Its no secret that Santiago and Pope...let's just say do not share the same philosophy with regards to BYU basketball in general. They have had strong disagreements and Pope has felt a lack of support from the assistant AD. That was starting to have an affect on Pope. Luckily, this has cooled down this season as Pope exceeded all expectations, quieting down a lot of Santiago's "complaints". I know who I stand with on this, but it was definitely making the desirability of coaching at BYU less for Pope. Pope certainly has the large majority of support from admin etc. But it's not a great working environment when you feel like your assistant AD might not have your back. I would think that this has some effect on Pope staying long term.

Pope and Ryan Smith are very close. They lived next to each other and even tore down the fence between their yards so their kids could use both yards easily. I imagine a factor helping him stay long term at BYU is this relationship. And even though he didn't play at BYU or is an alum, he is very bought in to BYU.

Just bringing some info that might affect what Pope does long term. I do think it would have to be a very good situation to lure him away...I just hope he can get the full support of all the athletic dept going forward.