UPDATED: 4/7/2019
UPDATED: 4/6/2019
UPDATED: 4/5/2019
UPDATED: 4/4/2019
UPDATED: 4/3/2019
UPDATED: 4/2/2019
UPDATED: 4/1/2019
UPDATED: 3/31/2019
UPDATED: 3/30/2019
UPDATED: 3/28/2019
UPDATED: 3/27/2019
UPDATED: 3/26/2019
UPDATED: 3/25/2019
Current Situation on Coaching Search on 4/7: Apparently most of the search committee staff is in Minneapolis this weekend for the Final Four. Just about everyone who wants to network is there, including Earl Watson. The committee is probably making the rounds and trying to speak in person to candidates that may have turned UCLA down already. The idea being that perhaps the second time is the charm with an in-person meeting. One hurdle they have to overcome is that Dan Guerrero is expected to retire in the not too distant future and every prospective coach will want to know who he will be working for. One name we are hearing that the committee met with is 44 year old Ryan Odom of UMBC. We suspect he would be the back up to the back ups as a candidate but since most of the top candidates have fallen through, UCLA is probably just doing its due diligence and keeping an open mind at this point. While Odom does not seem remotely ready for a program like UCLA, he is considered a rising star and his UMBC team beat Tony Bennett and his number one seeded Virginia in last year's tournament. There have been few leaks coming out of UCLA lately which indicates that the suspected leakers inside the athletic department did not make the trip to Minneapolis.
Current Situation on Jamie Dixon: On 4/6 the TCU athletic director posted some tweets indicating (but not explicitly stating) Dixon is staying at TCU. However, there is still no word from Dixon so UCLA and Dixon may still be a slim possibility. On 4/5, after the Ben Bolch report, a TCU student newspaper published that Dixon is staying at TCU. From the article: "TCU Chancellor Victor Boschini said Friday that none of that talk matters because he said Jamie Dixon told him face-to-face he was staying. “None of this matters because he’s staying,” TCU Chancellor Victor Boschini said. “He came over to my house last night around 6:30. I’m glad he’s coming back.”
Seems definitive, however, Dixon himself has yet to make a comment. If true, UCLA will be moving on to other targets.
On 4/5 Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times reported that Dixon is probably not a candidate anymore. On 4/3 Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times is reporting that Jamie Dixon of TCU has been offered the UCLA head coaching position and contract details are currently being worked out. One hold up is a reported $8 million buyout that both UCLA and Dixon are trying to re-negotiate with TCU. Another possible hold up is that TCU fired one of Dixon's assistant coaches on March 18 for involvement in the FBI bribery scandal. While UCLA has probably vetted the situation, they may want some "insurance" in his contract in case more violations are found, or should future issues arise.
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Now that some schools are finished with their season (with more coming soon), head coaching positions are opening up. The dominoes will be falling over the next two weeks and it should be interesting to see if that pressures UCLA to make a decision earlier rather than later. Ideally, UCLA would probably love to wait until May so they can at least make a pitch to OKC's Billy Donovan and Boston Celtics' Brad Stevens after their seasons end. That would probably only happen if they lose out on their top college candidates between now and then, which isn't likely to happen.
The good news is that UCLA is by far the most elite program of those currently in the market for a new coach. If the really big names like Bennett, Wright, Calipari, and others are open to moving to another college program, UCLA will be in the driver's seat. Their names are not being mentioned in connection to any other programs.
Current significant openings that may involve UCLA candidates:
Arkansas - On 4/7 reports surfaces that the razorbacks have hired Eric Mussleman of Nevada. Houston coach Kelvin Sampson was the lead name here because he and the Arkansas AD are old friends. However, Sampson signed a new contract with Houston. The names of all the usual second tier suspects for UCLA were also being thrown around including Mick Cronin of Cincinnati. On 4/4 it was reported that Arkansas is considering Steve Alford. On 4/5, reports surfaced that Arkansas has interviewed Eric Musselman of Nevada.
