I think the involvement thing is overblown. Nothing I have read said that Cal told Watson he would get to pick the next GM or even really have a say in it. He asked for his input which can be anything from GM hire to what kind of sushi is the best. It seems to me from the little we know Watson, before or after he talked to others, is the one that thought input would mean he would be neck deep in the process and have a large say in it. Cal asked for input from a lot of people, that whole "search committee" thing, and you don't see them crying about how they were ignored or "some things never change". Besides, as
@Texansballer74 said, if he really wanted to be on the front lines of it why grab his girlfriend and disappear down to Cabo.