I think Marquette and Creighton would also be hard jobs to pass up. Creighton is his alma mater and a Top 25 team in the Big East. Marquette is also in the Big East, also a Jesuit school, is a basketball school first and foremost, has a history of success, and it's close enough to where Porter lives that he wouldn't need to move his family if he didn't want to.

Here's what's changed, Brot.... Money.

When John Wooden left Indiana State to be head coach at UCLA, his salary was $6000. (Click on link for a story about escalating coaching salaries).

I know Wooden lived a somewhat modest middle class lifestyle, because his first house in LA at 3249 Colby Avenue was four blocks from where my grandparents lived... and my grandparents were two elementary school teachers who bought their house for $15,000 in 1950.

Even in 1970, when I was in 2nd grade, one of my schoolmates at Mar Vista Elementary was Mark West, son of Jerry. They lived at 11431 Rose Avenue, about a block and a half from where Wooden used to live. I went over to their house several times, played basketball in their driveway, and once I even saw his uniform folded on top of the washing machine (yes, his wife washed his uniform-- at least that time I walked through their laundry room). In 1972 they moved to ritzy Brentwood.

Today, can you imagine a big time college basketball coach (probably the greatest ever) or an NBA Hall of Fame player living in a middle class neighborhood of 3 bedroom homes, surrounded by teachers, car salesmen, small business owners, and TV repairmen (that's what the neighbors on every side did)? It wasn't a shabby neighborhood, but LA was full of many nicer ones. Other people of note who lived nearby were Lloyd Bridges (Beau and Jeff knew my mother and aunt) and actor Bruce Glover (his son Crispin Glover was two years behind me at Venice High School).

Even in the early 1970s when Wooden and UCLA were on their incredible championship run, his salary was around $25,000, which would be something like $140,000 today. The great college basketball coaches of the 1940s, 50s, 60s, and 70s were paid like college professors and department heads.

If you want to see how the salaries in college basketball escalated, a really great ESPN documentary called "Requiem for the Big East" lays it out in pretty striking fashion. I recommend you watch it. The link goes right to it if you subscribe to ESPN+.

This coaching carousel will be crazy. There's basically a season backlog of schools that should have fired their coach last season but didn't because of COVID. Porter has already turned down a few schools. He can turn down a hundred more, but he only needs to say yes once to leave Loyola.

I think the new school's administration will be key to him leaving if he leaves. I think he very well could have been the St. John's coach if their AD and president were on the same page and showed united leadership in pursuing him. Where that happens is anyone's guess.

I think a wildcard in Porter's future at Loyola is ironically Miami. Rumor has it is Larranaga is going to retire next year and their first choice to replace him is Underwood at Illinois. Illinois will probably lose their top 2 scorers to the draft and maybe even some seniors. Despite what that crazy lady on twitter thinks, Porter will be a name that will continuously pop up for that opening if Underwood leaves. It's not necessarily a blue blood like Michigan State, Indiana, Louisville, but it's far from an after-ran program.

Is Miami a step up from Illinois? Genuinely curious if that’s the general consensus

Miami is fairly equal to Illinois in terms of the basketball program (resources and budget, conference, recruiting base, etc.), but Miami is a massive step up from Champaign, Illinois

Have to disagree there. Miami is not a step up. I’d argue a step down from Illinois. Illinois isn’t a “blue blood”, but it’s a step below. Basketball is THE sport at Illinois, and if Illinois has a season where Underwood is being offered other college gigs, Illinois has the boosters who would likely step in to match or exceed any offer not coming from Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, or Kansas.

JCT...great stories...and memories...could add to them but for the moment just say that TV has changed everything.....but I see this like loyalty vs human psychology......the guy that jumps a 10 ft cliff wants to jump a 12 ft cliff.....So for me it is about what drives Coach Moser. I franlkly could not believe that Coach Fitzgerald had chosen to stay 10 more years at Northwestern. His kids are relatively the same age as Porters (and I think are also at Loyola Academy) He has achieved a lot , had offers from bigger schools and the NFL and stayed...loyalty and the fact that he has bigger goals, a BIG10 Championship and maybe a Playoff appearance...but I think deeper is he wants NU to never be joke again.....He wants to finish this job.......But Fitz played at NU...........So Porter has to have something in front of him that he desires....But what is it? I dont think it is money...Can Loyola provide those things he desires ?

OOOPS forgot.....I think Steve Watson fits into this as well....I think their relationship is tight and if Steve left it might kick Porter into leaving as well.

Miami is a much better job than Illinois. Other than this year, Illinois has not been relevant in 15 years.

Miami is in the ACC and has been good.

Oh man I don't think Miami's a better gig than Illinois. You're running the show with the Illini, football will always be the priority at the U. I also think Underwood has done a lot in a really short amount of time to rebuild relationships to start getting top level talent to stay in state.