SAN DIEGO -- Steve Fisher, whose career as Michigan's basketball coach ended as abruptly as it began, reportedly is on the verge of being hired to take over San Diego State's sad-sack program.
The deal could be finalized as soon as this weekend, Fox Sports News reported Thursday, citing sources close to Fisher who were not identified.Fisher, an assistant with the NBA's Sacramento Kings, did not return two phone calls placed to his room at a Los Angeles-area hotel. The Kings are scheduled to play the Lakers Friday night.
San Diego State athletic director Rick Bay, who also has ties to Michigan, said he was still talking to candidates Thursday evening.
"As of this moment I don't have a coach," Bay said. "I'd like to think I'm getting closer, but I don't have a coach."
A school official involved in the coaching search denied that an agreement had been reached with anyone.
When asked if an announcement was imminent, Bay said, "I'd like to say it's imminent that I'll have a coach. I went up to the 12th hour with (Rick) Majerus, and that didn't happen. So I'd be reluctant to characterize it as imminent."
Majerus, who coached Utah to the national championship game last year, rejected San Diego State's job offer Monday night, and Gonzaga's Dan Monson took himself out of the running.
San Diego State was 4-22 this year, its fourth losing season in five years under Fred Trenkle, who resigned at season's end. The Aztecs have had just one winning season since 1985.
Fisher was an assistant to Bill Frieder for seven years at Michigan and was named interim coach on the eve of the 1989 NCAA tournament when Frieder accepted a job at Arizona State.
Bay said Fisher is "a guy I've known a while, and we both have Michigan in our background." Bay wrestled and played football at Michigan, and later became head wrestling coach.
Fisher was fired by Michigan on Oct. 10, 1997, shortly after a Kansas law firm hired by the university issued a report that called into question his role in arranging complimentary tickets for a booster. The NCAA accepted the school's self-imposed penalties.
When asked about that incident, Bay said: "People make their own judgment. Without having confirmed or denied that I've talked to Steve, if I would hire a coach, I would check everything out."