Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Fox on Fox

How ironic would this be?

I posted the other day that Jeremy Jacob left Georgia just in time to miss the turmoil associated with the firing of Dennis Felton, and landed in Oregon-- just in time to catch the turmoil associated with the firing of Ernie Kent.

Now Fox Sports is recommending that Oregon hire Mark Fox. If Oregon could get Coach Fox, then he would be the person who replaced both Felton and Kent, as if Fox were following Jeremy Jacob from place to place.

Would Oregon look as far away as Georgia to find a suitable candidate? Probably so. Since Oregon does not have an athletic director, they might just be influenced by advice from an unknown columnist (I must have missed the name of the writer-- anyone know?). Besides, they are already conducting quite the thorough national search, considering names from Brad Stevens in Indiana to Billy Gillespie in Texas.

Could the Ducks make a compelling offer? You bet. They know that they are off the basketball-beaten path. It's also very late in the year to try to bring in a coach for the fall. Small money will not get the job done. Nike-related influence is in the mix, so it stands to reason that Oregon can afford to and will in fact bid high for the guy they want.

I would think that the Fox idea is the longest of shots, the most unlikely of scenarios-- but given that Oliver Purnell just bolted for DePaul, there is precedent for seemingly happy coaches to pick up stakes and move suddenly when big money and long-term deals are involved. Besides, Mark Fox is his own precedent. He made a sudden move and went clear across the country to accept a better gig when he came to Georgia almost exactly one year ago. Who's to say that he wouldn't do it again?

What say you?

Fox on Fox

1 comment:

mr. sanchez said...

the writer is Jeff Goodman.

And I think he just moved his family, including two young children, across the country, and probably won't do it again so soon. Plus he's been adamant about how much he likes it here, how much he wanted to be here, and the potential he thinks this program has with the resources he has at his fingertips between Damon Evans and local recruiting.