Randy Peterson | The Des Moines Register

Randy Peterson, rpeterson@dmreg.com

AMES, Ia. — Fred Hoiberg to ...

Or maybe the front office?

If you’ve watched hoops-related television shows or browsed the Internet, you know everyone’s got an opinion about what’s next for the Ames icon who was fired by the Chicago Bulls last December.

Hoiberg’s seen it all. He reads it with interest. He laughs about it. And now, it's hitting home as he ponders whether to coach again next season or sit out a year.

“As you know, there are a lot of rumors out there, and I’ve said it many times: Social media is going to be the end of all of us,” Hoiberg said before Tuesday’s Iowa State-Baylor game at Hilton Coliseum. “You can’t pay attention to it. You see all those things out there.

“If an opportunity comes, we’ll see if it makes sense.”

View | 13 Photos

Photos: Fred Hoiberg returns to Hilton

Hoiberg prefers coaching to the front office. But what about the college sidelines over the NBA?

People close to Hoiberg once predicted he’d never coach in college again, but that was before he was canned.

“I’m open right now,” Hoiberg told two reporters while talking in the tunnel of Hilton Coliseum. “We’ll see. I’m just looking for a great opportunity, whatever level that might be.”

More college jobs will open before this NBA season concludes. He’s already being mentioned for at UCLA, where Murry Bartow is the interim leader. I’ve seen his name connected with the Arizona coaching job, if the federal government’s investigation gets too intense for coach Sean Miller to keep his place.

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Nebraska coach Tim Miles is on the hot seat. Hoiberg’s grandfather, Jerry Bush, coached the Cornhuskers from 1954-63. Fred was born in Lincoln. He’d be a home-run hire, if or when they’re looking for a coach.

Someone close to college basketball also suggested that if Texas ever needs a replacement for Shaka Smart, Fred could be on that list.

“Whatever level it is, I’m just looking for a really good opportunity,” Hoiberg said.

Let’s say that opportunity is a high-level college job. One of the first topics the athletics director will broach is Hoiberg’s relationship to college recruiting, and the comments he made a couple seasons ago.

“I absolutely ... hated recruiting,” he told the Office Show’s Keith Smith in 2017.

So Fred, what about that comment?

“There a lot of things I didn’t like about recruiting; a lot of things are sometimes out of your control when you’re recruiting,” he said Tuesday.

Kelsey Kremer/The Register

He didn’t elaborate, but I’m assuming it has something to do with shady tactics some coaches use in building rosters to save their jobs.

“Some of the things I liked about recruiting were building relationships with the kid and building relationships with the family,” Hoiberg said. “I liked that a lot. I felt like I was pretty good at it. We had some really high-level players here as transfers and also as four-year guys.

“It’s the most important thing you do as a college coach, I get that. If it is a college opportunity, I’ll go 100 percent at it and do the best job I can to build the program.

"It is a grind. You can talk to any college coach, and they’ll tell you the same thing. And if they tell you something different, they’re lying to you.”

The main takeaway: The Mayor will coach again.

“You miss it. You really do, after being in it for so long as a player and executive and now as a coach for the last eight-plus seasons,” he said.

But at what level?

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If a high-profile college program comes calling, one that fits what he’s looking for, then he won’t be able to wait around for another NBA offer. People close to Hoiberg have said over the years that colleges have expressed interest, although Hoiberg didn’t want to go there Tuesday night.

“I’m not going to say anything about that,” he responded when I asked how many colleges had contacted him or his people. “When I’m ready to get back in it ... we’ll see if the right opportunity presents itself.”

He can be selective. No one says he must immediately leap into another job. He’s still owed $5 million by the Bulls for what would have been the final season of his five-year contract.

“We’ll see how everything transpires,” he said.

So where is Hoiberg headed next?

Well, Fred and his wife are heading to the ocean.

Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson has been with the Register for parts of five decades. Randy writes opinion and analysis of Iowa State football and basketball. You can reach Randy at rpeterson@dmreg.com or on Twitter at @RandyPete.