What is Steve Bilsky waiting for?

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About an hour ago our industrious Senior Sports Editor Michael Gold reported that Andy Toole has not been contacted about the coaching vacancy in the men's basketball program. A respected assistant at a solid mid major in Robert Morris, Toole is a Penn alumnus who was considered (and reported by Adam Zagoria) as a top candidate for the job.

To me this indicates that Penn Athletic Director Steve Bilsky is just blowing smoke with this whole waiting game nonsense. If he were actually considering hiring somebody not named Jerome Allen, then Toole most certainly would have been contacted by now, especially since there are reports that the decision will be made before the Final Four, which as you all probably know means sometime next week at the latest. Unless lots of these reports are erroneous, which isn't impossible, then all indications are that Allen will be hired any day now.

So Steve Bilsky, I ask you this: What in the world are you waiting for? There may be factors at play that I don't know about, so I'm not going to chastise Bilsky without making that disclaimer. However, with Penn's star point guard and first-ever sophomore captain Zack Rosen supporting coach Allen, and at least five of Penn's seven talented recruits expressing their support for Allen, I wonder what possible reason Bilsky could have for putting this off. I know for a fact that there are still outstanding recruiting decisions hanging in the balance, not to mention the need to secure assistant coaches John Gallagher and Mike Martin. None of those things can happen until Jerome Allen is hired, and the longer Bilsky waits, the more tenuous the situation becomes.

Needless to say, Bilsky is on the hot seat, his job is in jeopardy, and if he makes the wrong move here, it will be his position that Penn needs a national search to fill. But with the overwhelming support that Allen is getting, I don't think anybody will blame Bilsky if Allen doesn't succeed. So Mr. Bilsky, quit goofing around and go get this thing done.