get these days. I’ve heard from nearly every corner of Cyclone Nation since the news broke, and the conclusions and perspectives are all over the map.

Most of the talk, naturally, gravitates to how Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard handled the situation — especially since he announced Campbell’s replacement, Jimmy Rogers of Washington State, very shortly after the word spread the beloved ISU coach of 10 years was headed to Penn State.

Pollard gave a candid 20-plus minute impromptu interview about anything and everything on Friday night. Transparency has always been a strong suit of his during his 20-year tenure at ISU, even if we are sometimes only getting Pollard’s version of the truth. He’s willing to allow a rare peek behind the curtain.

Let’s be clear: based on track record, there are still a litany of reasons to still believe in Pollard if you are a Cyclone supporter. He’s taken the athletic department in Ames to unprecedented heights, and has been predominantly masterful at finding coaches who are the right fit for both the job itself and the culture the school has created. Pollard is sharp and honest about the books, innovative with his strategies, and a strong fundraiser.

Are there times where Pollard’s personality rubs people the wrong way? Is he a little too hands-on with certain programs and, most recently, how NIL money is being distributed? Does he insert himself into situations where his ego gets in the way and he micromanages more than supervises? And do all of the complaints result in a net negative, particularly in today’s world of major-college athletics?

Many of these allegations were amplified after Campbell’s decision this week — a scenario many felt could have been avoided with more nuance and compromise. We heard it, to a certain extent, when Cael Sanderson left for Penn State in 2007. Or when Fred Hoiberg took the Chicago Bulls job in 2015. Sanderson, Hoiberg and Campbell are arguably the three most beloved figures in the history of Iowa State athletics. Pollard hired them all. Yet they also left on his watch.

A pattern? Maybe. Maybe not. Inevitable? Maybe. Maybe not. There has never been any public scrutiny or targeting of Pollard specifically in retrospect by Sanderson, Hoiberg or Campbell, and it absolutely should be noted that all three left for neighborhoods well out of Iowa State’s price range.

To me, this is a fascinating example of how the decisions of an athletic director could be both simultaneously helpful and hurtful; innovative and archaic. It all depends not just on your own set of expectations as a coach, fan, player or program, but how it aligns with an athletic director’s professional and personal point of view. And the target is always moving.

Do I think you’d be right for unconditionally supporting Pollard and trusting he will keep this train rolling? Possibly. Do I think you could be right if you’ve heard one too many complaints behind closed doors and see this as a trend pushing Iowa State in the wrong direction? Possibly.

Time will tell. The sometimes-polarizing Pollard is still calling the shots, and will never be short on confidence in executing his gameplan. He’s done more than enough to earn your trust in many facets, but also, create skepticism in a college sports universe turned upside down.

The same complicated legacy may now await Campbell, who burned bridges with some Cyclone fans on his way to Happy Valley. At the end of the day, for as passionate as coaches and athletic directors are, this is still a high-stress, high-stakes business to them. Fans often want to believe loyalty and commitment last forever, because their own college experiences were based in both and are unwavering. That rarely mixes, or ends, well at this level.

We’ll see how this all plays out. Pollard replaced Hoiberg with Steve Prohm. It didn’t work. Pollard replaced Sanderson with Kevin Jackson. It didn’t work. Then he landed T.J. Otzelberger and Kevin Dresser, respectively — and the rest is history.

Jamie Pollard has grown the brand of Iowa State athletics in immeasurable ways over the last two decades. He isn’t perfect. He wouldn’t claim to be. Whether or not Pollard has what it takes to guide the school into an uncertain future remains to be seen, and will depend so much on his ability to evolve with rapidly-changing times. He’ll also have to show critical personality traits that will be much more imperative to the next chapter of sustainability than in years past.

Regardless of how Cyclone supporters personally feel about Pollard today, they still must — in the words of Campbell — trust the process. He knows he has to get this right with Rogers. And you can only hope he did.

This is the tightrope every athletic director now, for better or worse.

Eric Pratt is Sports Editor at The Messenger. Contact him via email at sports@messengernews.net, on on Twitter @ByEricPratt