When Gary Williams retired to open up the Maryland basketball coaching job, Tubby Smith was immediately mentioned as a possible option by the Minnesota media.
While Smith is still an option following Arizona's Sean Miller and Notre Dame's Mike Brey both turning the job down, Pioneer Press writer Charley Waters is already doing the math to see what it would take to make Flip Saunders the next head coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
A little birdie says Flip Saunders would have to give up $8.6 million — the final two years of his four-year contract — to leave the Washington Wizards for the Gophers men's basketball coaching job if Tubby Smith were recruited away for the University of Maryland coaching job.
It all still seems like a long shot, but there probably wouldn't be too many big name options available if Smith were to leave at this time of the year, making the Minneosota native Saunders the best (available?) coach on the market.