I think the AD sealed his own fate by firing Rice. He stood a better chance holding his ground.

I really don't approve of what Rice did but he did nothing that was:

1) illegal
2) unique to him
3) was damaging the program

Maybe long term, 3 comes back to bite him, but unless the claims of abuse come from a former player, I have little concern about it. If it did then, I have a huge problem, but I wouldn't in a million years compare what Rice did to what Sandusky did. I could care less if Rice got fired or not. I would think long and hard if I were his boss in that situation, but if it wasn't worthy of a firing two months ago, it isn't worthy of a firing now.