The magnitude was less, the atmosphere significantly different back in November, 1998, when Kansas University football coach Terry Allen seriously considered returning to his hometown to coach the University of Iowa.
Still, Allen thinks he has an inkling what KU basketball coach Roy Williams is going through as he tries to decide between alma mater North Carolina and KU.
“He’s going,” Allen said, “through hell.”
Back in November and December of 1998, just after Allen completed his second year as Kansas’ football coach, the Iowa job came open.
A native of Iowa City who had strong ties to the Hawkeyes and who in the past had spoken of the Iowa post as his dream job, Allen interviewed for the opening. How close he came to being offered or accepting the job might never be known, but he was a serious candidate, and, like Williams now, wrestled with an emotional decision.
“Obviously, ours was a different situation, a different deal,” said Allen, a graduate of Northern Iowa. “With him, you’re talking about an alma mater, too, not just going home. But in some senses I know what he’s going through. I feel for him.”
Another difference was the atmosphere back home. While Chapel Hill seems more than willing to embrace Williams as the next keeper of the Carolina tradition, Allen would have been a tough sell at Iowa.
“In my case, there were some negative vibes that helped me make the right decision here,” Allen said. “And, of course, I didn’t have a Dean Smith in there. Ours was a thimble compared to the magnitude of this one. And mine was kind of on my own. I met off-campus with their people, and the underlying tone of reading the newspaper and all the stuff going on really soured me as far as that place is concerned. But he’s being paraded around out there.”
While he was being courted by Iowa, Allen returned to Iowa City to see his ailing mother. Fan favorite Bob Stoops, a former Hawkeye, had just been hired by Oklahoma, and the Iowa faithful were growing increasingly livid at Iowa athletics director Bob Bowlsby the man who hired Allen to Northern Iowa.
“My brother and I had an opportunity to drive around Iowa City, and I had a very weird feeling at that time. It is very difficult to go home,” Allen said at the time. “The climate wasn’t right to go to Iowa from a personal standpoint and a professional standpoint. I didn’t feel comfortable and they didn’t feel comfortable. Why get yourself into that situation when you’ve got a great situation right here?”
Williams and Allen have become fast friends. Williams has been a vocal supporter of Allen’s, and Allen was one of the last people to see Williams in Lawrence before Williams headed off to his vacation in South Carolina.
The two played golf on Friday before Williams held a press conference asking for patience from the KU faithful. They played again as part of a larger group on Saturday morning, just hours before Williams jetted off to the Carolinas.
“Sure, we talked about it,” Allen said. “It wasn’t, ‘What should I do?’ It wasn’t pros and cons. Obviously, he knows the group he plays with would love to see him stay. We all realize he’s got to make his decision. We had a lot of good-natured ribbing going on, like, ‘If you get a hole-in-one, you have to stay.’ That type of thing. But it wasn’t a total discussion.”
Allen has no idea which path Williams will take.
“It’s so hard for me,” Allen said. “Obviously, I’d love to see the guy stay. He’s a good friend. He’s been a wonderful mentor to me, and he’s been a great fan of football. He really took me under his wing. I would hate to see him go. I’m just like everybody else. I’m hoping, praying he’ll stay with us.
“My gut feeling changes on the hour. Sometimes I think he’s going. Sometimes I think he’s staying.”
Allen was out of town during the weekend. As soon as he returned, he made a special trip to Allen Fieldhouse to see the place decorated with signs, letters and other mementos from KU fans hoping to sway Williams’ decision.
“It was just incredible,” Allen said. “From a personal standpoint, because of my hoping he stays here, I wish he’d seen it at its height. It was pretty impressive. From a coach’s standpoint, if that doesn’t tear your heart out, I don’t know what would. As soon as we got home, we drove over just to look at the fieldhouse.”
If Williams pulls into his reserved parking place today, however, he might be in for a rude awakening.
“I think somebody got our parking spots mixed up,” Allen said with a laugh. “I pulled into mine (Tuesday), and it was marked, ‘Please stay.’ I think it was supposed to be one over. I’m not going anywhere.”
