Brian: Despite the fact that Northeastern coach Bill Coen has yet to interview, sources have told the Globe that Cornell's Steve Donahue has risen to the top of the BC head coaching wish list. After Richmond's Chris Mooney withdrew his name from consideration, BC was back down to three head coaching candidates - Steve Donahue, Ed Cooley and Bill Coen.
Donahue is the only of the three candidates that has no former ties to BC. The question mark looming over Donahue's candidacy is whether he will be able to successfully recruit in the ACC, having spent 20 years in the Ivy League.
Blaudschun also suggested that DeFilippo may give Butler coach Brad Stevens a call to gauge his interest in BC's head coaching vacancy. Stevens' is obviously a little preoccupied today as his Bulldogs prepare to face Duke tonight in the National Championship. Blaudschun further suggests that money won't be an issue as Stevens only makes $396,000 with Butler, a figure that could double or triple at BC.
I have to wonder though whether money will be the only factor in whether Stevens returns GDF's call. Regardless of the outcome of tonight's National Championship, I'm certain that Butler's AD will throw more money at Stevens in an attempt to lock him up with a multi-year contract extension. Also, Butler has made an incredible run in this year's NCAA Tournament as a #5 seed in a field of 65. There will certainly be more opportunities for coaches to make the NCAAs with an expanded field of 96. An expanded tournament field will decrease the incentives for head coaches to make the jump from mid-majors to major conference programs, as a coach like Stevens could continue to dominate the Horizon League and have an annual spot in an NCAA Tournament field of 96.
So if you're a Superfan and you aren't satisfied with the trio of remaining candidates, do you root for Butler tonight? Or do you root for Duke? Thoughts?
This will be a big, big week for Boston College athletics. My guess is we'll have a new men's basketball head coach before the week is out. In addition, there's a pretty big hockey game coming up on Thursday. We'll be picking up our coverage of the Eagles hockey team throughout the week leading up to the Frozen Four in Detroit.