Bob Huggins' long-term future at Cincinnati may be decided soon. Or maybe it will just dangle above next season without a solution.
Huggins has two years left on his existing contract. He might not get a third. He might not even get a chance to fulfill the final two.
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati president Nancy Zimpher offered Huggins the opportunity to accept the buyout terms in his existing contract, roughly $1.4 million.
Multiple sources told ESPN.com that Huggins isn't going to accept a buyout, but talks are ongoing and the fate of the current staff is in limbo as the school prepares to enter the Big East in three months.
Huggins' deal had been renewed annually on a rolling basis, but the rollover was revoked last year by Zimpher after Huggins' DUI arrest.
This spring the program has seen an assistant coach (Keith LeGree) get his own DUI and freshman forward Roy Bright dismissed for having a firearm on campus.
So, do we have a standoff? Possibly. There are no more scheduled talks, but the situation is fluid. Attorneys for both sides are expected to discuss the situation.
No one seems to know how and when this will be resolved.
Zimpher could change the face and image of the program by firing Huggins and paying him his buyout. Huggins could stick it out and see if the school would offer him a contract extension next season.
Recruiting will certainly take a hit as the cloud of uncertainty remains, but this clearly isn't the best time to make a change. Cincinnati is an attractive job but following Huggins would turn off a number of coaches. So, too, would the timing of going to Cincinnati in mid-to-late June. There is no natural successor.
Making a clean break could come with a price above the buyout. Huggins has his detractors but he's beloved in many circles in Cincinnati and the fan base has always passionately fed off Huggins' winning.
The Bearcats regularly sell out their arena. Huggins' teams usually max out their television appearances and they have made 14 straight NCAA appearances.
Not having Bright and freshman Vincent Banks, who was academically ineligible and had some personal issues to deal with, hurts, but the Bearcats still are looking at the neighborhood of a fourth-to-seventh-place finish in a loaded Big East.
James White is expected to withdraw from the NBA draft, joining returning starters Eric Hicks, Armein Kirkland and Jihad Muhmmad. The four returning starters are four of the five top scorers from last season. The only one of the five who is gone is leading scorer Jason Maxiell.
The Bearcats added impact recruits Cedric McGowan, Tyree Evans, Abdul Herrera and Ivan Johnson as well as potential role players DeAndre Coleman and Dominic Tilford. The staff believes McGowan and Herrera will be power players inside to offset the departure of Maxiell.
Nonetheless, the consensus in the basketball office at Cincinnati is that it's difficult to do their jobs while the cloud of uncertainty hangs over the program. Something has to be decided soon. Either they are going to make the bold Myles Brand-like statement and fire Huggins (like Brand did to Bob Knight at Indiana) or ride him out next season and see what occurs as he potentially endures a lame-duck final two years.
Huggins has two years left on his existing contract. He might not get a third. He might not even get a chance to fulfill the final two.
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati president Nancy Zimpher offered Huggins the opportunity to accept the buyout terms in his existing contract, roughly $1.4 million.
Multiple sources told ESPN.com that Huggins isn't going to accept a buyout, but talks are ongoing and the fate of the current staff is in limbo as the school prepares to enter the Big East in three months.
Huggins' deal had been renewed annually on a rolling basis, but the rollover was revoked last year by Zimpher after Huggins' DUI arrest.
This spring the program has seen an assistant coach (Keith LeGree) get his own DUI and freshman forward Roy Bright dismissed for having a firearm on campus.
So, do we have a standoff? Possibly. There are no more scheduled talks, but the situation is fluid. Attorneys for both sides are expected to discuss the situation.
No one seems to know how and when this will be resolved.
Zimpher could change the face and image of the program by firing Huggins and paying him his buyout. Huggins could stick it out and see if the school would offer him a contract extension next season.
Recruiting will certainly take a hit as the cloud of uncertainty remains, but this clearly isn't the best time to make a change. Cincinnati is an attractive job but following Huggins would turn off a number of coaches. So, too, would the timing of going to Cincinnati in mid-to-late June. There is no natural successor.
Making a clean break could come with a price above the buyout. Huggins has his detractors but he's beloved in many circles in Cincinnati and the fan base has always passionately fed off Huggins' winning.
The Bearcats regularly sell out their arena. Huggins' teams usually max out their television appearances and they have made 14 straight NCAA appearances.
Not having Bright and freshman Vincent Banks, who was academically ineligible and had some personal issues to deal with, hurts, but the Bearcats still are looking at the neighborhood of a fourth-to-seventh-place finish in a loaded Big East.
James White is expected to withdraw from the NBA draft, joining returning starters Eric Hicks, Armein Kirkland and Jihad Muhmmad. The four returning starters are four of the five top scorers from last season. The only one of the five who is gone is leading scorer Jason Maxiell.
The Bearcats added impact recruits Cedric McGowan, Tyree Evans, Abdul Herrera and Ivan Johnson as well as potential role players DeAndre Coleman and Dominic Tilford. The staff believes McGowan and Herrera will be power players inside to offset the departure of Maxiell.
Nonetheless, the consensus in the basketball office at Cincinnati is that it's difficult to do their jobs while the cloud of uncertainty hangs over the program. Something has to be decided soon. Either they are going to make the bold Myles Brand-like statement and fire Huggins (like Brand did to Bob Knight at Indiana) or ride him out next season and see what occurs as he potentially endures a lame-duck final two years.
