After news came down from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the Missouri Tigers were close to offering a two-year extension and a raise to head coach Mike Anderson, I speculated on how long that deal had really been on the table.
The Post-Dispatch report said it had been in the works for at least several weeks and I began to doubt that considering the circumstances. With all the rumors floating around, I was shocked that the news of Anderson's extension talks with Mizzou hadn't gotten out earlier.
I suggested that whoever the MU source was in the Post-Dispatch story was saying the deal had been in the works for weeks to make it seem like Arkansas was never really close to getting Anderson and he was never really close to going there.
I think I was wrong. Mike DeArmond's latest at the Kansas City Star has multiple sources saying a deal had been in the works since early January. It appears that would be the case.
If I were Mizzou, the next time this happens I'd get word of the contract talks with Anderson out earlier. There are some fans that are really bitter with Anderson the way this thing went down and all Mizzou had to do was leak word to a reporter that extension talks with Anderson had been in the works for a while.
Silence isn't always golden.
But the bottom line is that it looks like Anderson is staying. Mizzou's program is certainly on the rise and CMA's a major part of that so it's a no-brainer to keep him if possible.