Richardson led Arkansas to the 1994 national title but was fired during the the 2001-02 season. AP

However, you've got to believe that Richardson, for all his baggage, would be a great coup for UTEP. His frenetic, up-tempo style is both exciting and a proven winner. No doubt he would help UTEP gain the national notice it currently lacks. But Richardson insists he didn't want the job.

"I've always said that if I was going to take another job, it should be equal to the job I lost," Richardson told me. "So to me, I'd have to think of that as a major college job where I'd have an opportunity to get to the mountaintop again, not a mid-major. I don't want to coach just to coach, and I said that to Bob Stull."

In other words, Richardson is pricing himself out of the market. After all, there are only a few dozen schools in the country that meet that criteria. Richardson will be 65 in December -- "I'm almost on Medicare," he quips -- and his bitter fallout from Arkansas has left the impression that he would be a risky hire.

Richardson was let go following his public meltdown during a press conference in February 2002, when he infamously dared the school that "if they go ahead and pay me my money, they can take the job tomorrow." Arkansas did agree to buy out the last six years of his seven-year, $7.21 million contract, but Richardson sued the school anyway, charging racial discrimination. Richardson's claim was ludicrous on its face and was dismissed by a federal judge in 2004. A federal appeals court upheld that decision in May, effectively ending the litigation.

With typical bluntness, Richardson makes no apologies about his lawsuit. But he is also not fooling himself about the damage it did to his prospects of landing a high-level coaching gig.

"The bottom line is, Nolan Richardson left the University of Arkansas under a black cloud. I know that," he said. "Who's going to hire someone who's so outspoken? I'm always going to tell you what God loves, and that's the truth."

Richardson's reluctance to return makes him drastically different from many of his contemporaries. Lefty Driesell (Maryland) and Lou Henson (Illinois) finished their careers in obscurity at Georgia State and New Mexico State, respectively. After getting fired by Indiana, Bob Knight landed at Texas Tech, where he will never win a national championship but will likely break Dean Smith's record for all-time wins next season. Rollie Massimino was so desperate to coach again after being fired by UNLV and Cleveland State that he latched on at Northwood University in Florida, which didn't even have a basketball program when he took the job two years ago. Former Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins, 59, will be back on the sidelines next season at the College of Charleston.

Asked about these examples, Richardson said, "A lot of these guys are trying to win a certain number of games, but I got started late. At age 24, Bob Knight was already a college coach. When I was 24, I was a seventh- and eighth-grade coach. Some schools are willing to bring a guy in so he can sit there and die. I'm not that kind of guy."