As a "mid-major" this is always the reality of the situation.  I'm not naive enough to believe that Groce will be at Ohio beyond next year, but Nebraska isn't the type of job you leave for, especially not for a coach as young as Groce and one who is known to be an excellent recruiter.  Of course there's a few jobs he'd likely jump at if they were offered, one of those being Illinois, but otherwise I would have to think he wants to make another run with this team next season.  After that, he'll likely have plenty of big schools coming after him.

Who knows, maybe the guy just flat out loves it in Athens and plans on building a national program at Ohio.  You never really know what someone's true motivations are until it's time to make a decision.  

This from Andy Katz's 3-point shot blog from yesterday:

2. The Nebraska pool to replace the fired Doc Sadler will get interesting with Ohio’s John Groce, a former Ohio State assistant in the Big Ten, now a major player, according to sources. San Francisco’s Rex Walters would also be an intriguing choice after playing in the region at Kansas and being born in Nebraska.

I think someone who is from there or has ties there would more interested in the job.

I could see him leave for a better job but with the entire team returning next year I can't imagine he would leave for a job like Nebraska. 

It could be an interesting job.  I thought I read somewhere that the Huskers will be opening a new hoops facility next year.  Does this mean that NEB and Tom Osborne will make a serious commitment to the basketball program? 

Groce proved he could recruit both in Columbus and Athens, but Lincoln is a different animal.  Take Northwestern and its academic requirements out of it, and I think Lincoln and Happy Valley are the two toughest places in the conference to recruit.  Nebraska in particular is not a hoops hotbed.  

Matta gave Groce a good thought to ponder when he was offered the Ohio job..."why WOULDN'T you take it?"  There was no reason not to.  Now, with his entire team returning off an outstanding season, you could reasonably assume there are several reasons not to take the Nebraska job.  Whether those would outweigh the positives (and there are indeed some) is another question that Groce may have to ponder.    

Now should Illinois come calling....well, I trust Schaus has Jeff Boals' number on speed dial.  And I'm sure other top flight young coaches would beg for this job.  If he should depart, Groce deserves thanks for leaving the program in such great shape.

I give less than 5% chance that Groce leaves for Nebraska.  If Illinois comes calling, I'd say 95%.

I'm sure someone on this board as a better idea of what the athletic department has to work with, but I would love to see Groce receive some sort of performance bonus for this season, and at a minimum, bump his salary up to $330,000 (which is what it appears Solich is making).

In an ideal world, we could raise his base salary up to $750,000 to compete with the other top mid-majors.

A little different background for Hunter and Groce.

Aww, c'mon. Don't you guys owe us for Frank Solich?  

Seriously, I think Tom Osborne is going to make Nebraska a more attractive job.  The facilities are brand-spanking new.  The Hendricks Practice Facility opened to raves from across the Big Ten. The new Pinnacle Bank Arena will have all the bells and whistles as well.  There will be money for assistant coaches.

And there is interest for basketball in Nebraska. Note that Creighton of the Missouri Valley Conference is fifth nationally in attendance... averaging about 16k a night. A lot of those same people wear Husker red in the fall, I might add.

I tend to agree here. Groce will be leaving soon as he does have aspirations to be a big time coach. Illinois is a program that he can't say no too. But Nebraska??? Especially with the whole team coming back next season? If Nebraska is the best job he can get this year, he ain't leaving. He comes back one more season and he should know that better jobs will come calling.

Unless of course he makes a sweet sixteen run this year and some bigger programs start sniffing around.

If so... Boals... your job is open.

This situation is interesting.  It sounds pretty unanimous that if Groce were offered Illinois that we all think he should take it.  But let's not even act like Illinois is a destination job.  I think it is a really good job, but Self left the Illini to head to Kansas.

Given Groce's past, I think he will wait it out in Athens until the perfect job opens.  I have a feeling it's not just about $$ with him.  That will come with winning, but he wants a place that has tradition, history, and a commitment to winning.  I just don't see that at all in Nebraska, where you'd always be second fiddle to football.

WOW!!

I think Groce will have ample opportunities after this year and next, so he probably can be somewhat choosy this offseason.

This is not the way to become one of the great coaches in the country. This is a way to get $5m and then be back at a mid-major.

Gary Waters knows this all too well.

You only get one shot at being a darling coaching option, where you're looked upon as the next big thing. Shaka has realized that. I think Groce gets that. When you get that one shot at mapping out a path to greatness, do it wisely.

Matta will steer Groce towards a spot he can succeed. Illinois is a great job, and as Self showed it can be a leap pad to a dream job. Nebraska is not that place.