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I think we can bury the Mack to Florida rumors

I think.

This is a picture of Coach Mack.
This is a picture of Coach Mack.
Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports

The evidence is circumstantial, but - despite what your favorite crime procedural television drama might lead you to believe - circumstantial evidence is still evidence and it's accumulating quickly.

First there was the news early this afternoon that Xavier hired Luke Murray - most recently of URI as an assistant coach. It stands to reason that a departing coach wouldn't take time to hire an assistant at the job he was leaving, but there could be other ways to spin this that were less rosy for X. Then NBC reported that Louisiana Tech's Mike White is the leading candidate for the Florida head position.

I obviously don't care who Florida hires as long as it isn't Mack, but the fact that they have apparently identified a top target is more evidence that Mack is staying put for now.

It's interesting to watch the temperature of a fan base over the course of a season, to say nothing of a longer period of time. There have been times in Mack's relatively brief tenure during which a vocal segment of the support wanted him gone. Other times, we've been ready to build him a statue. Coming off a Sweet 16 run and with a solid young core in place, the consensus seemed to be that Xavier was better served with Mack here than gone. At this point it looks like that's going to be the case.