Virginia Tech - With Buzz Williams taking the Texas A&M job, VT turned to Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard, but that seems to have fallen through. On 4/7 it has been reported that VT is now expected to pivot to Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin.
Shaky Ground:
Arizona - lots of buzz surrounding Sean Miller and most of it is not good. The Arizona administration and their fans love the guy, and are looking for anyway they can to keep him. However, the FBI investigations and accusations of numerous recruiting violations are keeping him on a razor thin edge. Miller will soon have to deal with a subpoena to testify. How he handles it, and what new information comes out of the investigation may put Arizona in a position with no choice but to let him go. If that happens, look for Eric Musselman of Nevada or Luke Walton to emerge as leading candidates for the job.
LSU - with the suspension of head coach Will Wade after recruiting violations emerged, a coaching change is expected to follow. Eric Musselman is expected to be seriously considered since he was once the Associate Head Coach there. And as with almost every other opening, Mick Cronin's name is emerging as a candidate.
Texas - look for Texas to go hard after Texas Tech coach Chris Beard should Shaka Smart and Texas go their separate ways. As for Beard and UCLA, we hear UCLA loves him, but the only way they will hire him is if he is willing to sign a contract that will make it difficult for his alma mater Texas to lure him away.
Closed Coaching Changes:
Alabama – On 3/27 Alabama hired rising star Nate Oats of Buffalo. UCLA can now remove Oats from the back up list. It was originally believed that Alabama alum Steve Prohm of Iowa State would have been the front runner for the Alabama job. Perhaps Prohm prefers ISU over his alma mater, Alabama, OR perhaps Prohm believes he is a serious contender for the UCLA job and couldn't give Alabama an answer...yet. Alabama may not have wanted to wait, or to be his second choice.
UNLV - On 3/27, in a somewhat surprising move, UNLV announced T.J. Otzelberger of South Dakota State as their new coach. This should not have any effect on the UCLA search. Early rumors were all about Thad Matta, but that tapered off and they pivoted to Buffalo’s Nate Oats and VCU’s Mike Rhoades.
Cal – On 3/29, Cal hired Mark Fox, an unemployed coach that stumbled his way through the SEC for nine years. He is an upgrade to the recently fired Wyking Jones but certainly not a home run hire. The early front runners were expected to be St. Mary’s coach Randy Bennett, and UCI’s Russell Turner. Both would be considered second or third tier choices for UCLA. Bennett was interviewed the last time Cal’s job opened up so it was thought he would have a slight advantage. As for Turner, in his recent tournament game against Oregon, he repeatedly referred to Oregon player Louis King as “Queen.” It has received some negative publicity and that probably raised some eyebrows at a school like Cal in 2019. There was some buzz about Jason Kidd but since he had been lobbying for the Lakers job (even after the Cal job opened up) it wasn't likely to happen. Kidd is not a candidate for UCLA. Call used a search firm for the opening, and the quick hire of Fox indicates that they did not spend much time building a list and going through it as UCLA is doing.
Nebraska - On 3/29, former Iowa State and Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg was announced as Nebraska's new head basketball coach. This indicates that he was likely far down UCLA's list. Either he was pulled from the list or UCLA had so many candidates ahead of him that he didn't want to wait and lose other opportunities. This is an interesting outcome, since many thought that with all of Hoiberg's UCLA connections (and they were substantial) he would have been a front runner from the beginning.
Texas A&M - on 4/3 it was announced that Texas A&M and Buzz Williams of Virginia Tech have reached an agreement for his hiring.
Vanderbilt - On 4/5 Vanderbilt hired former North Carolina player Jerry Stackhouse as its new coach. They used the Korn Ferry executive search firm to help with the search. It was thought they would make a run after Steven Wojciechowski of Marquette and possibly Providence coach Ed Cooley.
