Carolina fans are on needles and pins once again, as Roy Williams decides whether to return to Chapel Hill and coach or play Lucy with the football (again) and stay at Kansas. The signs are ominous, as this story from the Raleigh News & Observer points out. As in 2000, Williams was: made an offer; given time to think about it; allowed to visit a coastal city (Charleston then, Los Angeles now), after which he; rejected the deal.
Williams shouldn't turn down the invitation to Westwood, of course. He is receiving an award this weekend and attending a ceremony in which two of his senior players will be named All-Americans. But Dickie Baddour pledged that, if Roy were offered the job this time, he would have no more than 24 hours to say yes or no. Looks like that "deadline" is a bit more flexible than that.
My boss (a Michigan alum) asked, Why would they offer him the job a second time? My best guess is that Baddour, or the boosters who pull his strings, are convinced that Roy is the savior, that no one else can restore the program's reputation quickly. The flip side of this, of course, is that Baddour's screw-ups have made the nation's most-respected amateur sports program laughingstocks in less than three years. If Dickie blows this one, he'd better update his resume.
I have little doubt if Williams takes the job at Chapel Hill, he'll have Carolina in several more final fours, may win a national championship or two, and might even surpass The Dean's career victory record (which is likely to fall at the hands of Coach K anyway). And if Roy does become the next Carolina coach, this whole nightmare will be forgotten in a couple of years. That said, the Carolina faithful haven't had much to cheer about lately.
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