Taylor, ODU working on new deal; Stanford working on new coach

NORFOLK

While his name is mentioned in almost every story concerning Stanford's search for a basketball coach, Blaine Taylor is pressing ahead with his biennial habit of reworking his contract with Old Dominion University.

Taylor confirmed Wednesday that he's in the process of extending his deal with the Monarchs, something he did in spring 2004 and again in 2006. Each of Taylor's contracts have been five-year deals.

"Every few years, we put our heads together and take a look at the future and what it holds," Taylor said. "It's good for the school that we never get to the end of a contract. That keeps any negativity from seeping into our recruiting, our program, our marketing and our fund-raising."

Taylor's existing contract, signed April 11, 2006, pays an annual base salary of $200,000 with an extra $50,000 for television and radio appearances.

That total is enhanced substantially, however, by ODU's summer basketball camps, Taylor's endorsement deals and by the Big Blue Club, the school's booster club.

As a private, nonprofit organization, the Big Blue Club is not required to disclose the amount of its annual compensation to Taylor.

"Relationships with schools are usually multifaceted," Taylor said. "It's quite common for schools to be creative to make themselves competitive with others."

Meanwhile, media sources in California continue to identify Taylor as a leading candidate for the Stanford job, which opened when Trent Johnson left for LSU two weeks ago.

Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby on Tuesday reiterated in an e-mail to The Virginian-Pilot that he's trying to stick to the two-week timetable he laid out when the job opened. That would mean he's still aiming to name a coach before the end of the month.

Taylor was an assistant coach at Stanford for three years before taking over at ODU, where he is 136-84 in seven seasons and has twice taken the Monarchs to the NCAA t ournament.

ODU's 111 wins over the past five years are the most in any five-year stretch of the school's basketball history. Add in Taylor's seven years as Montana's head coach and he's 278-149 with four NCAA appearances at a pair of mid-major schools.

While there has been no official comment on the Stanford interview process, sources close to the situation have confirmed that Taylor and Bowlsby have, at the very least, spoken.

Johnson was reportedly making about $600,000 at Stanford, although the school has not said how much it intends to pay its new coach.

In a college sports blog on the Web site of the San Jose Mercury News, writer Jon Wilner wrote this week that "if I had to pick a frontrunner right now, before the crucial on-campus interviews and based on what I've been told of Bowlsby's mindset, I'd say Taylor is the frontrunner."

Published reports this week identified Stanford assistant coach Doug Oliver as one person who has been interviewed. Oliver's head coaching experience consists of an eight-year stint at Idaho State from 1998 to 2006 in which he posted an 82-128 record and didn't make the NCAA t ournament.

Taylor's most recent contracts at ODU require Taylor to pay a six-figure buyout should he depart before his contract ends.

But he has three escape clauses, One is for an NBA job, one is to join good friend and former Oregon athletic director Bill Moos at another school and the third is to take the job at Stanford.

Taylor declined comment Wednesday concerning the Stanford job search.

Staff writer Jami Frankenberry contributed to this report.