Chris Mack Drama Over

Mar 17, 2014; Dayton, OH, USA; Xavier Musketeers head coach Chris Mack takes question from the media before practice the day before the first round the NCAA Tournament at UD Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Xavier fans can breath a sigh of relief Saturday, Chris Mack is staying put in Norwood.

Two weeks after being the number one target of Wake Forest Mack found himself in the sights of another school. This time the California Golden Bears who had a strong interest in Mack.

Ultimately Chris Mack turned down both jobs presumably since Wake Forest moved on to sign Tulsa head coach Danny Manning and California has sense move on from Mack. There was considerable interest from the Mack camp into both jobs, the Wake Forest job seemed the more likely spot if Mack were to leave.

Having served as an assistant under Skip Prosser and Wake Forest Mack knows the program, school and the people of Winston Salem, North Carolina. That was a huge selling point for the Demon Deacons, that and the fact Mack has a great relationship with multiple big name boosters at Wake Forest. In the end Mack opted to stay in Cincinnati.

Just about when Musketeer fans thought the speculation was over the Cal Bears came calling asking if Mack would be interested in the head coaching job in Berkeley, California. Mack has no previous ties to Cal making the interest that much more interesting. Mack is a phenomenal recruiter, his Xavier class for 2014-2015 is among the best. It is no wonder Cal would be interested.

Mack was said to have a strong interest in the Cal job, he ultimately passed and the school announced Mack would remain at the university. Xavier fans though have to question Mack’s loyalty to the program. The University of Cincinnati had a similar situation two years ago when then football head coach Butch Jones expressed interest in multiple jobs thus alienating the fans.

Time will tell.