Collins to Villanova rumors
- Thread starter Baz=Heisman
- Start date
Seems like things are moving quickly. Mark Jackson needs to make this happen. Collins has all the leverage. You are building the richest football stadium in college sports. The money has to be there. Pay the man. Please. Don’t want to see where this programs heads if he leaves. Would love to know what is actually going on. X Guru always seems to know.
A great way for Mark Jackson to become the most disliked AD since Gragg! Hopefully he isn’t out of town…..
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It would be an unreal fail for Jackson. Seeing his last hire at Villanova is concerning.
At this point it is likely about more than money. CCC likely has enough of that and can get more if he decides to move (or in a contract renewal. At this point it likely depends more on CCCs goals and where he feels he can accomplish them. Does he want to stay in Chicago area and build a solid program? Does he want to try for NCAA Championship? If he wants to stay in Chicago and having job security and potentially putting together a solid perennial tourney team is what he wants to develop then he needs the accommodations to accomplish that but it can be done at NU.. But if his goals are higher and he yearns for lifting Championship trophy it becomes a lot tougher at NU unless some really significant accommodations (not sure that he can get them at NU)are made. He is 50 years old so this is one of the last times he would have to make a move that could accomplish that, If that is his goal, he is gonna be hard to keep.
For all the talk of greatness, I think CCC has gone from subpar to a very good coach flirting with greatness. Seems like a HOF former coach really built his career and his reputation by taking an inconsequential academic school in a power conference and turning them into an annual national powerhouse. So, if he has enough money, then looks like a great time to leverage his power for other things.
I would think it would be quite compelling to approach AD for a modest extension with little in pay raise. Rather a demand of a certain number of academic exemptions. As a former schollie athlete, I know the ad closely monitors academic progress and has tons of support in place. So if ccc starts producing bad STUDENT athletes, then at next turn, you reduce those exemptions and dare him to go.
But for now, I think it wise to trust ccc and the impressive athletic educational support system in play. And for ccc, this and some more nil opens the opportunity to achieve his mentor’s level.
I would think it would be quite compelling to approach AD for a modest extension with little in pay raise. Rather a demand of a certain number of academic exemptions. As a former schollie athlete, I know the ad closely monitors academic progress and has tons of support in place. So if ccc starts producing bad STUDENT athletes, then at next turn, you reduce those exemptions and dare him to go.
But for now, I think it wise to trust ccc and the impressive athletic educational support system in play. And for ccc, this and some more nil opens the opportunity to achieve his mentor’s level.
I think if you checked you would find that DUKE had a pretty good history even before coach K. Not necessarily National Championships but final fours and runner ups under Bubas and even our own Bill Foster (a bunch of that time was during the period of UCLA dominance)
First serious smoke from a verified source that I've seen in this article, the headline of which is about UCLA's Mic Cronin becoming a dark horse contender for Villanova
www.nj.com
The article goes on to say Cronin and Collins are viewed as the top two contenders for the job, according to multiple close sources, then lists a several options under consideration but behind Collins/Cronin. Cronin has a contract over $4 million with a $16 million buyout, so if Villanova is truly serious about being able to land him then Jackson needs to be prepared to up Collins' contract substantially.
There are few details beyond that regarding Collins, including if he is interested or not, how serious talks are, etc., other than just those are the coaches that the school is currently most interested in.
So there is a very real threat here.
A big-name dark horse is in the mix for the Villanova coaching opening
A big-name dark house is in the mix for the Villanova coaching opening
The article goes on to say Cronin and Collins are viewed as the top two contenders for the job, according to multiple close sources, then lists a several options under consideration but behind Collins/Cronin. Cronin has a contract over $4 million with a $16 million buyout, so if Villanova is truly serious about being able to land him then Jackson needs to be prepared to up Collins' contract substantially.
There are few details beyond that regarding Collins, including if he is interested or not, how serious talks are, etc., other than just those are the coaches that the school is currently most interested in.
So there is a very real threat here.
So why would a guy leave UCLA to go to NOVA???First serious smoke from a verified source that I've seen in this article, the headline of which is about UCLA's Mic Cronin becoming a dark horse contender for Villanova
A big-name dark horse is in the mix for the Villanova coaching opening
A big-name dark house is in the mix for the Villanova coaching opening
The article goes on to say Cronin and Collins are viewed as the top two contenders for the job, according to multiple close sources, then lists a several options under consideration but behind Collins/Cronin. Cronin has a contract over $4 million with a $16 million buyout, so if Villanova is truly serious about being able to land him then Jackson needs to be prepared to up Collins' contract substantially.
There are few details beyond that regarding Collins, including if he is interested or not, how serious talks are, etc., other than just those are the coaches that the school is currently most interested in.
So there is a very real threat here.
Cronin complains about the west coast big ten team having to travel so much. He complains about it all the time.
