Tim Floyd will most likely have to make an extremely difficult decision this summer or fall.

As everyone may know, he is the front runner to replace Chicago Bulls Coach Phil Jackson if he is fired after this season.

This has got to be an extremely attractive position. Not only will Floyd be coaching at the highest level while potentially making millions of dollars, but he will be working for his friend, Jerry Krause. But there is definitely a down side.

Going to the NBA means there will be an enormous amount of pressure to win, considerably more than in Ames. That pressure will be especially true in a huge media market like Chicago where the press and the fans have grown accustomed to winning and will accept nothing less.

Michael Jordan has already publicly said that he will not play for any coach other than Jackson, and has shown interest in trying to take another team to the pinnacle of the NBA. The two other stars for the Bulls, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, have also shown loyalty to Jackson while not showing that loyalty for the franchise.

Earlier this season, Pippen said he would never again play for the Bulls. Of course, he did change his mind. But with his contract up at the end of the season, look for his earlier claim to become a reality when Jordan and Jackson are no longer there.

As far as Rodman goes, no one really knows what the hell is going through his head.

If this team loses these four men, no matter how good of a coach Floyd is, he cannot win if Tony Kukoc and Steve Kerr are his main weapons. Even though Floyd will not be directly responsible for the departure of the big four, the fans will see him as an extension of Krause and Jerry Reinsdorf, who are in control of the front office of the Bulls.

Krause and Reinsdorf aren’t exactly winning any popularity contests in Chicago right now, and it will only get worse. Honestly, this may be the worse job in sports right now because there is only one way to go — DOWN.

At Iowa State, Floyd has only won a single conference title and made it to one Sweet 16, but fans, alumni and administration feel that he is one of the best coaches in college basketball. And he very well may be.

Even though Iowa won 20 games last season, the less-loyal Hawkeye fans were calling for Tom Davis’ when the season closed.

On the other hand, Floyd led an equally inexperienced team through a dismal campaign, and it seemed as though no one had any problems with it.

Even though Floyd probably does not have the same salary here that he would in Chicago, the fans and press are certainly more understanding. In the rigors of the NBA, fans have little patience.

If Floyd cannot maintain the Chicago dynasty, those fans will be calling for his head no matter how good of a coach he supposedly is.

Also, if it comes down to firing Floyd, his friend Krause will be the one to do it. Oftentimes working alongside a long-time friend is not a good idea. The Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson saga with the Dallas Cowboys is a good example.

There are certainly a number of perks to coaching in the NBA, but perhaps this is not the optimum position for Floyd at this time. Floyd should take a lesson from some other successful college coaches such as Rick Majerus and John Thompson and stay in the friendly confines of college basketball and avoid the hassles of the NBA.

Scott Johnson is a senior in liberal arts and sciences from Holstein.