Oh, So Close: Kevin Anderson Denies Stanford Contact, Staying Put in College Park

Blast. Knew we couldn't be that lucky:

The San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday afternoon Anderson would be named to lead the Cardinal's athletic department "assuming the two sides can agree on contract terms."

"There's no truth to that," Anderson said. "That is a bad rumor and whoever wrote that should be fired."

Know we're late here, but it's certainly worth discussing. The Chronicle has pulled down their piece and replaced it with what a kind-of-but-not-really retraction. You can read the original piece here - it's surprisingly well-sourced for something that's supposedly a crock. Regardless, both Anderson and Stanford are denying everything (and not even a "we don't comment on speculation" non-denial); on top of that, the original writer has found a new source near the committee who says they're not close on making a decision.

So ... looks fairly certain nothing's happening, then, despite some brief rumors to the contrary.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if there's some kernel of truth in here. After all, it isn't the first time we've heard the rumor, and the original report did have (what appeared to be, at least) three separate sources, on both sides. That's enough to give me pause, especially because I have no doubt that he'd jump at the chance to join the relatively cash-flush Stanford and leave the comparative hell-hole that has been the Maryland athletic department for the past 18 months. That's a lot of smoke if there's not going to be any fire.

On the other hand of that, why Stanford would be interested, I'm still not sure. I imagine that's a plum gig, and Anderson hasn't shown anything enough to warrant consideration for even a lateral move despite his connections to Palo Alto. He was dealt a bad hand with the finances, sure, but no one actually blames him for cutting sports. That was going to happen no matter who came in. But screwing up* two major job searches in a matter of months? That's on his head.

Well, so long as the committee is still yet to reach a decision, I suppose we can still all dream.

*And yes, Turgeon was a fine hire. But c'mon. It's Maryland basketball. If he couldn't get the guy from A&M, he'd be a full-blown catastrophe. And while I do think Turgeon is a potential title-winner here, I don't buy - yet, at least - that he's better than Sean Miller, Jamie Dixon, Brad Stevens, or any of the others who were supposedly interested at the time. But that's a discussion for another time.

Oh, and I guess Edasll could yet turn out not-awful. But the odds are well and truly stacked against that one and doesn't undo the mess of a search.