NORMAN, Okla. -- The office isn't is as big as the one he had at Thompson-Boling Arena, Jerry Green noted with a chuckle as he ushered a visitor into a chair Wednesday morning.

The silver hair is the same. The upstate Carolina accent hasn't changed. The red University of Oklahoma warm-up suit is a recent touch.

After four years of retirement to ponder his successes and failures as Tennessee's head basketball coach 1997-2001, Green decided last August to put away his golf clubs and get back in the gym.

His oldest and closest friend, North Carolina coach Roy Williams, connected Green with Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson, who was looking for a veteran to fill his vacancy as director of basketball operations.

Tonight, Green will be back in the same arena with the Vols. UT plays Oklahoma State in the first half of the All-College Classic doubleheader in Oklahoma City. The Sooners meet West Virginia in the second game.

When Green agreed to an acrimonious negotiated resignation for $1.1 million in March, 2001, he was walking away from UT after 89 wins, two SEC East titles, one SEC championship and four NCAA tournament appearances in as many years.

He figured at age 57, he was done with coaching.

"I had no idea of getting back into it,'' he said. "I'd been in the spotlight, been in the big games, been there and done that.

"But I really got bored. I started out playing golf six days a week. It had gotten down to two and I really didn't want to go play those two.''

A well-financed retirement afforded ample opportunity to dissect what happened at UT.

After reaching the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2000, the next year saw the Vols start 16-1 and rise to No. 4 in the Associated Press poll.

But it all fell apart. The Vols lost nine of their final 14 games as public disenchantment with Green mounted. Stung by the criticism, he virtually dared UT to get rid of him.

After UNC-Charlotte eliminated the Vols in the NCAA tournament's first round, UT's new president, J. Wade Gilley, obliged. Hence, the buyout.

Despite averaging 22.5 wins a year, Green was gone.

From the safe haven of his Surf City, N.C., beach house, he sifted through the wreckage on a daily basis.

"I was more bitter about the way it all came down than I thought I should be,'' Green said.

"Because of our record, the things we had done there at Tennessee. And at Oregon, and Kansas, and UNC-Asheville. If you got to looking back, it's not that bad of a career.''

Over time, he gained perspective. Green's bitterness became focused on two people.

One was Gilley, who clearly wanted Green ousted.

"The other person is Jerry Green,'' Green said.

"I don't think I was as tough-minded as I should have been.''

At the time, Green felt his regime's accomplishments should have been more appreciated, given UT's recent dismal basketball history. He still thinks so, but isn't as defensive about it.

"It seemed like every time we had a loss, it was almost like (the public believed) I did it on purpose,'' Green said.

"I'm not so sure that mentally I handled it as well as I could have.

"Was it a terrible year? The way it ended, yeah. It's not easy to get ranked fourth and we won some big games. But when you finish weak, you open yourself up for criticism, and I didn't handle it very well.''

And so he was left to see how he would handle retirement.

In addition to traveling, playing golf and fishing, Green kept a hand in basketball.

He had season tickets at UNC-Wilmington and frequently watched Campbell University play.

At the beginning of each season he accepted an invitation to evaluate Williams' teams. He also scouted for friend Sylvia Hatchell, the North Carolina women's coach.

But in the end, it wasn't enough.

Hooking up with Sampson, a North Carolina native, was a natural fit. Green was coaching UNC-Asheville when Sampson played at UNC-Pembroke. Later, they coached against each other -- Green at Oregon, Sampson at Washington State.

So Green and wife Nancy boarded up the new three-story beach house they had just finished building and moved back to the Midwest.

It wasn't culture shock. Norman is eerily familiar to Lawrence, Kansas, where Green was an assistant under Williams nearly two decades ago.

Green is finding his duties keep him busier than he expected. He handles compliance, travel and scheduling, among other things.

"I love a college town,'' he said. "It keeps you younger.''

And Green is asking himself if there is another college town in store for him. Is there a program out there that is right for a 62-year-old, silver-haired head coach?

"I've got enough energy,'' he said. "I'm healthy enough.

"But a lot of people are looking for that younger guy just starting to come into his own, and I understand that.''

He says he won't be sending out any resumes, but would be tempted if a situation felt right.

Nearly nine years ago, Tennessee felt right, Green recalled. Though he wasn't UT's first choice at the time, Green said he was the right choice.

He figured to retire there, though not after a mere four seasons.

Within the next couple of weeks, Green's last official tie with UT will be severed when he receives the final $200,000 installment of his buyout.

"It's kind of like everything else,'' Green said. "That too shall pass.

"Not just being paid, but the thoughts and other things are not as sharp as they were five years ago.''