you really think he saw such love for basketball in the state while at Western Illinois he knew this was the place for him? I defy anyone to spend a decade in Macomb and come away saying Illinois is a great place to live. Sorry Macomb.
I think it's fair to assume for all coaches, their alma mater and the Blue Bloods would be dream jobs. Obviously if your alma mater is Eastern Illinois, while you would likely love to coach their on your career journey, that's not where you want to end up. Beyond those groups, every coach has their own favorites just like every fan has their own favorites. To me it is also hard to ignore that Underwood left Ok State after one season for more money. So do we think we're immune to getting left for more money? You also need to remember coaches aren't only coaches, they're also husbands and most of us know happy wife, happy life. So sometimes there are non-basketball impacts on coaches decisions on where to coach.
I don't really blame Underwood for seeing what's out there. No one said to what degree he was looking. There's a big difference between reading the wanted ads and calling around seeing if a school wants you. Rumors would seem to indicate it's been a little more than reading the wanted ads, but again, I don't get too much concern for that, as long as it doesn't impact your current job. However, when your performance slips, even a little, and that's paired with coach looking around, that's when you start getting frustration from fans.