Firstly - would Calderwood and Nicholl go? Dunfermline fans seem certain that the Jimmys would jump ship to Ibrox at a moment's notice. In fact, the Pars fans' real surprise this summer was not that they left East End Park, but that they came up here and not Glasgow. The Jimmys also made it clear that size of club is important to them when it comes to choosing a job. There is as little doubt that Rangers are notionally a bigger club than the Dons as there is that we are bigger than Dunfermline.
The question is loyalty. Willie Miller, a good friend of Calderwood, sees loyalty as a vital ingredient in people. It is unlikely that the Jimmys would break such a trust (without mentioning contracts) unless severely provoked. There is also the important question of why Calderwood and Nicholl would want to go to Rangers at the moment - they are a shambles (sorry, 'in transition'), and perhaps if their hearts do indeed lie at Ibrox, they would want to wait until the ship is steadied before taking the plunge.
Secondly - would we miss them? There is no doubt that the Reds have had an excellent start to the season; second place, unbeaten, one goal against, solid performances. It is difficult to tell how much of this is the effect of the new management team, how much is Willie Miller stalking the corrodors like a ghost of successes past, how much is the addition of Adams, Craig (Paterson buys, of course), Severin and Whelan, how much is down to good old fashioned luck. For the sake of argument, I will say the majority has to be down to the Jimmys, so we would, initially, miss them.
Thirdly - who would replace them? When Steve Paterson was appointed, the manager cupboard was virtually bare, particularly after Eric Black turned us down. AFC was perceived to be run badly, underachieving, and going down with the sinking ship of the SPL. Since then, Aberdeen are one of the best run clubs in the SPL, are second in the league, have attracted the likes of the Jimmys, Severin and Whelan to the club, and have staved off administration unlike many clubs in Britain. There are managers around who have Dons connections and would see Aberdeen as a tremendous opportunity: Gordon Strachan, Mark McGhee, Neale Cooper, Willie Miller, Eric Black, Mike Newell...plus a certain great servant, Dons legend and close friend of Willie Miller who, if we take this story full circle, could soon find himself out of a job.