Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Barry Collier: The End is Near

The Indinapolis Star is reporting that Barry Collier is one of three finalists to become Butler's next athletic director. Collier will interview with Butler on Friday, and on Saturday, will be inducted into Butler's "Hall of Fame". Will that ceremony include the annoucement of Collier's return to his Alma Mater, where he not only played but led a basketball resurgence in the 1990's? All indications point that way.

So let's recap this story. At the end of the season, the rumor mill had Collier being fired, only to have the Huskers make the semis of the Big XII tournament, saving his job. Steve Pederson's "vote of confidence" apparantly didn't mean much, as top assistant Scott Spinelli took a pay cut to go to Wichita State and Barry Collier pursued the Ball State head coaching job.

Whether this is good news or bad news isn't clear. What is clear is that at least the uncertainty over Collier's future is over. And unfortunately, another Steve Pederson coaching search.

So who will Pederson target at this late date? An interim coach would lead to yet another circus. Rick Majerus just turned down a job offer from the Denver Nuggets, prefering to stay in Milwaukee to care for his ailing mother. Kent State's Jeff Christain was an assistant at Pitt while Pederson was alienating Panther fans. Mike Anderson just took the Mizzou job. Maybe Bobby Lutz of UNC-Charlotte will answer the page?

Well, Larry Brown is looking for a job...

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