Other Notes:
Mick Cronin - on 4/1 the Los Angeles Times reported that Cronin is one of two finalists for the UCLA job (along with Jamie Dixon), and has already interviewed. It has reportedly been told that the University of Cincinnati will not get into a bidding war for him. They are not giving him a pay increase or a contract extension. That makes sense if Cincinnati knows it cannot win a bidding war with UCLA. Being upfront that they will not be leveraged or even try to outbid a school like UCLA makes sense under those circumstances. Cronin must have one of the best agents in the business since he seems to be a candidate for every job opening out there. He is a Cincinnati native and his entire family still lives there but since he has interviewed for the UCLA job knowing Cincinnati will not try to match it, it seems clear he wants the job. Since he lost in the Tournament, news about him has been eerily quiet. I guess we now know why.
Something to consider is that Alford was considered difficult to work with, and the athletic department administration may be prioritizing a coach that they will find easy to work with. Cronin fits that criteria, which may explain why he is now rising as a candidate.
Shaka Smart - on 4/1 the Los Angeles Times reported that Smart is one of three backup finalists for the job, behind the two front runners Mick Cronin, Jamie Dixon. UCLA loved Smart during the last coaching search. Reportedly, he was approached and turned UCLA down at the time. Rumors are that the same people at UCLA who liked Smart last time, still like him...a lot. If this last season had been better and showed his potential, UCLA might have been all over him earlier on. Unfortunately, he and his "Havoc Defense" have lost a lot of luster lately. However, it appears he is still a finalist candidate for UCLA.
In an interesting match up, Smart and his Long Horns played and beat another UCLA finalist candidate Jamie Dixon of TCU in the NIT this past Tuesday 4/2.
Earl Watson - on 4/1 the Los Angeles Times reported that Watson is one of three backup finalists for the job, behind the two front runners Mick Cronin, Jamie Dixon. This makes sense since multiple sources say that Watson has been interviewing with UCLA. There have already been at least two interviews. After the first one, UCLA indicated that they were uncomfortable with his lack of college coaching experience. So in the second one, he proposed having hall of fame legend and former UCLA head coach Larry Brown as an associate head coach. It is believe that Brown attended that second meeting.
Jaime Dixon -on 4/1 the Los Angeles Times reported that Dixon is one of two finalists for the UCLA job (along with Mick Cronin), and has already interviewed. Interestingly, Dixon just two days ago hired Alford assistant Duane Broussard as an assistant coach for TCU. It does not seem likely that he would be hiring an assistant coach if he would soon be leaving, and neither would Broussard take the job under those circumstances. Maybe there is more to the story. We can't find any past connection between Broussard and Dixon, so perhaps Dixon thought having a current UCLA assistant on board would improve his chances. A big stumbling block with Dixon is that his current contract has an $8 million buyout should he leave. Considering that, Cronin probably has the inside track.
Randy Bennett - on 4/1 the Los Angeles Times reported that Bennett is one of three backup finalists for the job, behind the two front runners Mick Cronin, Jamie Dixon.
Billy Donovan may not be the huge long shot everyone has imagined. Currently flirting between 7th and 8th place in the NBA Western Conference, OKC may end up playing the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the NBA playoffs, likely leading to a quick exit.
Timing has always been the big issue for UCLA with NBA coaches since their playoff season is extended so long after the college season. UCLA can't wait forever. However, it is looking now like Donovan's season may be over in late April. OKC picked up his fifth year contract option in December, but since then the team has dropped from third place in the Western Conference to eighth, making his job a little less secure than four months ago.
UCLA is still likely to swing for the fences with top current college coaches like Tony Bennett, John Calipari, and Jay Wright, but should they miss, they may be open to waiting for Donovan with the thought that they can always swing back around to their second and third tier guys in May.
Recruiting may take a hit since the late signing period is from April 17 to May 15. Then again it may not since the roster is fairly full already and only Kris Wilkes is leaving as of now.
