Don't expect a sighting of Majerus in Utah soon

It's been a week since the surprising announcement about Rick Majerus leaving his coaching position at the University of Utah.

Since then, the Ute basketball team has staged a thrilling come-from-behind victory over archrival BYU, but little has been heard about the coach except for a brief interview he did with a local radio station on the subject of cancer research.

A lot of people are still wondering if the longtime Ute coach might still come back to coach later this season or perhaps make an appearance on Senior Night (Feb. 23).

Although he can't speak for him, Majerus' legal counsel, Bob Henderson, who is keeping in touch with Majerus, says the chances are slim.

Majerus is still in Santa Barbara at his doctor's house and will be for about another week, according to Henderson. After that he'll likely check into a "fat farm" in Arizona, he said.

"He's got to get a handle on his weight," said Henderson, who confirms reports of Majerus being 370 pounds as being accurate. "A lot of people have been encouraging him for a long time now to get a handle on it.

He's pretty focused on that."

Henderson said the coach doesn't want to do interviews or worry about basketball at all right now and that he's unlikely to return before the end of the season.

"I think the chances of him coming back are improbable at best," he said. "He doesn't want to do much of anything right now."

Utah athletic director Chris Hill said he hasn't talked to Majerus since last week and doesn't know what his plans are. But he said if Majerus wants to come back and be involved in Senior Night, the U. certainly would accommodate his wishes.

Henderson also doesn't believe Majerus will take a television job with ESPN or any other network soon. He thinks Majerus needs about a year to get his weight problem under control before he thinks about a TV job.

"He needs to lose at least 100 pounds," Henderson said. "I don't think he'll get back into coaching because he needs to get away from certain situations and environments."

As for the Utah-BYU game, Henderson said Majerus didn't mention it in their conversation this week.

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