CLEVELAND -- Bob Starkey was at peace with his uncertain fate.

The acting LSU head coach defied the odds by leading the Lady Tigers to the NCAA Final Four after Pokey Chatman's stunning resignation in early March.

Tony Dejak / Associated Press

LSU Athletic Director Skip Bertman said he would consider hiring coaches who would retain Bob Starkey.

And in the minds of many, Starkey also defied logic by refusing to make himself a permanent head coaching candidate at LSU or anywhere else, for that matter.

On Monday, a day after the Lady Tigers' inspiring run had ended with a lopsided loss to Rutgers in the national semifinals, Starkey returned with his team to Baton Rouge, holding out hope he'd be able to slide back into his old job as an LSU assistant.

"If that's a possibility, I would love to, but I also understand that a new coach has to be able to pick their staff," Starkey said.

Starkey's career head coaching record is now 4-1, all in NCAA tournament games this season.

After his squad's 59-35 defeat Sunday night, one thing Starkey hadn't lost was his sense of humor.

Wearing a self-effacing grin, Starkey said there was "no chance" he'd reconsider opportunities to be a head coach, adding, "Probably, after this game, I won't get as many offers."

LSU athletic director Skip Bertman said he would like to see the coach he hires to replace Chatman give serious consideration to retaining Starkey.

"I won't demand that, but I would look at coaches that could keep Bob Starkey," Bertman said.

Starkey has been part of the LSU community since becoming an assistant under Dale Brown with the men's squad in 1991. He now considers Baton Rouge home, having built a house there with his wife about two years ago.

As Chatman's top assistant, he specialized in scouting opponents on film and often ran practice when Chatman was away recruiting or fundraising.

Bertman said the search for a new head coach would probably take about two weeks from the time senior associate athletic director Judy Southard, who oversees women's sports programs at LSU, returns from the Final Four on Wednesday. LSU has yet to interview any candidates formally because university officials did not want to distract the team while it was still playing in the tournament, Bertman said.

Like many associated with LSU's women's basketball program, Starkey's world was shaken when Chatman, one of the most successful young coaches in the game, left the team amid allegations she had improper relations with one or more former players.

Starkey was elevated to acting head coach and said right away that he had no interest in keeping the job permanently. He won his first four games, the last an impressive 23-point triumph over higher-seeded Connecticut in the Fresno Regional final.

In the process, the affable Starkey began to take on a folk hero-like status among LSU boosters. Bertman said college coaches need support from boosters, adding that anyone who came in and discarded a coaching staff that has been part of four consecutive Final Four teams would risk angering the LSU faithful.

This is not, after all, a rebuilding program in any perceived need of an overhaul.

"The new coach would have to embrace the legacy of Sue Gunter," Bertman said, referring to the late, longtime coach who elevated LSU's women's basketball program to national prominence. Bertman noted that Chatman, who played and coached under Gunter, kept Starkey in the same role Gunter had placed him in after hiring him nine seasons ago.

LSU has made the NCAA tournament in all nine seasons that Starkey has been on the staff. Next year's Lady Tigers' team will have nine seniors who believe Starkey has played a significant role in their success.

Starters such as shooting guard Quianna Chaney and center Sylvia Fowles said they doubted their next coach would be inclined to make drastic changes to what has become one of the best women's basketball programs in the nation.

"I'm not really worrying about coach Starkey not being here. I'm pretty sure he will (be back)," said Fowles, LSU's 6-foot-6 center, who led the team in scoring and rebounding this season.

It seems the only one who's reluctant to give Starkey credit for LSU's recent success is Starkey himself.

"I'll never forget what these kids did," Starkey said. "I didn't take these kids to the Final Four. They took me."

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)