2025 Coaching Carousel

[Warrior_2002]

Agree with Wades. Baggage or not Beard would've been a better hire. Feels like the baggage has dissipated.

[MuggsyB]

The thing is there have been a number of guys that have seemingly come out of nowhere that wind up being really good coaches.  McCollom can definitely coach.  Dusty May and McCasland seem to know what they're doing as well.  I watched Bryant and that's a well coached team.  I think there are a number of coaches on the lower d-1 level that are good.  If you give them the resources?  They might be better than the splash hires. Recruiting is much different right now with the portal.

[79Warrior]

Do we think this is a move to a basketball school from a Football/Basketball (realize Maryland is more bball) due to the upcoming revenue sharing and plans Maryland may have to put more to football?

I think it has more to do with his frustration with the Maryland administration.

[Warrior_2002]

I think it has more to do with his frustration with the Maryland administration.

But could that be the frustration? The money on bball not being as much as football.

[Uncle Rico]

But could that be the frustration? The money on bball not being as much as football.

I think Kevin Willard is as much the problem as anything

[lalumiere's architect]

Agree with Wades. Baggage or not Beard would've been a better hire. Feels like the baggage has dissipated.

By "baggage" do you mean the following?


https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/affidavit-fianc-called-911-to-report-ut-basketball-coach-chris-beard-had-strangled-her

"The woman then described what Beard had done and told police "he choked me, threw me off the bed, bit me, bruises all over my leg, throwing me around and going nuts."

"I just did not feel safe," she explained to the police as to why she had called 911.

Officers asked the fiancée if the choking impeded her breathing to which she replied, "yes, I could not breathe. He did it for probably like five seconds" then she proceeded to demonstrate having an arm across her neck and stated that Beard had an "arm around her neck" while he stood behind her."...

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Thanks for posting that. I had the same feeling.  It's not like Beard got caught cheating. 

There is a reason that beard was not part of the openings this year and clearly it's not because coaches or universities are waiting until the season is over.

[cheebs09]

Thanks for posting that. I had the same feeling.  It's not like Beard got caught cheating. 

There is a reason that beard was not part of the openings this year and clearly it's not because coaches or universities are waiting until the season is over.

Yeah, I don't think the baggage disappeared. I think Ole Miss saw a chance to get a great coach and are willing to look past the baggage. I also feel like Villanova could have done better than Willard, even if it wasn't Beard.

I'm not sure if the Cronin rumors ever had any truth.

[Scoop Snoop]

I also feel like Villanova could have done better than Willard, even if it wasn't Beard.

And they had plenty of time since Neptune was pretty much a dead coach walking during the season. With Neptune as a buffer between the Jay Wright era and the next coach, I thought Nova would be able to poach a better guy ready for a new home.

[Uncle Rico]

Yeah, I don't think the baggage disappeared. I think Ole Miss saw a chance to get a great coach and are willing to look past the baggage. I also feel like Villanova could have done better than Willard, even if it wasn't Beard.

I'm not sure if the Cronin rumors ever had any truth.

Cronin's buyout is $10 million, fwiw.  At least after Monday, it would be $10 million.  And he's a pain to deal with, too.

Beard fits fine in Mississippi for a lot of reasons

[79Warrior]

But could that be the frustration? The money on bball not being as much as football.

no AD there right now. Could be some NIL issues also. Most likely a combination of everything mentioned.

[Big Papi]

I'm not a Willard fan and the way he behaved the last week plus could have been handled better by him, but I don't blame the move he made.

His AD left. No idea who is coming in and if resources were not great then he needed to make a move and Nova is a very good place to land.

[The Sultan]

Do we think this is a move to a basketball school from a Football/Basketball (realize Maryland is more bball) due to the upcoming revenue sharing and plans Maryland may have to put more to football?

I think it was a way for Willard to maximize his personal wealth.

[Billy Hoyle]

Thanks for posting that. I had the same feeling.  It's not like Beard got caught cheating. 

There is a reason that beard was not part of the openings this year and clearly it's not because coaches or universities are waiting until the season is over.

Indiana's President prohibited the AD from giving Beard any consideration for the opening (even though Beard wanted the IU job) because of his baggage.

