Washington Huskies Have Little Choice But to Retain Lorenzo Romar
By Paul Taylor
With a report indicating Lorenzo Romar will be back next season, the truth of the matter is the Washington Huskies had to take this option.
Hold onto your seats Washington Huskies fans – the Lorenzo Romar tenure isn’t ending anytime soon. At least not if the latest speculation is to be believed.
As first reported by Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports, Romar will return to Washington next season. Forde advised the news was confirmed to him by several sources.
As per Percy Allen of The Seattle Times, the Huskies’ official stance is that they are still evaluating the head coach. Regardless, it comes as little surprise he will be retained after the 2016-17 campaign concludes.
It was already pretty much accepted the 58-year old would be back, in part because the program is currently operating at a loss. If he is fired before the 2017-18 season, the school would have to pay a $3.2 million buyout, which they can ill afford.
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The other main reason for Romar being retained, comes down to the Huskies’ class of 2017. In particular, Michael Porter Jr., who is the top-ranked prospect in the country.
Porter’s dad is currently a member of Washington’s coaching staff. If Romar were to be fired, there is every chance Porter Sr. would also leave, meaning his son would likely go elsewhere.
Under these circumstances, it is understandable why the Huskies are not yet prepared to move on from the three-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year. The reality is they have little choice.
However, make no mistake about it – next season will be Romar’s final chance to turn the program around. He may be — quite rightly — well-liked within the school, but barring an extremely unlikely Pac-12 tournament championship, the Huskies will miss March Madness for a sixth consecutive season.
More than that, the Dawgs have just completed the most disastrous regular season of Romar’s tenure in Seattle. The included his fewest ever wins and a 2-16 conference record, which is the school’s worst since the Pac-12 went to 18 games in 1978-79.
To be fair to the South Gate, California native, he has never shirked his responsibility, fully accepting the blame for how this season panned out. Speaking to Allen and other members of the media, he was asked to evaluate the season:
"“It’s been frustrating. Obviously, we haven’t had as much success as we’d like. I can say, I didn’t see any of this coming.”"
This is understandable, given the excitement that surrounded the addition of Markelle Fultz. Unfortunately for everyone concerned, despite the freshman’s individual achievements, it failed to galvanize the rest of the team.
Ultimately — fair or not — that failure falls squarely on Romar’s shoulders. He may be keeping his job for now, but he will have to start looking over those shoulders if the team performs as poorly next season.
Next: Markelle Fultz Likely Finished for the Season
Given the mitigating circumstances, do you agree the Huskies had little choice but to bring Romar back next season, or would you have fired him regardless? Share your thoughts in the comments section.