Dunlap interviews with Bulls; Arizona possible
By Chris Tomasson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Originally published 11:20 p.m., May 5, 2008
Updated 11:20 p.m., May 5, 2008
Dunlap has a longtime friendship with Lute Olson.
Nuggets assistant Mike Dunlap says he is a "dark horse" for the Chicago Bulls coaching job, but indications are he's a strong candidate for an associate coaching position at the University of Arizona under Lute Olson.
Dunlap confirmed Monday he has interviewed for both jobs. Asked if Arizona has made an offer, he said, "No comment."
Dunlap interviewed with Olson in Denver before Game 4 of a first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers. Olson also came to town to watch former Arizona forward Luke Walton play for the Lakers.
Dunlap interviewed Saturday at downtown Denver's Westin Hotel with Bulls general manager John Paxson and director of player personnel Gar Forman, who are seeking a replacement for fired interim coach Jim Boylan.
"It was a very good interview," Dunlap said. "It was pretty much straight basketball talk."
While Dunlap joked he's a "Clydesdale" in the Chicago coaching race, he didn't speak that way about Arizona. Even though it's not the top job, Dunlap said "there's interest" because of a relationship with Olson dating to the mid-1990s.
While coaching the Adelaide 36ers, a pro team in Australia, Dunlap attended Olson's practices in Tucson. In 1997, Olson took his Wildcats to Australia.
"His team was playing there and I went out to dinner with Lute and Bobbi (Olson's late wife)," Dunlap said. "The relationship really started to form then."
Dunlap, who coached Metro State to two Division II national titles in nine years before joining the Nuggets, recently has been linked to several college coaching jobs. He said he was contacted by Stanford regarding the job that eventually went to Johnny Dawkins, and last month, California athletic director Sandy Barbour interviewed him in Denver for the job that went to Mike Montgomery.
Dunlap said he turned down a chance to interview at Oregon State and overtures from Loyola Marymount and Rice.
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May 5, 2008
5:05 p.m.
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cheech24 writes:
Talk about a rags-to-riches story. Even if Dunlap doesn't get the job, who would have thought that he'd be interviewing for a head coaching position in the NBA, let alone Division I college basketball. His is one of the most underrated sports success stories out there.
Congrats, Mike.
May 5, 2008
6:20 p.m.
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KalHali writes:
Shoot!!! I was hoping that Dunlap would take Karl's place at head coach. The Roadrunners under Mike were fast, in shape, and knew how to play defense.