[burger]

Willard is a Worm.

I am surprised that Nova slummed so low to try and win.....

[cheebs09]

I thought part of the reason the AD left was due to appeasing Willard.

[Scoop Snoop]

I thought part of the reason the AD left was due to appeasing Willard.

Or maybe partially due to a perpetually pissed Williard.

[Big Papi]

Or maybe partially due to a perpetually pissed Williard.

If that was the case then either the AD was soft or Willard had all the power so why leave.

[79Warrior]

I think it was a way for Willard to maximize his personal wealth.

Nothing wrong with that.

[MuggsyB]

New Mex hires the UCSD coach. 

[tower912]

Or maybe partially due to a perpetually pissed Williard.

Scoop has one of those.

[Scoop Snoop]

Scoop has one of those.

Kudos! 

[MU82]

Good take IMHO by Bilas on the Willard situation:

https://www.on3.com/news/jay-bilas-calls-out-reaction-of-villanova-hiring-kevin-willard-in-defense-of-players-transfer-portal/

Kevin Willard's decision to leave Maryland early Sunday morning to become Villanova's new head men's basketball coach was the worst-kept secret in college basketball this season. It also revived the ongoing debate about how college coaches are able to freely break signed contracts with one school to go to another, while players are vilified for entering the transfer portal to do the same thing.

During Sunday morning's College GameDay on ESPN, longtime analyst Jay Bilas directly called out the inherent hypocrisy of those two arguments in light of Willard's move, citing many of the overused talking points usually directed at players that opt to transfer while the same criticisms aren't broached when coaches like Willard do the same thing.

"I don't have a problem with Kevin Willard making this move. That's great. Any coach should look to better himself or herself based upon the circumstances and based upon business. These are business decisions," Bilas said Sunday morning. "But one thing you don't hear from the NCAA literati, from the administrators, from (NCAA president) Charlie Baker, you don't hear: 'tampering.' Nobody's saying there was tampering here. This is a coach under contract that a member institution tampered with without permission from the University of Maryland.

"You don't hear about loyalty. Where was Kevin Willard's loyalty here? He made a decision to go to Maryland and signed a long-term contract. Where's the commitment we hear on the part of players? And what about going through adversity? (Willard) didn't want to go through the adversity of oh, he couldn't stay in New York for an extra day. Like, come on, man," Bilas continued. "We say all this stuff about players, but we don't apply that to coaches. That's a contradiction to the point of hypocrisy. I'm not saying don't go, go ahead. But let's not apply these ridiculous rules to the players. It's just not right. And Seth (Greenberg) is right, I've been saying this for over a decade now, sign players to contracts. Negotiate at arm's length with the players or negotiate a collective bargaining agreement."

Of course, negotiating contracts with players or a player's union is currently a non-starter for the NCAA and the conference powers-that-be, which have regularly fought against qualifying college athletes as employees, much the same way the NBA and other professional sports leagues have done for years.

Bilas also took aim at Willard for deflecting questions about his obvious interest in the Villanova (19-14) opening while guiding fourth-seeded Maryland (27-9) to the Sweet Sixteen, where the Terrapins lost to No. 1-seed Florida, 87-71, on Thursday.

"It's more of the same. What you heard from Kevin Willard from the podium at his press conference was, 'I haven't talked to my agent, I don't know what's going on, so I don't know.' He said the exact same thing when he was as Seton Hall and then went to Maryland. The exact same thing," Bilas added. "This is the same playbook. And I hate to break this to coaches, but your agent is your representative. So, whatever your agent is doing you are doing, that's the way agency works."

[MarquetteMike1977]

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[MUBurrow]

Good take IMHO by Bilas on the Willard situation:

https://www.on3.com/news/jay-bilas-calls-out-reaction-of-villanova-hiring-kevin-willard-in-defense-of-players-transfer-portal/

Meh, this pony needs another trick imo.  The portal and NIL makes this moot.  Now that he can't bemoan players being punished for transferring or not being paid, he's complaining that "players are vilified for entering the transfer portal."  No, they're really not, and if they are it still pales in comparison to how Willard is being universally skewered rn.  Bilas is inventing a harm that doesn't really exist here just so he can keep beating this drum.