Hello all. Sorry for the gaps. Been visiting family and yesterday was travel day to get home.

Coach Jamie Dixon was doing studio work for CBS College Sports Saturday night in New York City. Guess who was also in NYC that same weekend?

It is not known if Dixon has officially been interviewed by Pat Kilkenny, the former UO director of athletics heading the search, but it seems likely. Dixon is in New York this weekend, working for CBS College Sports Network, while a source indicated that Kilkenny traveled to New York on Friday and was still there Saturday.

Kilkenny could have also arranged to meet other coaches during his stay in New York, but Dixon is the only one definitely known to also be in the city. Neither Dixon nor Kilkenny responded to telephone calls Saturday.

Texas A&M’s Mark Turgeon, who had once been an assistant at Oregon is apparently out as he just got a raise and extension prior to the weekend. The money is for $1.5 million — or about $100K less than what Coach Dixon reportedly earns. Why this means Turgeon is out, but Dixon is still in play exactly remains a mystery.

Tubby Smith remains another mystery as to whether Oregon really wants him, and whether he is really interested. Some reports say he’s going nowhere, others suggest he is mulling a slight bump to $2 million +/year to go west.

Smith has been offered the University of Oregon job, but hasn’t accepted it, a person with knowledge of the situation told the Pioneer Press on Sunday.

The offer is believed to be in excess of $2 million annually. Smith, who led the Gophers to a 21-14 record and a second straight NCAA tournament appearance in his third season this year, currently earns a salary of $1.8 million a year.

Oregon representatives contacted Smith directly last week about the job, a person close to Smith said Friday. But Eugene, Ore., television station KEZI-TV reported Sunday that Smith wasn’t a candidate and that the university hadn’t spoken to him.

I am not too sure about believing anything from that Eugene TV station after this report.

A source close to the University of Oregon Athletic Department has told KEZI the Ducks are planning to offer Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo the largest contract in college basketball, with the backing of Oregon’s biggest booster, Nike Chairman Phil Knight.

Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari currently has the largest contract, after he signed an eight-year, $31.65 million deal last year. Izzo currently makes about $2.5 million per year, excluding bonuses.

Don’t get me wrong, after this weekend it is hard not to say that Izzo is one of the absolute best coaches in college basketball and is the present master of NCAA Tournament. Now appearing in his sixth Final Four. So if anyone is going to get the biggest contract out there, why not him. It is simply that when you add in his bonuses, Izzo makes well over $3 million. He’ll get another raise after this year. Plus he is a Michigan native with no ties or reason to go to Oregon.

Oh, and then there is the fact that the guy — who is not the AD at Oregon — running the search says he wants his the coach hired by the weekend of the Final Four. The lack of knowing who is in charge at Oregon (I mean aside from Nike) is going to be a big deterrent for anyone other than an assistant or mid-major coach to take the gig. Heck, they don’t even have an interim AD at this point.

The interim AD is Lorraine Davis, who doesn’t take her post until April 20, and won’t be involved in the hiring.

The decision will instead be made by Kilkenny.

But what will Kilkenny’s long-term role be with the Ducks?

Unless he is planning on again running the department on a daily basis, the new coach is likely to want some assurance of any promises that are made to him. That could come from UO president Rirchard Lariviere, but he’s traveling in Asia for the next week and unavailable for an in-person talk with any coaches.

It’s no wonder that ESPN’s Andy Katz is dismissing all the “names” that Oregon is pursuing.

Once Oregon is done with Smith (after not getting Turgeon), Gonzaga’s Mark Few, Florida’s Billy Donovan and Pitt’s Jamie Dixon, the Ducks will have to refocus the search.

The lack of stability in the Oregon athletic department is the main reason I dismiss most of the Dixon talk.

Has he listened to what Oregon is trying to sell? Wouldn’t surprise me in the least. Outside of more cash — which he has turned down at other places with better potential — there isn’t much to want. Add in questions of who would actually be in charge of the athletic department, when Dixon has shown an understanding of how that really affects the success or failure of the coach, and it looks like a ridiculous longshot.

UPDATE (10:08 AM): And here’s a post from Jeff Goodman at FoxSports saying that Oregon is now focused on Tubby Smith and that Dixon “spurned” Oregon interest.

However, most top-tier coaches understand that the job isn’t nearly as attractive as the Ducks believe it to be. Sure, there’s the Nike connection – but the recruiting base is often bare and even with a state-of-the-art new building set to open, it’s an average Pac-10 job.

Oregon attempted to get guys like Gonzaga’s Mark Few, Florida’s Billy Donovan and Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon, but were spurned by all three.

So it twirls.