As for Donovan, there are rumors that he actually prefers college coaching. Unlike most coaches, he enjoys the competitive nature of recruiting. He has had great success in the college ranks, and may prefer (or finds he is better at) coaching up young eager players as opposed to managing the egos and head cases in the NBA. As for UCLA, just as with Chip Kelly, they would likely pay Donovan a very competitive salary and turn the program over to him with a green light to run it as he wants. It could be very appealing to him. Timing is everything.
Thad Matta - Seth Davis is reporting that the former Ohio State coach is no longer a consideration for UCLA. Speculation is that his health is still an issue.
John Calipari - on 4/1, Calipari confirmed on his radio show that he has accepted a lifetime contract with Kentucky. Recently numerous reports have popped up that UCLA and Calipari were deep in contract talks and that UCLA made a 6 year, $48 million offer. Kentucky, in an effort to keep him, quickly offered a lifetime contract. I am a little suspicious of those UCLA numbers, and suspect it would have been very difficult for UCLA to get it done internally. Even though UCLA can afford a contract like that, they would need to have a number of important people to sign off on it. Considering the importance UCLA places on "optics," and that Calipari's salary would be publicly available to the media, it is hard to believe the Athletic Department could get all the approvals necessary for a UCLA coach to be paid $8 million a year.
Kelvin Sampson may end up staying at Houston and not be part of the coach carousel. Even though he is being mentioned for several openings (and might even be on the UCLA list, but far down it), one of the Houston regents stated that if Sampson leaves Houston, it won't be because of money. Sounds like they are willing to get into a bidding war to keep him and that in itself, may scare off other schools. UPDATE: on 4/4 Sampson and Houston have reached a new contract agreement. UCLA and Sampson are no longer interested in each other.
Steve Prohm, on Monday, 3/26, signed a three year extension on his contract at Iowa State which will make it a little more difficult (but not impossible) for another school to poach him. Apparently, Prohm is no longer a candidate for UCLA.
UPDATED: 4/6/2019
UPDATED: 4/5/2019
UPDATED: 4/4/2019
UPDATED: 4/3/2019
UPDATED: 4/2/2019
UPDATED: 4/1/2019
UPDATED: 3/31/2019
UPDATED: 3/30/2019
UPDATED: 3/28/2019
UPDATED: 3/27/2019
UPDATED: 3/26/2019
UPDATED: 3/25/2019
Current Situation on Coaching Search on 4/7: Apparently most of the search committee staff is in Minneapolis this weekend for the Final Four. Just about everyone who wants to network is there, including Earl Watson. The committee is probably making the rounds and trying to speak in person to candidates that may have turned UCLA down already. The idea being that perhaps the second time is the charm with an in-person meeting. One hurdle they have to overcome is that Dan Guerrero is expected to retire in the not too distant future and every prospective coach will want to know who he will be working for. One name we are hearing that the committee met with is 44 year old Ryan Odom of UMBC. We suspect he would be the back up to the back ups as a candidate but since most of the top candidates have fallen through, UCLA is probably just doing its due diligence and keeping an open mind at this point. While Odom does not seem remotely ready for a program like UCLA, he is considered a rising star and his UMBC team beat Tony Bennett and his number one seeded Virginia in last year's tournament. There have been few leaks coming out of UCLA lately which indicates that the suspected leakers inside the athletic department did not make the trip to Minneapolis.
Current Situation on Jamie Dixon: On 4/6 the TCU athletic director posted some tweets indicating (but not explicitly stating) Dixon is staying at TCU. However, there is still no word from Dixon so UCLA and Dixon may still be a slim possibility. On 4/5, after the Ben Bolch report, a TCU student newspaper published that Dixon is staying at TCU. From the article: "TCU Chancellor Victor Boschini said Friday that none of that talk matters because he said Jamie Dixon told him face-to-face he was staying. “None of this matters because he’s staying,” TCU Chancellor Victor Boschini said. “He came over to my house last night around 6:30. I’m glad he’s coming back.”
