The weird thing that happens when you know a program is coming hard after your coach is you start following that search closely. You almost become invested in seeing how it turns out. This happened to me last year with Arizona. It has happened this year with Oregon. I am totally fascinated by their coaching search — and failure to this point.

Basically, all that has happened to this point is they have helped coaches get raises and extensions.

Two other coaches reportedly on the short list to replace Ernie Kent have gotten raises to stay in their current positions.

Mark Turgeon of Texas A&M is set to get a $250,000 raise, according to ESPN.com, and Pitt’s Jamie Dixon signed a two-year contract extension Tuesday, locking him up through the 2017-18 season.

Meanwhile, Steve Alford of New Mexico told the Albuquerque Journal that he is willing to listen if someone calls but added that he is not looking to leave the Lobos.

Mark Few of Gonzaga, a Creswell native and Oregon grad who has close ties to former Ducks athletic director Pat Kilkenny, told the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Wash., that he does not comment on coaching rumors.

Meanwhile, Tubby Smith might get a small bump at Minnesota and that promised new practice facility is now a priority.

It does seem curious that Baylor’s Scott Drew is not being pursued. Memphis showed interest in him last year, but that was it. This despite an astounding job rebuilding Baylor after the Bliss scandal — and in a rather deep Big 12. I suppose it has something to do with a less than perfect reputation. There have been rumors that he tends to the shady side in recruiting efforts (or at least has stepped on other Div. 1 coaches’ toes in the process). Given the number of other coaches that do that and no one seems to mind, though, I can’t believe that is the only reason.

With all the other rejections Oregon has had, they might be waiting to see about Butler’s Brad Stevens after all.

Stevens’ style is not frenetic. It’s defense-first, with a fairly deliberate offense. But all this talk about pace and having to have an entertaining style is bunk, anyway.

Just win.

Oregon wants to be about glitz and glamor. Maybe it sounds good to say the Ducks will run up and down the floor. Maybe that’s in keeping with the desired image.

But winning provides the ultimate positive branding, doesn’t it? The Bulldogs have 88 wins since Stevens was promoted to head coach, which is a record for anyone’s first three seasons.

Considering Mark Turgeon and Jamie Dixon were high on their list, yeah, claiming to want a coach that runs and “entertaining style” of basketball is definitely bunk.

Here’s something that seems to have escaped most of the Duck fans and people covering Oregon’s search. Or at the very least, seems incredibly minimized. Mike Belotti screwed Oregon.

Regardless of the Nike money from Phil Knight and their other uber-booster Pat Kilkenny — also running the search — there is no one in charge of Oregon’s athletic department. Mike Belotti quitting right after firing Ernie Kent really messed up the dynamic.

Whoever eventually takes the job will be working for someone who didn’t hire them. Coach Dixon alluded to that fact yesterday in the press conference when he said, “The most important thing in coaching is who you work for.”

Dixon and other coaches with stable positions, and ADs that they trust, get that. If you don’t have their support, backing and even something invested in the coach — like being the guy that hires them — then things can fall a part real fast at the first stumble.

Yeah, the next guy hired at Oregon will essentially be hired by the biggest donors to the athletic department, and that will help. But when it comes to fighting for players if there are academics or conduct issues. If it comes to freeing up money for recruiting and travel. When it comes to all the support issues needed from an athletic department, you need the AD behind.

For further amusement related to the Oregon coaching search. How about Phil Knight claiming little to do with the search other than getting updates every couple of days.

Knight noted that the final decision will be up to UO President Richard Lariviere, who is currently in Asia, based on Kilkenny’s recommendation.

“Obviously, Pat Kilkenny is heading up the search committee,” Knight said. “I have a lot of confidence that he’ll find a good coach. At the end of the day, Richard will make the call. I know he called in from China the last couple of days, so they’re in communication.

“Pat keeps me apprised and we think pretty much along the same lines, but at the end of the day, he’ll make the recommendation.”

This article also comes closest to acknowledging the issue of the lack of an AD.

Knight said he doesn’t believe that the resignation of AD Mike Bellotti, leaving candidates not knowing who their immediate boss would be, has been a major factor.

“Ask me when it’s all over, but right now, I don’t think it’s hurting that much,” Knight said. “It’s just a very unusual process.

As unusual as an unemployed supervisor for a cleaning company in California being more plugged into the Oregon coaching search because she has Pat Kilkenny’s old cell phone number?

“It’s been this way ever for the last year,” said Teresa Nogueira. “I don’t know who this Pat guy is, but he’s busy.”

Nogueira, who turned 39 Wednesday, walked into a Verizon store last year and got a new telephone number with the “619” prefix when she moved from Toronto to El Cajon, Calif. And since July she’s received a steady stream of Kilkenny-birthday wishes, and “Go Ducks!” texts, and she said: “On Saturdays during college football, oh, that’s the worst time.”

It gets better.

Because when you call her you learn that St. Mary’s coach Randy Bennett has some key Ducks boosters pushing hard for him. So does New Mexico coach Steve Alford. And by the way, it seems there are some key behind-the-scenes players who want Kilkenny to know they’re laughing out loud at St. John’s University’s hire of Steve Lavin.

That’s “Lavin? LOL” if you’re texting.

And now all those people know that a columnist with a sports talk show in Oregon knows a lot more inside dirt.