Dick Vitale's Prayers Are Answered

I must admit that I was a little suprised today when I heard that Mike Krzyzewski turned down the Lakers job to stay at Duke. I thought that Coach K would have pulled a Mike Montgomery and said "I've done all that I can during my two decades in the college game, so lemme take this fat contract and try working at the highest level of my profession." Well, it turns out that not even the most glamorous job in the league could lure Coach K from his cushy life in Durham. I think the move makes sense for him from the standpoint of job security. He has a lifetime contract at Duke (although coaching contracts are pretty meritless these days) and he'll continue to be treated like a god as long as he stays there. If he were to go to LA, he would be opting into a life of dire uncertainty, as all NBA coaches are on the hot seat as soon as they get hired. Hell, not even Phil Jackson could last more than five seasons on a championship-caliber team before he was forced out. Coach K would've been out of a job within four years, which would leave him unemployed at a still-young 61 years old. And from there, his only move would be to pull a Pitino and try to get back in the college game. He would wind up trying to resurrect some second-tier program like St. John's, desperate to recapture his past glory. Coach K looked at this scenario and wised up quickly.

SI's Phil Taylor makes the very interesting argument that this whole story was prolonged by Coach K for his own selfish reasons. After all, Krzyzewski is the only person who gained from this whole mess:

"...Each speculative story [raised] his profile even more, not to mention his public speaking fees and his endorsement possibilities. It wouldn't be surprising if he parlayed the Lakers' interest into a few more perks from the Duke administration. Stretching things out was a great career move. All in all, Coach K played this situation out as masterfully as any game he's ever coached."