Maybe the cutoff should be 10 seasons, maybe that's enough for a coach and a university. When it gets into the second decade at a school, the legends fall, and they fall hard.

	Nolan Richardson didn't get a chance to say his final goodbye at Arkansas.

Nolan Richardson's abrupt departure from Arkansas on Friday was the latest verse in a sad song for legendary coaches at the schools where they have made their names.

The marriage obviously grew strained and Richardson's inflammatory comments gave the administration a reason to force a buyout Friday. Chancellor John White wasn't at the school when Richardson won a national title in 1994, reached back-to-back national title games and took the program to three Final Fours -- accomplishments that very few coaches at this school could have ever dreamed of attained.

But that's what happens to these legends, they outlive their administrators and the new folks are ready for something fresh, looking for the opening the coaches usually give them with a misstep in some form. It happened to Jerry Tarkanian at UNLV in 1992. Bob Knight suffered a similar fate in 2000 at Indiana and Denny Crum was pushed out at Louisville last season.

But there was at least warning signs that those three could be pushed out of their respective schools. Richardson's removal came within a week, ending Friday in a meeting in Little Rock with administrators and lawyers and a coach, trying to settle on a buyout.

Like the other coaches listed above, Richardson didn't want to leave when he was finally pushed. He said so as late as Thursday morning. He said he still loved the game and wanted to end his career at Arkansas.

If that's the case, then he has coached his last game. But he's only 60 years old and still has the fire to recruit, and outcoach, anyone with his patented "40 minutes of hell" style of play. Whether or not he gets that chance remains to be seen. He's still a name, a commodity that would certainly bring cache to a school.

But the Arkansas job changed during his tenure. The team moved from the Southwest Conference to the SEC, an entirely different level of competition. The Razorbacks were able to land a big-time local player in Corliss Williamson, another gem from Louisiana in Scotty Thurman and parlayed that into a Final Four run. But the talent in Arkansas is sparse, and the ante got raised in recruiting in the SEC with competition for players from Memphis to Jackson, Miss., to Baton Rouge, La., as fierce as ever within at least 11 of the 12 schools.

And that's why the next coach of Arkansas will have a tough time staying atop the SEC West, let alone the SEC. Alabama is becoming a basketball school, at least for the next two seasons while the Tide are on a football bowl ban. Alabama is a national player, and that's going to put even more pressure on Auburn to keep pace. Ole Miss and Mississippi State have a fierce rivalry brewing and are becoming consistent basketball powers in the league, let alone pests. LSU got to the Sweet 16 and once the sanctions are gone, John Brady has promised to get LSU back in the NCAA Tournament.

And we haven't even addressed the SEC East, where Kentucky is, well, Kentucky, and Florida is now a basketball power with Billy Donovan, state-of-the-art facilities, and a commitment from athletic director Jeremy Foley to ensure that basketball remains a Top 25 program. Georgia and South Carolina aren't going anywhere, either, as long as Jim Harrick and Dave Odom are coaching. Vanderbilt always seems to knock off teams down the stretch.

Arkansas has a decent recruiting class entering next season, especially with 6-foot-6 Andre Iguodala entering next fall. He could be the next Joe Johnson for the Hogs, and would allow them to compete for the top of the SEC West in the next few seasons.

But who will succeed Richardson? Assistant Mike Anderson was named interim coach, but his chances of replacing Richardson are probably slim with the administration likely wanting a break from the Richardson era.

Athletic director Frank Broyles will likely look for a head coach. One of the top names on the Razorbacks' list will likely be Illinois coach Bill Self. But a source close to Self said Friday that he isn't interested and doesn't want to leave the Illini, after getting to Champaign prior to last season. If the Razorbacks go with a veteran coach, former Miami and Washington Wizards coach Leonard Hamilton and former Iowa State and Chicago Bulls coach Tim Floyd will be viable candidates. Rising stars like Western Kentucky's Dennis Felton and Tennessee Tech's Jeff Lebo should also be on the list.

The search will be widespread but likely quick. Money won't be a hurdle, especially with the $1 million contract that Richardson was receiving. But the Razorbacks will be hard-pressed to find a more entertaining coach, albeit controversial.

Richardson didn't get a chance to say a final goodbye to the fans and won't coach Saturday's home finale against Vanderbilt. But his legacy will be his win total, national title and the ground he broke for African-American coaches. He is still one of only three African-American coaches to win a national title (Kentucky's Tubby Smith and former Georgetown coach John Thompson are the other two). Richardson will be missed at Arkansas, in the SEC and across the country. He wanted to leave on his terms. He created the terms with his comments. It's a shame it had to end this way, a shame for him and for the school.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.