Apr 02 2009
Being Bipolar: UT Vols coach Bruce Pearl headed to U of M?
It seems Tim Floyd is out of the running for the Memphis coaching job, as he has been offered a multi-million dollar contract with Arizona.
Rumors were swirling around the internet yesterday that Memphis is interviewing Bobby Knight. WMCTV 5 in Memphis reports that he has indeed been flown in for an interview, so those of you who thought this was simply an April Fool’s joke can rest assured that it isn’t. He did indeed interview for the position on Wednesday, April 1.
So far, the most serious offer on the table was made to a somewhat unexpected coach right here in Tennessee. UT Vols basketball coach Bruce Pearl has expressed interest in the open Tigers coaching position at the University of Memphis. It has been confirmed that the U of M has offered Pearl a seven year, $21 million deal. This information was just released.
I suppose now we will have to wait and see if Pearl takes the job, but considering that he is highly interested in becoming the next Memphis Tigers’ coach I would assume that we could basically consider this job filled. I see no reason why he would turn it down.
Despite University of Memphis Athletic Director R.C. Johnson’s claim that he did not wish to rush into filling the empty coaching position, this feels like somewhat of a snap decision. Johnson is under quite a bit of pressure from fans and boosters to get this vacancy filled. I’m not sure how this is going to play out considering that UT and Memphis are rival teams.
I’d love to hear your opinion on this recent development.
