retirement afternoon of October 23. Livengood would not speculate on Olson's permanent replacement; it was widely assumed Dunlap would coach the team on an interim basis. The interim coach was announced by Livengood on October 24 to be Russ Pennell, who joined the Wildcat staff in May 2008. On October 28, 2008, five days after Olson announced his retirement, Olson's personal physician, Steven D. Knope, held a press conference in Tucson alongside Olson's daughters and grandson, in which he showed signs of emotion at times; Olson himself was not in attendance. Knope, who in March had cleared Olson medically to return to coaching after his leave of absence, announced that the coach had an "initially undiagnosed" stroke earlier in the year (confirmed by an MRI scan taken on October 27) which had caused severe depression and impaired judgment. Olson had also apparently suffered from atrial fibrillation for several years, which could have produced a blood clot resulting in the stroke. Knope became concerned about "changes in (Olson's) behavior and trouble handling his increasing workload" and advised Olson to retire as a result: "I believe some of those personality changes were out of character," Knope said. "I had very little contact with him this summer. I saw his (April 1) press conference and noticed that he was a little out of character...What I'm truly hoping for now is that the team and community rally around this now that they understand...I hope everyone remembers what he's done for the community." Knope said that Olson was "devastated" upon being informed of the MRI results and remained at home in Tucson; Olson has so far declined to comment publicly on his condition. Knope further clarified his position for the Arizona Daily Star a few days later: "During his initial bout of depression in November 2007, Olson responded appropriately to medications. He had a complete recovery from his depression. He had no unusual behavior at that time and there was no indication for an MRI. The results of an MRI performed at that time would likely have been normal. During Olson's more recent depression, which began approximately six weeks ago, Olson did not respond to therapy. This was a change. The medications were no longer effective. In addition, there were behaviors in recent months which, in retrospect, were uncharacteristic of the man. These were the clues that suggested he may have a rare frontal lobe