PROVIDENCE — Time is money in business, and in sports, and right now the clock is ticking on Bob Driscoll and Providence College.

Driscoll’s search for Tim Welsh’s replacement will be two weeks old tomorrow. His time frame to fill the position is as gray as the storm clouds hovering over Rhode Island. Next week? Sometime during the Final Four? By the time David Ortiz takes his first swing at Fenway Park (April 8)? Who knows?

“As quickly as I can,” was Driscoll’s response a few days ago about his plans for hiring a new men’s hoop coach. “I want to make sure I have all of the information I need to make the right decision. I won’t rush.”

This weekend, Driscoll will be in Madison, Wis., watching the NCAA Midwest hockey playoffs. He’s on the committee that oversees that competition, which is all well and good, but that puts PC’s basketball coaching search on ice. Then again, maybe Driscoll is outsmarting all of us. Maybe he’s going to huddle with some hotshot behind a Zamboni. Perhaps he’ll hold clandestine talks late at night in the darkness of the Kohl Center’s penalty boxes.

While the pucks fly, so do rumors about the Friars’ job. Driscoll has reportedly contacted the athletic director at George Mason and asked for permission to speak with its coach, PC alum Jim Larranaga. No sit-down with the Patriots’ coach has occurred, but at least the ball is moving with someone. Reached by phone this week, the athletic directors of two other rumored candidates say they haven’t heard a thing from PC.

“No one at Providence has called me,” said Saint Joseph’s AD Don DiJulia. “No one has called Phil (Martelli).”

Martelli has seen his name linked to the PC job and doesn’t know why. "I have not indicated an interest in Providence," Martelli told The Philadelphia Daily News. "Providence has not indicated an interest in me. I’ve not talked to anybody at Providence, and Providence has not talked to anybody here at Saint Joseph’s, or to me or to my family."

Mike Goldberger, Brown’s athletic director, said late Wednesday that he hadn’t heard from Driscoll, either, in regard to his coach, Craig Robinson. “I have not been contacted by Providence,” Goldberger said.

By all accounts, Driscoll hasn’t spoken with any prospective coach just yet. That’s his choice. But as the coaching dominos fall around the country, the Friars are only losing ground in the race for the next great coach. As many as 16 other Division I basketball coaching jobs are currently open. Four — Indiana, California, LSU and South Carolina — are clearly better jobs than Providence. Some hoops people would claim that a few others, such as Texas Christian and Rice, may be better than coaching here, too.

Other jobs are bound to open as the coaching carousel starts spinning. If Sean Miller, for example, leaves Xavier for Indiana, then any names Driscoll may have on his short list could get stolen by the Musketeers. Watch for Brown’s Robinson and Kent State’s Jim Christian (another coach PC is interested in) to become involved with other schools soon — if they’re not already.

That we haven’t seen a PC press conference already isn’t a shock. Although Driscoll was clearly prepared to move on from the Welsh Era as long as a month ago, he couldn’t contact any replacements until last week. But you’d think he’d have a short list in hand, ready to pounce. That clearly wasn’t the case. If so, we’d see a new leader by now.

If I’m a PC fan, I’m hoping Driscoll is thinking boldly. The best young coaching candidate in the country is Anthony Grant, the Virginia Commonwealth coach whom Florida was ready to hire when Billy Donovan accepted the Orlando Magic job for a day last spring. The basketball world sees Grant as the likely hire at LSU or South Carolina, but that hasn’t happened yet. If PC hasn’t called Donovan for help in hiring Grant by now, shame on Driscoll. If PC hasn’t contacted high-profile coaches who may be nearing a spot on the hot seat, such as Georgia Tech’s Paul Hewitt, shame once again.

PC fans understandably want a new coach hired yesterday. Relax. Enjoy the NCAA Tournament and dream that your Friars will one day play in that wonderful event again. But remember: time is money.

kmcnamar@projo.com