LATEST: Russ Huesman has accepted an offer to become the head coach at Richmond.
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Russ Huesman may be the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football coach this time next week, or he may not.
When you're coaching at the FCS level and you reportedly have a chance to nearly double your current salary, it would be tough for anyone to turn down that financial opportunity in favor of the old alma mater.
So if Huesman leaves for Richmond, it's time for UTC fans everywhere to thank him for his great work in revitalizing the football program as it had not been revitalized since the days of Joe Morrison - who recruited and coached Huesman for two years - and be happy for his success.
But Moc Maniacs should also be proud of the UTC administration for reportedly doing everything in its power to keep Huesman by apparently offering him a contract that would run for eight years and pay him somewhere around $315,000 a season.
That's putting your money where your mouth is, and while it may not quite match the Spiders' prosperous package, it at least screams that UTC won't give up its best coaches without a serious fight.
That's also a further indication that Huesman has put the football program on such solid ground in all areas that the last thing the administration wants to do is start over, which is the way it should be when you've just reached the playoffs for a third straight season after failing to advance to the postseason for the 29 straight autumns that came and went before the start of this run.
Of course, UTC has a good thing going athletically right now on all fronts. That should help attract another football coach of Huesman's caliber should he leave. But it might also be a reason to make him wish to stay, to finish what he's started, to finally bring an FCS championship trophy home to the Scenic City.
As athletic director David Blackburn noted during a Monday appearance at the Chattanooga Quarterback Club, "There's just not a better FCS town than this."
Want proof? Consider the case of UTC women's basketball coach Jim Foster, who just happens to be in his sport's Hall of Fame. Decades ago, when the Southeastern Conference women's tournament called Chattanooga its home, Foster would spend several days in our town as the Vanderbilt coach.
That's when he first befriended our late, great Henry Davenport. That's when he and his wife fell in love with the Scenic City's charm and citizens. So while many wondered what would happen to the UTC women after Wes Moore left for North Carolina State, Blackburn knew Foster knew more about our town than Rock City, Ruby Falls and the Choo Choo.
Because of that we now have a Hall of Fame coach who's managed to bring such women's powers as Tennessee, Connecticut, Stanford and Notre Dame (at least the Irish will be here on Dec. 27) to McKenzie Arena, a move that further enhances UTC athletics across the board.
So if Huesman leaves, Mocs football will survive. Especially if Blackburn picks the new coach before the AD possibly exits himself for big brother Tennessee. And if Huesman stays, the program figures to continue to thrive, riding the dual dynamics of success and stability to even greater triumphs.
Either way, Huesman can't lose. If the 1983 UTC grad goes to Richmond he's expected to nearly double his current salary of $246,000. which would be enticing for anyone, but especially a 56-year-old male, since that demographic rarely sees salary increases in any line of work.
And should he remain the Mocs boss, he'll make roughly $75,000 more a season than he does now, reportedly have an eight-year contract to ease his stress level should a down year arrive, and know more than ever that he is definitely wanted, which should never be underestimated in these tug-of-wars.
If pressed, my gut tells me Huesman stays. He's never seemed overly driven by money. Richmond, though as pretty a campus as you'll ever see - think the Baylor School on steroids - doesn't draw particularly well for football and the city's cost of living is slightly higher, according to the Center for Community and Economic Research's index.
Yet Huesman also spent 19 years combined as a college assistant in the state of Virginia, working for five years at Richmond - where his defense helped the Spiders win the 2008 FCS championship - after spending 14 years earlier in his career at William and Mary. So he's actually spent more time in the Old Dominion than in Chattanooga.
But there's also no bigger UTC fan than Huesman, whether it's football, the basketball Mocs, volleyball or wrestling.
In fact, on the Saturday afternoon a year ago that his football team punched its playoff ticket, he spent more time in postgame interviews talking about the school's volleyball win and men's basketball win from the previous night.
None of that may ultimately matter. It may come down to money alone, which is understandable. But Huesman's heart has been with the program for the vast majority of his life. With his home now here, too, it's hard to see him leaving behind the dream job it took him 26 years to land.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.