Published March 28, 1992|Updated Oct. 11, 2005
The next move is up to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. That's what Florida State coach Pat Kennedy said Friday morning before boarding the team charter back to Tallahassee.
Presumably he will wait for a call from UNLV athletic director Jim Weaver about the school's head basketball job. Weaver called FSU athletic director Bob Goin on Friday night to ask for permission to interview Kennedy, and Goin said permission was granted.
Kennedy maintains he has not thought about what to do.
"I'm kind of numb to the situation," Kennedy said the morning after the Seminoles were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by Indiana. "I haven't been home for two weeks.
Kennedy said there is no reason for his players to think he plans to leave FSU. "I'm not lying to you guys (reporters)," he said. "I haven't given it that much thought. My mind's been totally occupied with what we've been trying to do here in the tournament. So I really don't know."
Kennedy said he recently received a call from Weaver about the job held for the past 19 years by Jerry Tarkanian, who retired at the end of this season.
Before he would discuss the job any further, Kennedy told Weaver he must contact Goin.
"If UNLV calls Bob Goin, I'll sit down and make a decision," Kennedy said. "I'll either talk to them or not talk to them. It'll be handled quickly one way or another."
Resulting discussions between Kennedy and Goin likely would include talk of a raise, though Kennedy denied he will ask for one. His base salary at FSU is $114,000 annually, and his total package, including basketball camps, shoe contracts, radio and television shows, et cetera, is between $300,000 and $350,000.
He signed a five-year rollover contract in 1989 after the University of Tennessee tried to hire him. Both Kennedy and Goin said they were unsure if his contract included a buyout clause.
Since the contract rolls over each year, there are always four years left. If Kennedy were dismissed, he would be paid his base salary for the remaining years.
A move to UNLV likely would result in a huge raise, some reports putting the total package at more than $500,000 per year. According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, Tarkanian's base salary was $211,000 and his total package was $600,000 a year. Although UNLV plays in the weak Big West Conference, it is a program with national appeal and attention.
But Tarkanian, who has the best winning percentage of any coach in the history of college basketball, had a career full of run-ins with the NCAA that are still troubling UNLV. More sanctions are expected.
Other candidates being mentioned for the job are Georgetown's John Thompson and Iowa's Tom Davis. Connecticut's Jim Calhoun and Utah's Rick Majerus have said they are not candidates.
Kennedy said he's had calls from other schools in the past few years and always said, "No, thanks."
"The Vegas thing is obviously a big basketball job," Kennedy said. "But it's also a very unique situation and I don't know very much about it.
"Florida State now is an ACC job. I really still believe, and I think the way our fans responded to our ACC games at home, that we're on the verge of being a Georgia Tech. Bobby (Cremins) has proven that. He turned down the Notre Dame job to stay there. And the league has an awful lot to do with it. The prestige of the ACC is hard to match. I'm only 40 years old. It would be different if I were in my late 40s or early 50s and thought that I needed to look, or that a career thing was going to develop that I couldn't turn down.
"And there's a lot more to a job than just money. There's the quality of life, the quality of your family's happiness, the quality of your program. And the quality we have is awfully good right now."
The Seminoles don't lose any players from the team that finished 22-10 and won two games in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1972. Because of football, they won't get point guard Charlie Ward until at least January. And guard Sam Cassell admits he'll need a strong spring and summer showing in the classroom to be eligible next season.
But in addition to what he has coming back, Kennedy also has signed four players for next year. If he does stay, the Seminoles will be in a favorites' position next season in the ACC.
