All he has done is what he was hired to do. He has a 140-32 record since replacing Williams, a Hall of Fame coach who didn’t get his first national championship until 2005 with North Carolina. Self took the Jayhawks to the Elite Eight for the third time last weekend, but when he got there he was crowned Best Coach Without A Final Four Appearance.

Self tried to act cool about that but the relief poured out of his body when Davidson missed that final shot and KU advanced to the Final Four. When the buzzer sounded and Self fell to both knees, you could tell how much it meant to him.

Self received a five-year contract extension last season. His annual compensation increased to more than $1.3 million with $350,000 in additional bonuses. But Boone Pickens, that wealthy Oklahoma State booster, could fill a truck full of money and make an awfully sweet offer to Self. The Texas oilman reportedly is ready to wave as much as $4 million a year in Self’s direction.

The Kansas job would still be a better job. But if Self picks up the phone next week and it’s money talking on the other end, he might have to take back all those words he spoke on Tuesday.

Perkins, who arrived at Kansas in June 2003 and after Self had been hired, doesn’t think so. Perkins said no one from Oklahoma State has contacted him for permission to talk to Self. And Self told Perkins Tuesday that he wants to be the coach at Kansas “for the long term.”

“That’s the indication he has given me and I have no reason not to believe him,” Perkins said in a telephone interview. “He’s been great to work with and I trust him. We’ve been talking about this for a month or two. It’s just unfortunate [Oklahoma State] had to do it today, right before the Final Four.

“Boone Picks doesn’t run the university. He’s not the president. I think you’ve got to put all of that in perspective. We’ve treated Bill very fairly and he knows that. We’re going to continue to treat him fairly. We were going to do that any way. But he has indicated very clearly that he wants to be the coach here at Kansas.”

Actually, Self has said that same exact thing since coming to Kansas. His first day on the job, he told reporters it was “a career-ending job. My future is not in Stillwater. My future is in Lawrence.”

Kansas fans want to believe him. But they’ve been through all of this before. Until the Cowboys settle on someone other than Self, there will always be room for doubt in Jayhawk Nation.

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