COMMENTARY
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In the four-day expanse between Ohio State firing Thad Matta and hiring Chris Holtmann, chatter linking Bob Huggins to the Buckeyes became a brief summertime fixation.
Twice, the Columbus Dispatch reported Bob Huggins was a candidate, posturing in the second article that Huggins’ representatives “quietly expressed interest in the job.” This is how temperatures are gauged in the industry, though there’s normally disagreement on which side did the original reaching out.
When I reached out to Huggins this week anticipating a denial, the typically accessible coach did not respond. In that respect the rumor became a play-on, though it was hard to envision a marriage forming.
Huggins, at age 63, is in the home stretch of a Hall-of-Fame career, even if the Hall itself has failed to recognize the oversight. He still coaches his tail off, as evidenced by the dramatic shift in playing style the past three seasons. And he can still recruit, as shown by his staff’s ability to materialize a deep roster at a place rarely on the path for elite prospects.
While his West Virginia contract runs through 2023, Huggins is only one season away from having the option of sliding into a PR/fundraising role for the university. That intriguing parachute clause was negotiated by former athletics director Oliver Luck in 2012, part of an extension that made Huggins a $3 million-per-year coach.
All indications are Huggins will stay on the sideline, where the coaching box is growing like the optimism around Press Virginia.
Still, Ohio State is a plum job — maybe one of the 10 best in America, And Huggins has massive roots planted throughout Ohio, having coached 24 seasons at Walsh, Akron and Cincinnati. His father Charlie won two state championships during a legendary 27-year high school coaching career there.
Could Huggins have piled on to his 813 wins in Columbus? There’s no question. After all, the Buckeyes are better positioned to succeed in the Big Ten than WVU is in the Big 12 (where Huggs’ program is succeeding just fine nonetheless).
He quickly would have become celebrated among the fans, just as it took him no time to win over the legions at Kansas State.
But why take on a new project someplace else when his likeness is so richly tethered to West Virginia? The Mountaineers are winning, tickets are selling, and the state wraps its arms around Huggins from every corner.
What a perfect place for a sunset.