Seems definitive, however, Dixon himself has yet to make a comment. If true, UCLA will be moving on to other targets.
On 4/5 Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times reported that Dixon is probably not a candidate anymore. On 4/3 Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times is reporting that Jamie Dixon of TCU has been offered the UCLA head coaching position and contract details are currently being worked out. One hold up is a reported $8 million buyout that both UCLA and Dixon are trying to re-negotiate with TCU. Another possible hold up is that TCU fired one of Dixon's assistant coaches on March 18 for involvement in the FBI bribery scandal. While UCLA has probably vetted the situation, they may want some "insurance" in his contract in case more violations are found, or should future issues arise.
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Now that some schools are finished with their season (with more coming soon), head coaching positions are opening up. The dominoes will be falling over the next two weeks and it should be interesting to see if that pressures UCLA to make a decision earlier rather than later. Ideally, UCLA would probably love to wait until May so they can at least make a pitch to OKC's Billy Donovan and Boston Celtics' Brad Stevens after their seasons end. That would probably only happen if they lose out on their top college candidates between now and then, which isn't likely to happen.
The good news is that UCLA is by far the most elite program of those currently in the market for a new coach. If the really big names like Bennett, Wright, Calipari, and others are open to moving to another college program, UCLA will be in the driver's seat. Their names are not being mentioned in connection to any other programs.
Current significant openings that may involve UCLA candidates:
Arkansas - On 4/7 reports surfaces that the razorbacks have hired Eric Mussleman of Nevada. Houston coach Kelvin Sampson was the lead name here because he and the Arkansas AD are old friends. However, Sampson signed a new contract with Houston. The names of all the usual second tier suspects for UCLA were also being thrown around including Mick Cronin of Cincinnati. On 4/4 it was reported that Arkansas is considering Steve Alford. On 4/5, reports surfaced that Arkansas has interviewed Eric Musselman of Nevada.
Virginia Tech - With Buzz Williams taking the Texas A&M job, VT turned to Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard, but that seems to have fallen through. On 4/7 it has been reported that VT is now expected to pivot to Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin.
Shaky Ground:
Arizona - lots of buzz surrounding Sean Miller and most of it is not good. The Arizona administration and their fans love the guy, and are looking for anyway they can to keep him. However, the FBI investigations and accusations of numerous recruiting violations are keeping him on a razor thin edge. Miller will soon have to deal with a subpoena to testify. How he handles it, and what new information comes out of the investigation may put Arizona in a position with no choice but to let him go. If that happens, look for Eric Musselman of Nevada or Luke Walton to emerge as leading candidates for the job.
LSU - with the suspension of head coach Will Wade after recruiting violations emerged, a coaching change is expected to follow. Eric Musselman is expected to be seriously considered since he was once the Associate Head Coach there. And as with almost every other opening, Mick Cronin's name is emerging as a candidate.
Texas - look for Texas to go hard after Texas Tech coach Chris Beard should Shaka Smart and Texas go their separate ways. As for Beard and UCLA, we hear UCLA loves him, but the only way they will hire him is if he is willing to sign a contract that will make it difficult for his alma mater Texas to lure him away.
Closed Coaching Changes:
Alabama – On 3/27 Alabama hired rising star Nate Oats of Buffalo. UCLA can now remove Oats from the back up list. It was originally believed that Alabama alum Steve Prohm of Iowa State would have been the front runner for the Alabama job. Perhaps Prohm prefers ISU over his alma mater, Alabama, OR perhaps Prohm believes he is a serious contender for the UCLA job and couldn't give Alabama an answer...yet. Alabama may not have wanted to wait, or to be his second choice.
