Gary Williams Gets Vote of Confidence From Maryland AD

Debbie Yow, Maryland's athletic director, has had a pretty tough few weeks. First, her sister, Kay Yow, passed. Meanwhile, the men's basketball program continued in a total freefall as Gary Williams started spewing public vitriol in the direction of her assistant.

So forgive Yow for not being incredibly visible about the whole thing. However, today, she convened the media to announce that Williams' job security is just fine.

"The other reason I'm here is I just really - I would have done this on Friday at media availability if I had not had to be in North Carolina, but I really want to lay to rest any of these crazy rumors that are floating around related to the job security of Coach Williams. He has my personal full support, as he does from the department and from the university.

Yow also discussed the death of her sister at the press conference, which was a joint affair with Williams. Williams, naturally, had some pretty humble words:

"It's nice that, uh, she said those things. I've never felt threatened by anything. I know what I've done, just this decade. Very few programs have done what we've done this decade. I think there's probably three or four, maybe. You know, Florida, because they've won it twice. You could say UCLA, even though they haven't won a national championship this decade. (North) Carolina, Duke, you know, those two because they've won it this decade. But, you know, I'm secure in what I've done.

Sigh. Williams continued on, stating that over the past decade, he would compare what he's done "with anyone in the country," which is fantastic in terms of confidence. As for realism, well, it probably lacks a little bit of substance. I would imagine there are more people than just Florida coach Billy Donovan, who has won two titles and gone to three Final Fours, who would take umbrage with his statements.

Still, it seems as if Williams' job is safe, for now. But whiffing on the NCAA Tournament this year might make things a little bit warmer in College Park.