Beilein Update...

This is from Furfari...he probably has more contacts than anyone else in Mountaineer land and he probably wouldn't say "probably gone" without a good source to back it up...

By Mickey Furfari
For The Register-Herald

MORGANTOWN — West Virginia’s John Beilein was emerging late Tuesday as the leading candidate for the head basketball coaching job at North Carolina State.

That’s what the Raleigh News & Observer reported on its Internet web site in a short, copyrighted story.

Beilein, who has coached at WVU the past four seasons, is under contract through the 2011-12 season.

He has continually refused to comment whenever his name has been linked as a candidate for openings at other colleges, most recently Indiana.

In Charleston on Monday night for a WVU fund-raiser, Beilein told reporters: “My personal career is very, very private to me, so I’m not going to comment.”

He had said earlier this month that “you can’t control speculation.”

The Raleigh newspaper said Beilein is believed to have moved ahead of former UCLA coach Steve Lavin, now an ESPN analyst.

Herb Sendek resigned at N.C. State recently to accept another position.

That school reportedly offered $2 million a year to John Calipari a few weeks ago. But he decided to remain at Memphis.

There is a $3 million buyout provision in Beilein’s WVU contract. But the News & Observer story noted that it isn’t believed to be a deal-breaker.

Mike Parsons, WVU’s deputy director of athletics, said at 10 p.m. Tuesday that N.C. State had not asked for permission to speak to Beilein.

That isn’t mandatory, but merely a courtesy observed by most colleges in situations such as this.

“As far as West Virginia is concerned, he is still our coach,” Parsons said.A source close to the university said earlier in the evening that Beilein probably is gone but that “it’s not a done deal yet.”

That source added that if he does leave, WVU might consider Jeff Neubauer to fill the vacancy.
He was a longtime assistant to Beilein before leaving a year ago to become head coach at Eastern Kentucky.

Another possible candidate whose name has been mentioned is Jerry Dunn, current WVU assistant and former Penn State head coach.

He withdrew his name in March from consideration for the head job at Canisius.