You knew it was just a matter of time before Miami Heat team president Pat Riley would get the itch to return to the head coaching ranks.  

 In fact, some would argue how the third winningest coach in NBA history waited this long to return behind the bench.

 Though there is no official word yet, speculation has run rampant in the past several days ? and weeks, for that matter ? that Riley is in fact going to coach the Heat again.  While Stan Van Gundy remains head coach for now, he appears to be on borrowed time.  

 Van Gundy, arguably, has been on borrowed time since July of last year, when the Heat were able to steal Shaquille O?Neal from the Lakers in exchange for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant (Butler now finds himself in Washington, while the Lakers will try to make a player, and a man, out of enigma Kwame Brown).

 When Riley The Executive was able to lure The Big Aristotle to South Beach last summer the writing was on the wall that someday soon Riley The Head Coach would come out of retirement.  

 Sure, when he resigned just days before the start of the ?03-?04 season, Riley spoke of how coaching was no longer in his blood and how the time had come for Van Gundy to step into a head coaching role.  

 But let?s be honest here.  Riley left because the team simply didn?t have the pieces to be a championship-caliber ball club.  Granted, there was a compilation of young talent on the roster - Dwayne Wade, Odom and Butler - but certainly nowhere near championship level for at least a few seasons.

 ?This organization has changed dramatically over the eight years that I?ve been here,? said Riley at the time of his resignation back in October, 2003.  ?We had one great team that was a compelling, contending team that couldn?t get it done (thanks to the New York Knicks).  The last three years have been about patching and transitioning and getting to the point we got to right now.?

 ?It?s not about me.  It really isn?t,? Riley added.  ?It?s about the Heat and those season-ticket holders and sponsors who are starting to come out now because of Caron Butler, Dwyane Wade and Lamar Odom and the possibilities of those guys.  It isn?t about me.?

 And for a couple of seasons it wasn?t about Riley.  It was about the young talent and Riley?s successor, Van Gundy, who led the upstart Heat into the second round of the NBA playoffs, where Miami gave the mighty Indiana Pacers all they could handle before losing in six hard-fought games.

 And this past season, it was about Shaq and the emergence of Wade into a bona fide superstar and the Heat as an upper-echelon team. If Miami wasn?t so banged up versus the Pistons in the Eastern final they may very well have been the East?s representative in last June?s Finals.  

 Yet now, entering this upcoming season as arguably the team to beat in the East, it has apparently become about Riley once again.  

 First, it was Riley?s declaration following the playoffs that he would take "a little bit more of an active participation? as far as coaching decisions go.  Then, as reported by ESPN?s Dr. Jack Ramsay on Thursday, a Riley return is inevitable and may happen within the next couple of weeks.

 While Riley appears to be seizing a golden opportunity as he rides the coattails of Shaq, Flash and Co. to perhaps another title (I dare you to argue otherwise; Riley isn?t coming back because of some coaching fire that?s burning inside of him, but rather because he sees O?Neal and Wade as his next  Kareem/Magic), Van Gundy, Riley's hand-picked successor, is on the outside looking in despite doing a terrific job the last two years.  

 Okay, so Shaq had a problem with the amount of touches he received during Game 7 of the Eastern finals.  Fair enough.  That still doesn?t discount the coaching job Van Gundy turned in (101-63 record in his two seasons).  He led a young team ? a team who no one, including Riley, had high hopes for - to the playoffs in his first season despite an 0-7 start, and this past year led the Heat to the best record in the East (How many of you honestly expected Miami to be this good this soon?).  

 But yet, Van Gundy doesn?t have Pat Riley?s name or pedigree and more importantly his authority, and because of it he?ll either have to take a lesser role or find work elsewhere.  And that, my friends, is a shame.  

 Whether or not Riley can come in and help put Miami over the hump is anyone?s guess; Riley hasn?t exactly enjoyed a ton of success since his Showtime days in L.A., though he most certainly has the horses this time around.  And there will also be questions as to whether he?ll be able to adapt to today?s player.

 But one thing is for sure. It is about Pat Riley once again.  

 It?s all about Pat Riley.  

Kostas.Bolos@realgm.com