James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets and Mike Conley #11 of the Memphis Grizzlies battle for the basketball during their game at the Toyota Center on March 14, 2016 in Houston, Texas.

Jason Terry interviews for a head coaching job when he still plays in the NBA

His reasoning? "I have to leave my options open."

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Houston Rockets guard Jason Terry has reportedly interviewed for the head coaching vacancy at UAB, according to ESPN.

The 16-year veteran interviewed for the opening Thursday afternoon — hours before the Rockets 103-100 loss to the Chicago Bulls.

"It went well," Terry said, according to ESPN. "UAB is in an interesting situation, the success they had, but Coach Haase's immediate departure left that job open. I have deep roots in the Birmingham community — uncles, cousins, aunts — and so I'm very familiar with the area. So we'll see what happens. It was a good meeting that I had."

Jerrod Haase left UAB for Stanford after a 26-7 season and a first-round exit in the NIT at the hands of BYU.

Terry, who averages 5.8 points and 1.4 assists, didn't commit to retiring at the end of the season, but admitted to being "prepared."

"In this business, you have to plan for your post-career," he said. "This is no different, being prepared. You always have to be prepared. Would I like to play a couple more years? Yes. But I have to leave my options open. And if this offer is better than what I have on the horizon, then I'm going to have to jump head-first in it. There is some longevity in it, and it is my passion."

Houston is currently in ninth place and are half a game out of the eighth and final spot, currently occupied by Utah. It'll be interesting to see if his teammates will react badly to one of their own looking for another job while the team is fighting for a playoff birth.

[h/t ESPN]