UNLV - On 3/27, in a somewhat surprising move, UNLV announced T.J. Otzelberger of South Dakota State as their new coach. This should not have any effect on the UCLA search. Early rumors were all about Thad Matta, but that tapered off and they pivoted to Buffalo’s Nate Oats and VCU’s Mike Rhoades.
Cal – On 3/29, Cal hired Mark Fox, an unemployed coach that stumbled his way through the SEC for nine years. He is an upgrade to the recently fired Wyking Jones but certainly not a home run hire. The early front runners were expected to be St. Mary’s coach Randy Bennett, and UCI’s Russell Turner. Both would be considered second or third tier choices for UCLA. Bennett was interviewed the last time Cal’s job opened up so it was thought he would have a slight advantage. As for Turner, in his recent tournament game against Oregon, he repeatedly referred to Oregon player Louis King as “Queen.” It has received some negative publicity and that probably raised some eyebrows at a school like Cal in 2019. There was some buzz about Jason Kidd but since he had been lobbying for the Lakers job (even after the Cal job opened up) it wasn't likely to happen. Kidd is not a candidate for UCLA. Call used a search firm for the opening, and the quick hire of Fox indicates that they did not spend much time building a list and going through it as UCLA is doing.
Nebraska - On 3/29, former Iowa State and Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg was announced as Nebraska's new head basketball coach. This indicates that he was likely far down UCLA's list. Either he was pulled from the list or UCLA had so many candidates ahead of him that he didn't want to wait and lose other opportunities. This is an interesting outcome, since many thought that with all of Hoiberg's UCLA connections (and they were substantial) he would have been a front runner from the beginning.
Texas A&M - on 4/3 it was announced that Texas A&M and Buzz Williams of Virginia Tech have reached an agreement for his hiring.
Vanderbilt - On 4/5 Vanderbilt hired former North Carolina player Jerry Stackhouse as its new coach. They used the Korn Ferry executive search firm to help with the search. It was thought they would make a run after Steven Wojciechowski of Marquette and possibly Providence coach Ed Cooley.
Other Notes:
Mick Cronin - on 4/1 the Los Angeles Times reported that Cronin is one of two finalists for the UCLA job (along with Jamie Dixon), and has already interviewed. It has reportedly been told that the University of Cincinnati will not get into a bidding war for him. They are not giving him a pay increase or a contract extension. That makes sense if Cincinnati knows it cannot win a bidding war with UCLA. Being upfront that they will not be leveraged or even try to outbid a school like UCLA makes sense under those circumstances. Cronin must have one of the best agents in the business since he seems to be a candidate for every job opening out there. He is a Cincinnati native and his entire family still lives there but since he has interviewed for the UCLA job knowing Cincinnati will not try to match it, it seems clear he wants the job. Since he lost in the Tournament, news about him has been eerily quiet. I guess we now know why.
Something to consider is that Alford was considered difficult to work with, and the athletic department administration may be prioritizing a coach that they will find easy to work with. Cronin fits that criteria, which may explain why he is now rising as a candidate.
Shaka Smart - on 4/1 the Los Angeles Times reported that Smart is one of three backup finalists for the job, behind the two front runners Mick Cronin, Jamie Dixon. UCLA loved Smart during the last coaching search. Reportedly, he was approached and turned UCLA down at the time. Rumors are that the same people at UCLA who liked Smart last time, still like him...a lot. If this last season had been better and showed his potential, UCLA might have been all over him earlier on. Unfortunately, he and his "Havoc Defense" have lost a lot of luster lately. However, it appears he is still a finalist candidate for UCLA.
In an interesting match up, Smart and his Long Horns played and beat another UCLA finalist candidate Jamie Dixon of TCU in the NIT this past Tuesday 4/2.
Earl Watson - on 4/1 the Los Angeles Times reported that Watson is one of three backup finalists for the job, behind the two front runners Mick Cronin, Jamie Dixon. This makes sense since multiple sources say that Watson has been interviewing with UCLA. There have already been at least two interviews. After the first one, UCLA indicated that they were uncomfortable with his lack of college coaching experience. So in the second one, he proposed having hall of fame legend and former UCLA head coach Larry Brown as an associate head coach. It is believe that Brown attended that second meeting.
