TBO.com - Live in the moment

Donovan's Dalliance With Magic Affects Many

By ANDY STAPLES The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 6, 2007

GAINESVILLE - When a man decides to coach college basketball for a living, is there a reasonable expectation that he could find himself in an awkward employment situation?

"Like this?" Rob Lanier asked Tuesday afternoon by telephone. "No."

Lanier, in his second week as an assistant coach at the University of Florida, said anyone in the business should expect to deal with the unexpected. Still, Lanier had no idea when he left his old job at Virginia that his first week with the Gators would be the wildest of his career.

Lanier's boss, Gators coach Billy Donovan, quit on Lanier's fourth day to accept an offer from the Orlando Magic. On his fifth day, Lanier stood in the back of the room as Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley told reporters Lanier's fate would rest in the hands of the Gators' next coach. On Lanier's sixth day, Donovan changed his mind and decided he wanted to remain at Florida, reaching Foley only minutes before Foley was scheduled to interview Virginia Commonwealth coach Anthony Grant.

On his seventh day, Lanier rested. He was back in Crozet, Va., with his wife, Dayo, and the couple's two children. As the drama played out in Gainesville, he sat tight. Though the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported Sunday that Lanier spoke briefly to Virginia coach Dave Leitao about possibly returning to his old job, Lanier is scheduled to return to Gainesville today - to a more stable situation, he hopes.

Attorneys for Donovan and for the Magic should finish hammering out a settlement today that would allow Donovan to return to Florida. Tuesday, ESPN.com reported the settlement would include a clause that forbids Donovan from coaching in the NBA for five years, the length of the $27.5 million contract he signed Friday. That should provide even more job security.

Lanier's case is an extreme example, but more than a dozen employees of Florida's basketball program also found themselves wondering last week where they would work in the future. Some had been offered jobs with the Magic. Some who remained might not have been retained by the next coach. That thought may have helped influence Donovan's change of heart.

Lanier said he wasn't angry about Donovan's original decision to leave. He said Donovan told him during the interview process he might consider coaching in the NBA. And after he took the Magic job, Donovan wanted to ensure Lanier landed on his feet.

"In light of the magnitude of all the things that have been going on surrounding him," Lanier said, "the fact that he would take the time … to think of me speaks volumes."

Even when it seemed Donovan would go to the Magic, Foley promised Lanier that if he didn't wind up staying at Florida, the Gators would help him financially.

"The University of Florida has a history of taking care of people," Foley said Friday. "[Lanier is] not going to be out on the street. He understands that."

Lanier, who spent four seasons as head coach at Siena before going to Virginia, said every coach aspires to create the kind of stability Donovan created in his first 11 years in Gainesville. The past week notwithstanding, Lanier hopes to enjoy some of that stability soon.

"I'm happy for [Donovan]," Lanier said, "that he's been able to find out what's in his heart."

Reporter Andy Staples can be reached at (352) 262-3719 or astaples@tampatrib.com.