Inspired by the multiple text messages I received today about the University of Oregon supposedly offering Tubby Smith a couple million dollars a year to coach Ducks basketball.
First things first, Tubby is one of those coaches that gets linked to job after job after job. During the tournament he was reportedly close to signing a deal with Auburn. In January he was linked to University of Alabama job. When Lute Olsen retired it was Arizona. This has been the story since he came to Minnesota. When a coach's name is bigger than his current program everyone just sort of expects him to leave as soon as he has the chance. That isn't to say that Tubby won't dump Goldy for greener (like money, ha!) pastures, or that there is no merit to the Oregon rumors. I'm just saying his name comes up a lot.
As for the University of Oregon, their high profile coaching search could end up being the latest thing to bite their sports department in the ass.
First of all, the only good thing about this job for a big name coach is the money. Keep in mind that a top-tier coach will have to walk away from a most likely cozy current situation to take this job. University of Oregon sports isn't exactly in a good place right now. The basketball team has been underachieving for a while. Football players are getting arrested. The Attorney General is looking into
Belotti's shady severance pay. The program lacks the kind of historical tradition that might appeal to some coaches. Not to mention a coach may have less control of the program than they enjoy currently. That Nike money can be a double-edged sword when you have a hands on mega-booster like Phil Knight.
Considering all of the above there is only one reason an elite coach would take this job: money. But how sustainable is a program lead by a person that values dollars so much more than anything else? Is that the type of coach that stays long enough to build a real program? Am I the only one that thinks bringing a potentially morally questionable coach into an already morally questionable sports department is a bad idea?
Additionally, Oregon's strategy of throwing big money to get a big name to take a bad job doesn't seem likely to pay off. We may be seeing some negative effects already. Big money and big names mean big media coverage. Every time a name is linked to the job, only to be followed by reports that said name rejected the deal, the job gets less desirable to subsequent names on the list. Would you leave a comfortable situation for a higher-paying but less comfortable situation, after everyone knows a handful of your peers have turned down a similar offer?
If Oregon doesn't get a top name soon the Ducks sports department could become even more of a joke. They could become the place that is so awful they can't get a coach even when they offer the world.
The Ducks aren't exactly masters of subtly (which reminds me, please chill out with the football uniforms), but I can't help but think they should have at least tried to keep a low-profile this time. They could have acknowledged that they don't have the type of situation an elite coach wants to walk into. They could have recognized that throwing around cash and getting rejected might come back to bite them. They could have understood that their job is most appealing to up and coming coaches (who would probably hang around long enough to build a respectable program) or respected coaches looking to get back into the game. (Steve Lavin might not take the job, but considering the circumstances he seems like a much more likely candidate than Tom Izzo.)
Oregon didn't do any of those things. They went for the glitz instead. Now they could end up paying the price. Again.
