Why Tad Boyle won't be the next coach of UCLA

EHRMAGAWD!  COULD TAD BOYLE BE LEAVING FOR UCLA?!  PAY HIM NOW BEFORE HE JUMPS!  MIKE BOHN IS AWFUL!

*Yawn*

Wait, how did Bohn get dragged into this?  I bet it was Klatt.  Dude, go find a real job, 'cause your one-note CU take is as tired as your incessant Broncos coverage.

Anyways, for the third year in a row, rumors have started to swirl that this team or that team is going to offer our personal basketball savior so much money that he'll have to leave Boulder, and then we'd be DOOOOMED!  But, as has been the case the last two offseasons, Tad will stay put, and continue to build the University of Colorado into a basketball school.

Why am I so confident? Well...

Let's assume (and I think it's a safe assumption), that Tad isn't going to make a lateral move.  He has already reportedly rebuffed Texas A&M, Oklahoma, KSU, and Nebraska with their mountains of cash, and doesn't seem willing to entertain that level of offer.  If he were to seriously entertain leaving, at this point I'd have to assume it was only because a whale came calling.  What do I mean by 'whale?'  I mean a blue-blood, legacy-level program.  Kansas *cough*, Kentucky, Duke, Michigan St, etc.  Yes, UCLA would qualify at that level.

The problem then becomes that Tad hasn't done nearly enough to warrant a genuine offer from those institutions.  Seriously, examine his record from an outsiders' viewpoint.  He has never finished higher than 5th in a major conference, and has only one Tournament win under his belt.  Try selling that to the fanbase that just booted Ben Howland and his three Final Fours.

Yes, Coach Boyle is a winner, but he doesn't have the gaudy stats of, say, Shaka Smart or Brad Stevens that attract the big guys (Final Fours, conference titles, etc).  He will not get a serious call from UCLA, other than a net-casting 'hey, would you be interested?,' unless the Bruins go through their 1st-8th choices, getting rejected at every turn (possible).  Even then, there would be a riot in Westwood if it was announced that 'something named Tad' is sitting in the same chair once held by John Wooden.

Tad is the closest thing we've seen to a winner in these parts since Sox Walseth, but let's keep some perspective.  He has yet to make his name at a national level. 

Additionally, he has high school-age kids, and I know it's a priority of any parent to see kids of that age finish their pre-college careers with some level of geographical stability.  Even with a 'whale' calling, he'd still have to sit down with his family and decide; it wouldn't necessarily be a no-brainer.  Boulder, as I know well, is a hard place to leave.

But isn't Tad grossly underpaid?  Couldn't that drive him away?  Well, to that end, his recent contract extension calls for just under $600,000 in base salary and compensation, with bonuses and escalators pushing his total to right around $1 million this season.  It's not huge money for this level, and it should be higher, but, remember, he has only been coaching top-conference basketball for three years, and hasn't had time to really cash in on his success.

Even given that he's 'underpaid,' that doesn't mean that he'll leave this second (!!!!!!!) if someone doesn't cut him a check, a fact evidenced by his rejection of $2 million/year offers over the last two years.  Further, I have yet to hear even a hint that there's push-back from Dal Ward concerning a contract negotiation with Tad, and AD Mike Bohn has proven, unlike previous ADs (lookin' at you, Dick Tharp), that he is ready and willing to pump money into basketball.  I don't doubt for a second that, when the time comes, Tad will get paid if that's the difference between staying and leaving.  

I'm not saying that Tad would, if asked, flatly reject UCLA and their millions.  If someone is calling, ready to offer you $3 million per year, you at least answer the phone.  I'm just saying that it's stretching credulity that Tad would be asked, and that the CU would just let him go without a peep.  More than likely, this is the moment that Coach Boyle leverages the last three years for a new contract calling for more base pay, and a total level of average compensation near the top-quarter of the conference.

My dudes and dudettes, Tad isn't going anywhere.  Don't listen to the trolls.  Breathe calm and easy, and enjoy your summer.

Roll Tad.