If you haven't heard it, Tom Hansen was interviewed on KFXX on June 11th, though I hadn't heard this til just recently. There are so many things that are wrong with what he says, and I covered it a lot in the comments of this fanpost, and Dave covered it as well in his post.
Almost all of us have problems with the direction of the conference. Bad TV contracts, bad bowl games, unwillingness to look to the future, etc. Hansen defends it all, which is not shocking.
But to me, the worst sin committed by Hansen is that he has shirked his responsibilities. From this interview, it is clear he views his job as having little power, that he merely does the will of the university Presidents. I think this is just plain wrong.
Hansen is the head of the Pac-10. While he is accountable to some, he is not a mere figurehead. His job is to direct the Pac-10 conference and bring the university Presidents on board. His job is to come up with ideas and sell them to the universities. His job is to innovate and then sell these ideas to the universities.
Unfortunately, this has not happened. Instead, the Pac-10 rolls on, doing nothing. There has been no innovation, only stagnation. And Hansen shirks this, blaming the job description. Well this hasn't stopped other conference commissioners (I'm looking at you Delany). University Presidents have the #1 interest for their university. Unfortunately, this can also make them short-sighted. The relationship between the university and conference should be give and take. But this has not happened.
Instead, we have a poor vision for the conference, all lame excuses.