Fran McCaffery wasn't going to Arizona or Memphis or Washington State. With only those jobs open, there was time.
Now there's not.
Sean Miller took care of that with the announcement today that he was taking the Arizona job. Good for him.. he's earned it for sure enjoying great success at the Atlantic 10 power.
I am in no way saying Fran is a lock to be Sean Miller's sucessor for the Muskateers. In fact, according to a few who follow Xavier in Cincinnati, it'll probably be top assistant Chris Mack. But the fact that this is a job that makes sense for a McCaffery move should be the impetus for Siena to really crank up the contract extension talk.
Perhaps they already have. Siena athletic director John D'Argenio, through sports information director Jason Rich, e-mailed tonight to say he would not comment on any area of Fran's contract.
He did say the following regarding Fran's status at Siena.
“It is general practice in athletics that if another college or university is interested in someone on our staff, they will call my office to express that interest.”
“Siena is extremely happy with what Coach McCaffery provides to our campus. The athletic administration and the senior administration want him and his family to be comfortable at the college and would like to see them here for a long time.”
Reading between the lines of the last quote would indicate some sort of negotiation is underway. There is a swell of interest in the Siena community to come up with the money to make a contact extension a reality. We're talking some serious money here too.
Let me say this.. I am against contract renegotiation. What you sign, you should stick to unless you are exercizing outs or leaving the business altogether. That's a pipe dream in college basketball where schools with deep pockets are always looking for the next hot coach.
That is certainly McCaffery right now. He has not only won game at Siena, he's done it with crafty recruiting and with players that are, but all accounts, good citizens in the community. Wouldn't you want to pay this guy whatever to run your program?
McCaffery has been very consistant in his message. I love my job here at Siena, there are few better for me right now. But, I will always listen if someone wants to talk.
Right now, Siena fans can only hope it's Siena that's in McCaffery's ear.
