Less than a day removed from a 73-71 loss to Michigan in the Sweet 16, Cuonzo Martin’s name was being linked to the open head coaching job at Marquette. Saturday afternoon, ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, who was on hand in Indianapolis for Tennessee’s Sweet 16 matchup with Michigan, reported Martin is one of Marquette’s top candidates along with former UCLA head coach Ben Howland.

A roller coaster season saw Martin lead the Vols to three NCAA Tournament wins—which tied a school record for tournament wins in a season. In three years on Rocky Top, Martin is 63-41 (61%) with one NCAA Tournament appearance, two NIT berths, and an average top-4 finish in the league. Martin’s $1.35 million salary ranks 11th in the 14-team SEC and runs through the 2015-16 season.

Should Martin leave, he would owe Tennessee $2.6 million, but that number drops to $1.3 million April 1st. Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart is expected to meet with Martin soon to review the year and discuss contract details. It would take a yearly salary in the $2 million range to make Martin one of six-highest paid coaches in the league—that’s a mark Martin and his representatives are likely to target.

In 2013, Marquette spent nearly $11 million on basketball—that’s more than all but five programs nationally (UCLA, Kentucky, Syracuse, Duke, and Louisville) and close to $6 million more than UT spent on hoops. Former Marquette head coach Buzz Williams reportedly made $2.8 million last season. Clearly, the Golden Eagles will more than be able to compete with Tennessee financially if they end up pursuing Martin.

Saturday afternoon, Ben Frederickson, sportswriter for The News Sentinel, reported that the Vol coaching staff has been in contact with its incoming class through text messages and has urged them to “ignore the rumors” about Martin and Marquette.

Fan disapproval was hard to ignore this season as over 36,000 people signed a petition to rehire Pearl during Tennessee’s season. Martin isn’t one to focus on criticism, but several sources indicated they wouldn’t be surprised if he listened to offers from other schools. As columnist Ryan Wooden wrote last week, history typically repeats itself, and if Martin can find more stability elsewhere, he’d be crazy not to consider his options.

Despite fan criticism, Martin’s willingness to consider an offer from another program will likely come down to the contract Dave Hart offers.

We’ll keep you posted as the story develops.