[flamehunter]

Maybe it's about more. Maybe he wants to work at LU because of who we are. The next step isn't the end all be all for everyone.

+1.

[R i]

Would he turn down the job if Jeff didnt want to bring back Eaker so soon ?

This is unprecedented, and Jeff may not be the person with authority to offer Jason re-employment by the school. PH Im not a rehire kind of guy either, but Jerry Sr. was for sure. So I can see this going both ways.

[R i]

FWIW , Hoffman was doing fine at Mercer before Eaker joined him. So I can see him asking , but if he has decided to visit and hear our offer, hes committed to a point that I cant see Jason excluded being a deal breaker.

[ballah09]

if you read FFG posts earlier he turned down bigger jobs before and it's not like liberty has any history or success. at LU, 17+ wins and an CBI tournament would be considered success to bigger schools so the bar is pretty low.

considering both Eaker and Hoffman have connections way back to Texas Pan Am easy to see why he would want him. I'm for second chances, so I would have no problem bringing him back.

[VAGolf]

If you have the inside source, I'll trust you. I just don't understand how anyone who has that much potential, but not many years left, would be gung-ho about a school with little basketball history in the Big South.

FFG works at Mercer. He has an inside source.

I never doubted that he has a source.

[flamesfilmguy]

Again this is why i was so shocked initially that his name came up. I thought for sure that he would be retiring here at mercer. He's a fantastic coach and since he didn't take a job after the Duke win pretty much everyone assumed he was here to stay. Socon isn't a bad conference (see wofford) and He's probably the highest paid coach in the conference. I guess money and the facilities LU has built carry some weight.

[Rooster Cogburn]

And faith.

[lynchburgwildcats]

Hoopdirt.com has chimed in with this...

I have heard from multiple sources today that the “hot” name at Liberty is Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman. He has spent the past seven years at Mercer – his 14th seeded Bears upset #3 seed Duke in last year’s NCAA Tournament. Hoffman has also been the head coach at Texas Pan American and Oklahoma Baptist and he has won 455 games over his 20-year career. He is believed to be the leader in a final group that Includes Michigan assistant Jeff Meyer, Oklahoma assistant Chris Crutchfield, and Lehigh assistant Brett Reed.

http://hoopdirt.com/blog/30514ba6/liberty-dirt/

[flamesfilmguy]

And faith.

Mercer is a baptist school. and he's got a great church down here. I don't think thats the main issue.

[jinxy]

So hes in the burg or barber is down there?

[flamesfilmguy]

via Lang

[Bigsouthking]

So 4 weeks after the firing and Hoffman is the choice?

Super Duper - beat DOOK!

[SuperJon]

So 4 weeks after the firing and Hoffman is the choice?

Super Duper - beat DOOK!

Do you approve? I'd say Jeff outdid himself on this one.

[Bigsouthking]

So 4 weeks after the firing and Hoffman is the choice?

Super Duper - beat DOOK!

Do you approve? I'd say Jeff outdid himself on this one.

I would say if Jerry Jr gave you a bag of money you could have hired Coach Hoffman as well. Solid ball coach, leaving his frat brother who is Mercer's President is impressive.

[belcherboy]

As successful as hoops has been from Magic to Izzo ... football remains king in the attention of Sparty fans unless something dramatic has changed in recent years.

My wife is a UM fan, but ALL of her family roots for MSU. All I ever hear about is basketball. Even in Football season. Same for MSU fans I knew in Cadillac.

I lived my entire life, up until about 7 years ago, in Michigan. My whole family still lives up there. Up until the past 4-5 years, MSU fans overwhelmingly would choose basketball over football if having to choose between them. It has changed recently due to the great success of the football program these past few years, but basketball is still king in East Lansing. So much so that most of my friends who are MSU fans have pretty much conceded that Jim Harbaugh will likely return Spartan fans to their "little brother" role in the next few years. (Obviously they didn't use the words "little brother", but said that they will likely have great difficulty beating Michigan once Harbaugh has a few recruiting classes under his belt)

[Sly Fox]

My only issue with him is the fact he was an Okie. But SumItUp has me getting over my angst toward the Land Thieves. This would be a home run hire IMHO. And I am a big Jason Eaker fan, for what it is worth. I'd love to have him back on the mountain and I may be mistaken but I believe he played a role in Gielo coming to LU which could be fortuitous in his decision-making. Then again, I feel the same way about Coach McKay.

The fact that the high majors have come calling in the past and been rebuffed makes me feel great about his commitment should he choose to accept the offer. In what he was able to accomplish at Mercer with a fraction of the recources (and I am a big fan of what they are doing in Macon), imagine what he could do with the tools that we can provide.

Rooster - Faith is the reason why we are even in this conversation with Coach Hoffman. Don't let anyone brush over your statement.

belcherboy - Fair enough. I was going off of the statements of the MSU alumni around me here in Texas where hoops is always a distant afterthought.

[alabama24]

I was going off of the statements of the MSU alumni around me here in Texas where hoops is always a distant afterthought.

That may have to do more with those fans desiring to keep their Tay Hoss Man Cards. lol

[R i]

Rooster - Faith is the reason why we are even in this conversation with Coach Hoffman. Don't let anyone brush over your statement.

[olldflame]

I like the choice of Hoffman, but I don't think JB can afford to let this stretch out much longer. I say if he turns us down, or even if it looks like the contract negotiations are going to be protracted, forget Sutton and Reed, get on the jet and bring Jeff Meyer to the Burg.

[BJWilliams]

Its like I said to jl...you gotta trust the process. I'd love to see them wrap this up soon too, but he hasn't been wrong so far in this search, so I trust he is gonna nail it down, whether its Coach Hoffman, Coach Meyer or whoever.

[Purple Haize]

If you don't know who is in the candidate pool how can you say whether or not hes been wrong?

[BJWilliams]

Really I'm goin on manson's updates (and a few from Lang as well) in saying that, and I tend to think they know what they're talking about...more so than say Neo or TheGovernor (neither of whom have laid out their credentials as far as Liberty is concerned).

[Sly Fox]

Both of their credentials are legit. And while we are on it, so are BSK's.

[BJWilliams]

Thank you sly...while I'd love to hear from both of them, I do trust your judgement in saying that.

[flameshaw]

Hoffman didn't come to town without some specific knowledge regarding the target salary. I don't believe it will come down to money now, but what he thinks about the University as a whole and the facilities in particular. In addition, he has to feel very comfortable with the people/coaches he will be working with in the athletic department. IOW, how JB and JF sell the job.
I would like it to be a younger guy, but experience is hard to teach. Get-er-done.