Rick Pitino would be the most short-sighted move Maryland could make hiring its next basketball coach.
Oh, Pitino would help rejuvenate the program, maybe even reclaim its annual top-20 position as one of the nation's elite programs over the past 50 years. Home games would be crowded instead of half empty. Big recruits would come.
That all sounds good, but it comes at a cost. If Maryland hires Pitino, as the Sports Junkies claimed on Wednesday is possible, the school risks getting bloody again. After the stink of the Len Bias death and coach Bob Wade aftermath that took a generation to erase, passing on Pitino would be prudent.
Find the next great young coach who can grow the team for years, not a throwback to former greatness. Get someone who hasn't left a team in tatters. Maryland doesn't need such grief nor take such a risk.
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Pitino has been a great coach. He won the 1996 national championship at Kentucky and the 2013 crown with Louisville. But, the latter title was later stripped by the NCAA and the team was later sanctioned for a sex-for-pay scandal, with Pitino suspended for failure to monitor his program. After federal prosecutors claimed a Louisville recruit's family was paid $100,000, the university fired Pitino. A settlement deal later changed Pitino's departure to a "resignation."
Still, this was dirty and everyone knows it. That recruits can now be paid under an NCAA licensing deal may make this scandal irrelevant, but it goes to the coach's demeanor. If you don't care about anything but winning, then Pitino is your man. He's great at that.
But don't be suckered into thinking Pitino will even stay long. He has a wandering heart. Nine head coaching stops, including two NBA teams, shows Pitino knows how to career jump and Maryland might not be his last stop. It's possible at age 69 that Pitino might stay until retiring, but it's also just as likely he'll grab another offer.
And then Maryland will be regrouping again. Today's college basketball is pretty much a year to year sport with players transferring regularly for more playing time and stars jumping to the NBA. There's no long-term planning or even three-year plans. It's all about this season. But the school should want a long-term coach.
Pitino is certainly enticing for Maryland. But so are the risks involved. The passing years have shown just how special coach Gary Williams was to the program. It's hard to match that combination of ethics, energy and enthusiasm for greatness. Maryland has deeply missed Williams since his 2011 retirement.
But look for a long-term coach rather than a short-term star. It's worthwhile in the end.
Rick Snider has covered Washington sports since 1978. Follow him on Twitter: @Snide_Remarks.