The University of Minnesota Still Favors Flip Saunders

Pistons head coach Flip Saunders took advantage of the All-Star break by flying back to Minnesota to take part in 25th anniversary celebrations of the University of Minnesota's 1982 Big Ten championship team. Saunders played for the Golden Gophers in the 70's and was an assistant coach for the team in 1982, and if you believe the rumors, he's the favorite to be named the program's next head coach sometime this summer. From Star-Tribune columnist Sid Hartman:

University President Robert Bruininks also has made it clear that Saunders is the top candidate for the job.

Saunders faces a difficult decision on whether to leave the Pistons for the Gophers.

I have known this young man for more than 30 years, from the first day he walked onto the Williams Arena floor. I know he loves this university and bleeds maroon and gold.

I can't see him turning down the chance to have the job he has dreamed about all of his adult life, despite the difference in pay.

Former university athletic director Mark Dienhart recalled how hard he tried to convince Saunders to take the Gophers job before Dan Monson was hired.

"I spent a lot of time with Flip both here and at his cabin trying to convince him to take the Gopher job," Dienhart said. "He was interested, but we just didn't have the money to pay him at that time."

To Saunders' credit, he's done his best to discredit the rumors, explaining that he considers himself an NBA coach and his primary goal right now is to win an NBA title. But if Saunders is actually 100% certain that he wasn't going to take the job, doesn't it seem odd that he hasn't asked the school's president to tone down the public campaigning? After all, if he's not the guy, all of this hoopla will amount to nothing except making the eventual hire feel second-rate.

Dienhart's last comment is interesting, as well: "we just didn't have the money to pay him at that time." Has the alumni base ponied up more dough to make the basketball program more relevant? Even so, it's hard to imagine Saunders getting the same $9 million he's set to make from the Pistons ... unless the Pistons end up paying him a portion of that money while still allowing him to leave.

That's exactly what happened with Larry Brown, who flirted with a front office job with the Cavs during the playoffs in 2005 and was a candidate for the Knicks head coach job later that summer despite still being employed by the Pistons. He refused to officially quit even though everyone knew he no longer wanted to coach the Pistons, and he ended up walking away with $7 million of Bill Davidson's cash before moving on to his next job.

If Saunders can convince Davidson to be half as generous as he was with Brown and the Gophers commit to making him one of the highest-paid college coaches in the game, it's not far-fetched at all to think that the next 31 games will be his last 31 regular season games as Detroit's head coach.