My favourite Motto is "time will kill you".
In my business only written offers mean any thing. That is not the 1st time I have seen offers withdrawn. Many times the coach will call before he withdraws the verbaland some times they don't.
I find an open ended verbal offer not a real offer. If the coach is serious and wants to commit he sends/purolates a written offer with a deadline.
Calling a coach to ask what the offer is before you get one is suicide. Calling and asking if the intend to make one is more palatable. A coach can understand that you might want to know if the player is still on their radar.