After a second interview in Dallas, Rick Carlisle’s ready to fill Avery Johnson’s vacant shoes. With an announcement expected within days, the only candidate to be called in for consideration now seems prepped to take the next step with a four-year deal.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban first sought to hire in-house by asking Mavs president of baseball operations, Donnie Nelson, to move into the head-coaching vacancy. When Nelson said “no thanks,” Carlisle was the only outsider name Cuban apparently mulled over.

At 48, Rick Carlisle’s resume reads impressive. He has six years professional coaching experience in the NBA, leading his teams to the playoffs every year except one. Prior to coaching, Rick Carlisle played for five years; in 1986 as part of the champion Boston Celtics. Of late, Carlisle had been the on-air basketball analyst for ESPN.

With much of former head coach Avery Johnson’s entourage expected to leave Dallas with him, Carlisle plans on bringing in Dwane Casey and Terry Stotts, two ex-head coaches, as assistants to the new staff Carlisle’s now compiling in Dallas. It should be an interesting marriage for all involved, considering owner Mark Cuban’s well-known precariousness, to say the least.

To some, hiring Rick Carlisle is like putting a Bandaid on a wound, laterally. It’s difficult to guess what Carlisle will bring to the table. He might surprise the skeptics though. He just may know how to come up with that perfect blend of offense/defense that many teams seem to be lacking right now. And, more than anything else, maybe he’s the one that can put a smile on Dirk Nowitski’s face. Hasn’t Tony Robbins taught us that a positive attitude makes all the difference?