I briefly mentioned this earlier but there are some similarities to the Matt Painter and Mike Anderson situations. The details are obviously different as Anderson was widely criticized for his exit and Painter appears to be doing his due diligence on the process.
But the overall point remains the same -- a coach at one school is being courted by another.
Anderson was criticized because he wasn't able to tell his players or AD Mike Alden about the Arkansas job until everyone already knew he was taking it. He was also criticized because the entire process felt like it was always simply about the money and each school was a pawn in this.
First, if Painter wants to avoid a situation like that he needs to make sure, whatever he decides, his school, his staff and his players are the first to know -- whether it's yes or no. That's an increasingly difficult thing to do given our current media world and obsession with all things Twitter but its important and will go a long way to healing some bad feelings that will inevitably come when a coach exits.
Second, he needs to make sure folks know that, whatever his decision is, it's not all about money. Gene Keady has helped him in that regard by mentioning that several times and even Painter himself has made that clear by looking at the recruiting classes in the Missouri area and assessing his ability to win a championship.
If Painter decides to stay, Purdue will love him and Mizzou fans move onto the next coach. If he decides to leave, Mizzou fans will love him and Purdue will need to find their next coach. It's possible to leave without hard feelings left behind. We'll see if that's possible.
For more on Mizzou's coaching search, check out Rock M Nation.