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Update: It's official. Montgomery is retiring. The good news is that I don't see Hopkins come up in initial wish lists, even though those things are about as reliable as anything you or I could put together.
Original: So while we're all concerned that the Boston College Screamin' Eagles are going to snatch Mike Hopkins away from us, it's worth considering that there might be a different player in the Hopkins Sweepstakes very soon.
Those God Damn California Golden Bears.
Word on the street is that head coach Mike Montgomery is considering hanging it up. He's having a meeting today with his AD and we'll know for sure what's going on after that. But if he does decide to walk, that opens up a very interesting head coaching gig, one that might just attract a guy like Hopkins.
- It's based on California (Sure, it's NoCal, which sure as hell ain't SoCal, but it's still Cal).
- It's the Pac-12, a conference Hopkins was already willing to jump to just a year ago.
- They're already basically a Syracuse rival, might as well kick it up a notch.
All speculation and conjecture at the moment, but if you're Mike Hopkins and you somehow have your pick of the two gigs, I'm pretty sure he takes Cal. The program is in decent shape but there's room for improvement. It's a chance for Hop to get back to the West Coast. And he'll have the ability to make his own mark, for as good as Montgomery is, he doesn't cast a shadow quite like Jim Boeheim.
Again, just spitballin' here. Montgomery might have merely leaked that info (cause how the hell else did it get out?) to angle for a better payday. We'll find out soon, but in the meantime, just remember that another head coach opening is one more opportunity for Syracuse Orange assistant Mike Hopkins to become Head Coach Mike Hopkins.
By the way, both Hopkins and BC are radio silent on this weekend's meeting. Take that for whatever it's worth to you.
