Fred Hoiberg is widely expected to leave Iowa State this offseason to become head coach of the Chicago Bulls.
There have been reports that Jeff Hornacek could be a candidate for the Iowa State job should Hoiberg leave. Hornacek played collegiately at Iowa State like Hoiberg.
Hoiberg was asked about the Iowa State job during a radio appearance on Thursday.
“I can’t comment on that,” Hornacek said. “I’m the coach of the Suns. It’s an interesting coaching carousel that goes on in the league and even down to the college level.
“If those things ever come about, and the timing was right, stuff like that, yes, but as far as I know I’m the coach of the Suns.”
Hornacek’s contract with the Suns is reportedly for less than $2 million a year, a bit less than the $2.2 Hoiberg made last season and the average compensation of $2.6 million per year over the life of his contract.
“It’s sometimes surprising to see how much the college coaches are making, even the assistant level,” Hornacek said. “I’ve seen some of those assistant coaches’ salaries and I’m like, ‘Holy crap, I think that’s more than probably some of our assistants make.’
“If you look at what happened to the NBA coaching salaries, I don’t know if there was a directive or whatever but I saw the average salary for an NBA coach now is still less than what it was six years ago. So how does the salary for coaches go down? It’s starting to get back up there where it was previously but it’s still not even at the level it was six years ago.
“That will probably end up changing here soon, too. I think you’ve already seen a good portion of it with some of these new coaches that are getting jobs in the last year or so. It’s becoming a different level.”
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