One day it's Steve Lappas leaving Villanova to go to UMass. Jim Baron getting more guaranteed money to coach basketball at the URI than anyone in history. One day it's Tin Welsh having his contract renogotiated at PC, even though he had four years left on his original contract. Hardly a day's gone by the last couple of weeks when some coach didn't get fired, creating a basketball version of musical chairs. Hardly a day goes by when we are not confronted by the transience of the entire sport.
Loyalty is just another word in the dictionary.
If nothing else, the last few weeks prove that contracts are virtually irrelevent, worth little more than the paper they're printed on, a coach's word no more than an empty promise. In a sense they are like an adolescent boy at the school dance, always looking over their date's shoulder to see who is coming through the door. Coaches always are looking down the road, the next job, the next contract, into the future. Winning is more important than ever. The past few weeks have reaffirmed what's been apparent for a while now.