Jaime Dixon -on 4/1 the Los Angeles Times reported that Dixon is one of two finalists for the UCLA job (along with Mick Cronin), and has already interviewed. Interestingly, Dixon just two days ago hired Alford assistant Duane Broussard as an assistant coach for TCU. It does not seem likely that he would be hiring an assistant coach if he would soon be leaving, and neither would Broussard take the job under those circumstances. Maybe there is more to the story. We can't find any past connection between Broussard and Dixon, so perhaps Dixon thought having a current UCLA assistant on board would improve his chances. A big stumbling block with Dixon is that his current contract has an $8 million buyout should he leave. Considering that, Cronin probably has the inside track.
Randy Bennett - on 4/1 the Los Angeles Times reported that Bennett is one of three backup finalists for the job, behind the two front runners Mick Cronin, Jamie Dixon.
Billy Donovan may not be the huge long shot everyone has imagined. Currently flirting between 7th and 8th place in the NBA Western Conference, OKC may end up playing the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the NBA playoffs, likely leading to a quick exit.
Timing has always been the big issue for UCLA with NBA coaches since their playoff season is extended so long after the college season. UCLA can't wait forever. However, it is looking now like Donovan's season may be over in late April. OKC picked up his fifth year contract option in December, but since then the team has dropped from third place in the Western Conference to eighth, making his job a little less secure than four months ago.
UCLA is still likely to swing for the fences with top current college coaches like Tony Bennett, John Calipari, and Jay Wright, but should they miss, they may be open to waiting for Donovan with the thought that they can always swing back around to their second and third tier guys in May.
Recruiting may take a hit since the late signing period is from April 17 to May 15. Then again it may not since the roster is fairly full already and only Kris Wilkes is leaving as of now.
As for Donovan, there are rumors that he actually prefers college coaching. Unlike most coaches, he enjoys the competitive nature of recruiting. He has had great success in the college ranks, and may prefer (or finds he is better at) coaching up young eager players as opposed to managing the egos and head cases in the NBA. As for UCLA, just as with Chip Kelly, they would likely pay Donovan a very competitive salary and turn the program over to him with a green light to run it as he wants. It could be very appealing to him. Timing is everything.
Thad Matta - Seth Davis is reporting that the former Ohio State coach is no longer a consideration for UCLA. Speculation is that his health is still an issue.
John Calipari - on 4/1, Calipari confirmed on his radio show that he has accepted a lifetime contract with Kentucky. Recently numerous reports have popped up that UCLA and Calipari were deep in contract talks and that UCLA made a 6 year, $48 million offer. Kentucky, in an effort to keep him, quickly offered a lifetime contract. I am a little suspicious of those UCLA numbers, and suspect it would have been very difficult for UCLA to get it done internally. Even though UCLA can afford a contract like that, they would need to have a number of important people to sign off on it. Considering the importance UCLA places on "optics," and that Calipari's salary would be publicly available to the media, it is hard to believe the Athletic Department could get all the approvals necessary for a UCLA coach to be paid $8 million a year.
Kelvin Sampson may end up staying at Houston and not be part of the coach carousel. Even though he is being mentioned for several openings (and might even be on the UCLA list, but far down it), one of the Houston regents stated that if Sampson leaves Houston, it won't be because of money. Sounds like they are willing to get into a bidding war to keep him and that in itself, may scare off other schools. UPDATE: on 4/4 Sampson and Houston have reached a new contract agreement. UCLA and Sampson are no longer interested in each other.
Steve Prohm, on Monday, 3/26, signed a three year extension on his contract at Iowa State which will make it a little more difficult (but not impossible) for another school to poach him. Apparently, Prohm is no longer a candidate for UCLA.
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