Eddie Jordan to Rutgers isn’t the slam dunk it was once assumed to be.
The Lakers assistant coach and Rutgers alum will meet with school officials and university president Robert Barchi on Thursday, nj.com reported, but there seems to be a disconnect between his asking price and the length of the contract, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, to replace fired head coach Mike Rice.
Rice was let go when video circulated of him abusing players physically and verbally. Athletic director Tim Pernetti resigned as part of the fallout.
A key factor in the negotiations will be whether Rutgers is willing to pay its men’s basketball coach at a Big 10 level salary, the nj.com report stated. The program will be joining the conference the year after next. Penn State coach Patrick Chambers, the league’s lowest-paid coach, makes a reported $900,00 per year, a number Rutgers has never reached for its coach. Minnesota recently hired Richard Pitino, coming off just one full season as a head coach at Florida International, to a six-year deal worth $1.2M a year.
The 58-year-old Jordan, a seven-year NBA veteran as a player who has served as a head coach in the league with the Kings, 76ers and Wizards, starred at the New Jersey school from 1973-77, was on the 1975-76 Final Four team and also was an assistant coach at Rutgers in the 1980s. He met with Rutgers officials last weekend.
Wojnarowski mentioned Manhattan College’s Steve Masiello and LaSalle’s Dr. John Giannini as candidates if the contract talks with Jordan fall apart. A source told The Post that Masiello, a Rick Pitino disciple, would be interested in the job if contacted.
The longer Rutgers goes without a coach, the more players it figures to lose. As it stands, five players are looking to go elsewhere. Sophomore guard Eli Carter and junior forward Mike Poole have each asked for their releases, joining Jerome Seagears, Vincent Garrett and Malick Kone. Rutgers, however, has yet to grant releases to Poole and Carter, according to sources. A school has up to seven days upon the request to grant the release. Furthermore, top recruit Shane Rector of The Bronx de-committed once Rice was fired, as did junior college wing Chris Griffin.
David Cox, who has the support of the program’s remaining players and filled in for Rice in December when the former coach was suspended, has been serving as an interim coach for the time being. A source said if Jordan is hired, Cox would likely be part of his staff.
zbraziller@nypost.com
