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Lobo men's basketball coach Steve Alford has pulled off a stunning first season. He took over a shipwreck of a program that was 15-17 under coach Ritchie McKay last year and led it to a 24-9 finish, and a National Invitation Tournament slot. Home-game attendance soared to an average of 14,361.
Lobo fans don't want to lose this guy.
It's no wonder, then, that UNM athletics boss Paul Krebs is talking about extending Alford's contract.
"Hopefully, it's the beginning of a long and happy marriage," Krebs said this week. Very long. Krebs is talking about 2017 - almost 'til death do us part.
Alford has a $1 million-a-year deal until 2013. The extension would basically double the number of years in a generous contract that is already written in the coach's favor.
In this marriage, Krebs has put everything in Alford's name: the $1 million compensation package, a clause promising the coach $400,000 a year for the life of the contract even if UNM fires him.
And there is no buyout clause - the provision that would normally require the coach or his next employer to pay UNM a penalty for an early exit from Lobo Land.
Alford can walk away any time he wants, but UNM pays dearly if it decides he's no longer the coach it wants.
Krebs is seizing an opportunity to lock in successful staffs at UNM's high-profile sports: He just signed women's basketball coach Don Flanagan to a new five-year contract, and he is finalizing an extension with football coach Rocky Long.
But has Krebs done due diligence for the taxpayers on the one-sided deal he is offering Alford? If this sounds familiar, it is. UNM paid dearly to fire McKay in 2007 after awarding a three-year extension in 2005.
That extension was pre-Krebs. And perhaps he's a more astute judge of long-term coaching talent than was his predecessor.
If Krebs were playing with his money, it would be easy to wish him well with his big bet on Alford. But this is house money, and the house has a right to say slow down.
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