Anyone need a job? We have two million dollars here.

The last few days have been exhausting. It's kind of strange to say that about a coaching search of all things, but the ridiculous number of pendulum swings we've endured have me mentally drained. Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to the continued search for a head coach. The good news is we aren't likely to be jerked around as violently as we were by the Calipari saga.

How has this become so agonizing? Here's a great example:

Confirmation is blurry on a report that a verbal agreement was reached with Calipari during Sunday’s meeting. The plan was for Calipari to visit Raleigh on Monday night (as he did) and at that point he would be presented a formal offer which he indicated that he would accept. Obviously, Calipari had engaged in such detailed negotiations that the offer was able to be drawn.

And the reports from just last night were extremely encouraging. Things were so positive that I thought it was safe enough to send my dad an email letting him know that it appeared Calipari was about to be hired (I think my dad is the only person in the triangle who hasn't been reading the message boards over the last week). I'm sorry for getting his hopes up.

I can only guess where Lee Fowler will turn from here, and I'm beginning to think it will be easier on everyone if he simply skips any remaining "name" coaches on his list and moves to the lesser-known candidates. Not that I want Fowler to be hasty.

I can't tell which coaches are realistic candidates at this point, and it's a struggle to scrape together some enthusiasm for those who appear to compose the top of the list. I like Billy Gillispie the most. I wouldn't mind Jay Wright, though I am less impressed with him than most Wolfpack fans seem to be.

Of the other names mentioned lately, most are groan-worthy. I shake my head every time Steve Lavin is suggested because it is unfathomable to me that anyone could seriously believe he's the guy who will take the program forward. We need to avoid coaches with shaky track records at major-conference schools. Their mediocrity is a known quantity. Why should we bother? Hiring someone who fits this profile (like Lavin, like John Brady) would be the biggest mistake we could make, in my opinion.

Since we're fishing again: what about Larry Harris? He wants a head coaching job badly. He's a good recruiter and he's obviously familiar with NC State, which would give us the smoothest transition between regimes that is possible. Is Larry any less ready for this job than our other C-level prospects?