So it seems like we just wait for news to drop now? This is an uncomfortable position (for us fans)
Damn right we did.
Our admin apparently does not.
Unfortunately even after disabling my ad blocker I cannot read the Collins article. Hope NU can convince him to stay !
Everything I've read from Nova fans is that the guy writing it is not particularly reliable, anyway.
Doesn’t seem like the people who cover Northwestern are keeping close tabs but a lot of the national guys have had it on their paid premium sites for a few days.
Nova’s first choice is Cronin and he desperately wants out of the UCLA job. The move to the Big Ten made that job a lot harder. He wants Nova. UCLA is expecting to take a reduced buyout to let him walk so they can replace him with someone who’s more content with coaching a West Coast team in the Big Ten (Not Collins… expectation is Todd Golden. Golden wants out of Florida and would be happy at Texas or UCLA). Obviously things could change but that’s the expectation for all involved - will happen as soon as UCLA’s season ends.
Nova’s fallback option is Ryan Odom. That’s who the boosters are behind if they can’t get Cronin.
IU has DeVries in their back pocket, but they’re making some final big swings at their top targets. Since DeVries is available now that his season is over, that is expected to put time pressure on IU. They’ll likely wrap up in the next day and announce him if they get turned down by their final Hail Mary chances (no, Collins is not on that list. Theyre going after a couple of really big names still coaching in the tourney).
Disclaimer: obviously things can change and these are very fluid situations but that’s the consensus on the current status among national reporters who cover the sport.
Nova’s first choice is Cronin and he desperately wants out of the UCLA job. The move to the Big Ten made that job a lot harder. He wants Nova. UCLA is expecting to take a reduced buyout to let him walk so they can replace him with someone who’s more content with coaching a West Coast team in the Big Ten (Not Collins… expectation is Todd Golden. Golden wants out of Florida and would be happy at Texas or UCLA). Obviously things could change but that’s the expectation for all involved - will happen as soon as UCLA’s season ends.
Nova’s fallback option is Ryan Odom. That’s who the boosters are behind if they can’t get Cronin.
IU has DeVries in their back pocket, but they’re making some final big swings at their top targets. Since DeVries is available now that his season is over, that is expected to put time pressure on IU. They’ll likely wrap up in the next day and announce him if they get turned down by their final Hail Mary chances (no, Collins is not on that list. Theyre going after a couple of really big names still coaching in the tourney).
Disclaimer: obviously things can change and these are very fluid situations but that’s the consensus on the current status among national reporters who cover the sport.
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1) Thanks to @Vassar69 for the nice summary.
2) The ok-but-not-great NU source tells me Jackson and Collins get along well. He believes this is a play for an extension by CC's agent and it will work out in the end.
3) But if Mick Cronin is in play ... hmmmmm? Don't ask me if I'd sacrifice CC for Cronin. You may not like the answer. If I were Jackson, I'd put in a call juuuuuuuuuuust in case.
2) The ok-but-not-great NU source tells me Jackson and Collins get along well. He believes this is a play for an extension by CC's agent and it will work out in the end.
3) But if Mick Cronin is in play ... hmmmmm? Don't ask me if I'd sacrifice CC for Cronin. You may not like the answer. If I were Jackson, I'd put in a call juuuuuuuuuuust in case.
Mick Cronin is a midwestern guy. He grew up in Cincinnati where his dad was a HS basketball coach. He got his start at the University of Cincinnati as their film guy before becoming an assistant at Louisville and then back to UC as head coach where he did a really nice job. The last time UC was really relevant was under Cronin.
Losing CC would suck, but if we turned right around and got Cronin to come here, that wouldn't be so devastating. Would be a long shot though...
I think the TLDR is: potential landing spots listed by NU fans seem unlikely as he’s not near the top of their wishlists. So in the event that he was interested in a new opportunity, there may not be a good opportunity available that wouldn’t be a lateral move or step down.
Obviously coaching carousel is dynamic. More jobs will open up, and candidates will come off the board, etc. So that could theoretically impact Collins, but seems unlikely.
Think Cronin is not in play for NU. Allegedly he’d like to go to Nova. He’s interested in IU but I think they’re not interested. If Florida opens up as expected, I’d imagine he will want to go there. I don’t think Cronin would leave UCLA unless he was getting one of his top choices.
But why would Cronin come to NU? Wouldn't same issues be in play or just fewer because we are more centrally located? And at UCLA, they have a history of success and pathway to trophies that NU would have a hard time duplicating, THat said if he were to come, that Spanish center that they have would be an interesting addition.
Agree that NU as a life raft is a TOTAL long shot. Agree that he's probably not in play, but I'd sure check in. Gotta get that list lined up juuuuuuuuust in case. Hopefully there's more discussion with CC and his agent than coaching candidates.
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