Temptation

Sportswriters bring to mind H.L. Mencken’s definition of Puritanism, as a “haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy.” Which may explain why Steve Greenberg wrote what he did in today’s Sun-Times. Excited about Loyola and head coach Porter Moser? Well, Greenberg wants you to consider the possibility, the likelihood, that Moser will leave for greener pastures. Yes, these Ramblers bear the imprint of their coach. “But there’s another level to which he [Moser] cans ascend if he wants to try. Don’t believe for a second he won’t be thinking about it.” The assumption here being that Moser can do exactly the same thing at twice the salary elsewhere. As proof, Greenberg brings up Brad Stevens, the Porter Moser of Butler before he moved on to coach the NBA Celtics. Interesting comparison, that, and one Greenberg fails to explore fully. Consider that, despite a .558 winning percentage over eight seasons in Boston, Stevens has never come as close to a NBA championship (no better than the conference finals) as he did a NCAA one (losing twice in the championship game). Why oh why, I wonder, is Stevens’ name now popping up in regards the Big Ten coaching vacancy at Indiana? Must be a coincidence. At the risk of doing apples and oranges, I think Porter would do well to consider what Pat Fitzgerald has accomplished at Northwestern, which just happens to be, literally, two or so miles up Sheridan Road from the Loyola campus. Fitzgerald overachieved with his football program, to the point he got the university to commit to him in a way it never did Ara Parseghian. That’s the opportunity Porter has at Loyola. Or he could go off in search of those greener pastures. In that case, he might consider Brad Stevens as a cautionary tale. The bigger the pasture, the more pressure to make it produce, the less of a chance to do it your way. If I were Porter Moser or Loyola, that’s definitely what I’d be thinking.