Grier will not seek LMU job

Longtime Gonzaga University assistant Bill Grier announced Thursday morning that he has taken his name out of consideration for the vacant head men’s basketball coaching position at Loyola Marymount.

Grier, reached in St. Louis, where he is attending the Final Four, wouldn’t say whether he was officially offered the job, but admitted to spending several sleepless nights following Monday’s on-campus interview, mulling over the what-ifs associated with taking over LMU’s struggling program.

He added that learning of sophomore forward Adam Morrison’s decision to return to GU for his junior year, rather than declare for the NBA draft, factored into his thinking.

“I just think for myself and my wife, Nicole, the best thing is for me to stay at Gonzaga,” explained Grier, 41, who has been a Bulldogs assistant under three different head coaches for the last 14 seasons.

“With Adam’s return, we have a chance to do some great things next year,” he added.

Grier, who has an agreement with Gonzaga to become the Bulldogs’ next head coach should Mark Few opt to leave, said he informed LMU athletic director William Husak of his decision to withdraw his name from consideration Thursday morning.

Few, who is also in St. Louis, could not be reached for comment.

Grier was one of seven candidates who reportedly interviewed for the LMU coaching job, which opened up earlier this month when Steve Aggers was fired after going 55-92 in his five seasons with the Lions. The others were former Denver Nuggets head coach Jeff Bzdelik; former LMU assistant Brian Priebe, who had been on Aggers’ staff since he arrived; Fresno City College head coach Vance Walberg; Golden State Warriors assistant Russell Turner; Arizona assistant Rodney Tension; and a candidate who interviewed on Wednesday but asked that his name not be released.

Husak, who is heading the search for Aggers’ replacement, had said he was hoping to have a new coach named prior to the start of the Final Four. But a source close to the search process said he did not think Husak would be rushed into a decision by a self-imposed deadline.

Grier said he didn’t know what direction Husak might lean now that he has withdrawn his name.