In the first paragraph of its press release Wednesday announcing new athletic director Mack Rhoades, Baylor mentioned he came from an SEC school.

Rhoades' decision to jump to Baylor may have more to do with the situation at Missouri - where he stayed one stormy year - than great prospects in Waco.

Regardless, Baylor made about as good a hire as it could for a school reeling from the aftermath of how it handled assault charges against football players. Here's why Rhoades is a good fit:

1) He's a grownup.

Before finding himself in a mess at Missouri, Rhoades, 50, was viewed as a name to watch in athletic administration.

Rhoades oversaw an athletic renaissance at Houston from 2009-2015. He probably didn't get dumb in 15 months.

Baylor remains without a permanent president or football coach. With job security, Rhoades can provide much-needed stability at Baylor going forward.

2) Rhoades knows crisis even if it didn't go well at Mizzou.

In response to racial incidents, the Missouri football team threatened to boycott games and helped bring down President Timothy Wolfe and Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin. Football coach Gary Pinkel retired at the end of the year. Missouri men's basketball has struggled the past two seasons and is coming off NCAA probation. Even the softball coach is the subject of a Title IX investigation.

Yes, Baylor is a mess with the departure of President Ken Starr, football coach Art Briles and AD Ian McCaw. Who knows if there are more revelations to come? The Big 12 wants more information than the school wants to provide. But Rhoades decided it was a better landing spot than staying at Missouri.

3) He hired Tom Herman at Houston.

For a group of Baylor fans, the prospect of Herman as their next football coach ensures Baylor won't go back to being, well, Baylor - at least from the end of the Grant Teaff era to the hire of Briles.

Just because Rhoades hired Herman once doesn't mean it will happen again, especially if the Texas and/or Texas A&M jobs open. Rhoades' presence means a vision might have slightly more basis in reality.

Twitter: @ChuckCarltonDMN