Iowa State coach Greg McDermott may be returning to the Missouri Valley to become Creighton's next head basketball coach.
A person with knowledge of the situation told The World-Herald late Sunday that Creighton Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen on Sunday offered McDermott a long-term contract to replace Altman, who is leaving to become Oregon's head coach.
According to the source, McDermott told Rasmussen that he wanted to consider the offer and would inform the athletic director of his decision on Monday.
McDermott coached at Northern Iowa and took the Panthers to the NCAA tournament in each of his last three seasons at Cedar Falls. He has been Iowa State's head coach the past four seasons.
Based on multiple conversations with two people close to the situation, Rasmussen is moving quickly to fill the position vacated by Altman. Rasmussen said as much in an interview Sunday afternoon.
"I wanted it done yesterday,'' he told The World-Herald. "It can't take a lot of time."
As of Sunday, Oregon still had not officially announced the hiring of Altman, who told his Creighton players about taking the Oregon job on Saturday.
Attempts to reach McDermott Sunday night were unsuccessful.
Rasmussen declined to answer questions about most aspects of the search for Altman's successor. Rasmussen in 1994 was responsible for helping land Altman, who moved to Creighton from Kansas State.
McDermott's Cyclones went 15-17 this season, leading some observers to speculate that he would be fired. But he received a vote of confidence late in the season from Cyclones Athletic Director Jamie Pollard.
McDermott's Iowa State teams have gone 59-68. The Cyclones' best finish in the Big 12 was a tie for seventh in his first season. This season's team finished tied for ninth.
McDermott reportedly makes $950,000 a year at Iowa State, which puts him eighth in the Big 12 in compensation. Creighton, as a private institution, does not release contract information, but based on IRS forms filed by the school, Altman made $1,130,250 in 2007.
That figure makes Altman the highest-paid coach in the Missouri Valley and one of the highest-paid mid-major coaches in the country.
The Des Moines Register has reported that McDermott's contract contains an $800,000 buyout clause if he accepts another coaching job at the college or NBA level before the pact expires in May 2015.
McDermott is no stranger to the Valley, or to the state of Nebraska. He started his collegiate head coaching career at Wayne State College, compiling a 116-53 record in six seasons.
After one season at North Dakota State, where his team went 15-11, he became Northern Iowa's head coach in 2001. After going 25-32 in his first two seasons at Cedar Falls, McDermott won 20 games in each of his final three seasons and made the NCAA tournament each season.
He finished 90-63 in five seasons at Northern Iowa.
Creighton tried to recruit McDemott's son, Doug, last summer but the younger McDermott decided to sign with Northern Iowa.
Rasmussen declined to say how many people have contacted him about the Creighton job. One former coach, Barry Hinson, said he believes coaches around the country will be interested in the Creighton position.
"I'd say 90 percent of the coaches would be interested,'' said the former Missouri State coach, now director of external relations for basketball at Kansas. "And the guys that aren't interested, they're idiots. I have a little more insight on just how good that job is than some people.
"I think the list of candidates they'll get will surprise some people.''
Contact the writer:
679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
