Will Matt Painter Take the Head Coaching Job at Missouri?

While this time of year always brings us some great basketball on the court, there’s usually quite a bit of discussion off the court as well with coaches moving around all over the place to take new jobs.

Just in the last few days, we’ve had Cuonzo Martin take over at Tennessee, and Brian Gregory make the move from Dayton to Georgia Tech. But now the hot question in the coaching world is this: will Matt Painter take over for Mike Anderson at Missouri?

Rumors have been been all over the place regarding this particular situation, but according to ESPN.com’s Andy Katz, a meeting is going to take place between Painter and Missouri officials sometime today.

Now, the most obvious question that comes to mind is whether or not Missouri is a better job than Purdue.

Before Robbie Hummel got injured, this team was a serious contender for a national championship. Both last year and this year.

But now, they lose JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore, and are simply not going to be the same type of team next year that they’ve been in recent years. Johnson and Moore both averaged close to 20 points per game, so when you think about that, you could maybe understand why Painter would entertain this offer.

On the other hand, you’ve got quite a bit of talent coming back for Missouri. Four of the Tigers’ top five scorers were juniors this season, so the chance of winning next year would probably be better at Missouri than Purdue. However, Painter isn’t going to make this decision simply on one year, and we all know that.

But again, if he’s looking for a little momentum to get him off on the right foot at Missouri, this would probably be the year to do it. Of course, you don’t ever know which players will stay or transfer after a coaching change, so that’s certainly something that you have to keep in mind when looking at next year’s team.

In looking at both jobs for the long-term, I’m not sure you can really say that one sets itself apart from the other. Purdue’s a great power conference job. Missouri’s a great power conference job.

What it will depend on is the administration at each school, and it’ll likely come down to which one decides that they want Painter more. He’s already proven what he can do at Purdue (four straight 25+ win seasons is pretty incredible), and there’s no reason to think that he couldn’t be just as successful with the Tigers.

He’s a Purdue alum, which would make it easier for him to lean towards staying. Still, it’s all about whether or not Purdue officials are willing to pony up and make him an offer he can’t refuse.

Missouri was willing to do what it took to get Mike Anderson, and I would expect them to do the same if Painter is indeed their top choice for the vacant coaching position. It’s hard to argue with the guy’s resume with the Boilermakers. He’s a heck of a coach.

The whole alumni factor is what I think will eventually convince Painter to stay at Purdue. But that’s just a guess at this point.

It will depend on what Missouri offers him, and whether or not Purdue decides to go above and beyond to exceed that offer.

And given what he’s been able to accomplish there, you would hope that they would.

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