As the carousel turns ...
What Shaka did right, what Indiana did wrong, and why Chris Beard is the centerpiece of it all.
“Go before they make you leave.”
In the college coaching business, that just about the best advice that anyone can give you. When you’re worried about whether or not you’re on the hot seat, when the murmurs about your job status have started, most times it’s better to get out before they kick you out, and that’s exactly what Shaka Smart did on Friday.
Shaka accepted the head coaching position at Marquette, a job that opened when the program opted to part ways with Steve Wojciechowski last week. Shaka had spent six seasons as the head coach of the Longhorns. He reached the NCAA tournament three times, and it could have been four if last year’s postseason hadn’t been cancelled. He’s coming off of his best season with the program, one where he finished 19-8 overall, third in the Big 12 standings and won the Big 12 tournament title. They earned a No. 3-seed in the NCAA tournament, where the pressure on Smart promptly ratcheted up after he lost in the first round to in-state minnow Abilene Christian.
I do not believe that Shaka was in danger of losing his job — after all, his buyout is still more than $7 million. I do, however, believe that he would have entered next season as the guy that every one pegged as the coach with the hottest seat in America. You never really get off the hot seat if you’re a head coach, and losing to a No. 14-seed combined with what would seem to be an inevitable rebuilding year1 is not a good combination of things.
Which is why jumping ship and taking Marquette was smart for his career, long-term. Look, Marquette is a good job. He’s the best-financed program in one of the top six leagues. There’s enough talent in the state and in neighboring cities — Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit — to provide a solid recruiting base. There’s a passionate and dedicated fan base that is itching for some new blood and some excitement. He could get it coming off of the season that he had in 2021. I’m not sure he could have gotten something similar in a year.
So good for him. I like Shaka. He’s always been nice to me, and I hope the move works out for him.
But the most interesting part of Shaka’s move may end up being who Texas tabs as his replacement.
Specifically, is this the job that could pry Chris Beard out of the grip of Texas Tech?
Beard was a manager for Texas back in the Tom Penders era. He has a degree from Texas. He’s the obvious guy for the Longhorns to target, and he is likely going to find himself with a decision to make: Does he want to stay at Texas Tech, where he is one De’Andre Hunter three away from having a national title to his name and where he can live and work closer to his family, or or does he want to take Texas, an in-state and Big 12 rival that he has told people is his dream job?
I really think the Texas search is as simple as that.
Does Chris Beard want the job?
Yes?
Then cut the check. If he says no, then you figure it out from there.
But they have a plan.
Same as Marquette. They fired Wojo exactly one week ago. The Shaka-to-Marquette rumors started relatively quickly. They reached a crescendo in the last week, as did links to Porter Moser, and seven days later, the program has new leadership.
Contrast that to Indiana. They fired Archie Miller last Monday, four days before Indiana fired Wojo. Today, instead of announcing a new head coach, reports surfaced that the Hoosiers had reached out to Chris Holtmann about leaving Ohio State for Bloomington. He said no, just like Brad Stevens said no.
And now it appears another potential home-run hire, Chris Beard, may end up elsewhere. Will Bloomington survive if they have to wait until Scott Drew’s tournament run ends to bring in a replacement? What happens if Drew says no? Will someone like Porter Moser be enough to satisfy a fanbase as rabid as Indiana? Will they back a head coach that comes from an awfully similar situation to the guy they just fired?
Now look, I’m not criticizing Indiana fans here.
You should be passionate about the program you support. You should expect excellence. Firing Archie after just four seasons is rough, but I’m not opposed to ripping off the bandaid if and when it becomes clear the wrong hire was made.
The issue, for me, is making the decision to fire Archie without having any kind of succession plan in place. You know what your fanbase is like. You know how much the fanbase wanted Archie out. You know they are going to be foaming at the mouth to get any morsel of info that they can on that replacement. They created a firestorm of their own doing.
Now, that doesn’t mean that it can’t end well. We went through this with UCLA, as they swung and missed at a number of high-profile coaches before landing Mick Cronin, who has had a pretty good two-year run with the Bruins. Oregon went 37 days between firing Ernie Kent and hiring Dana Altman, and that’s turned out well, too.
Indiana is still Indiana.
They can still get this right.
But entering into this process without a plan?
That was the wrong decision.
Texas seems likely to lose Kai Jones and Greg Brown to the NBA Draft, while it seems fairly unlikely that Matt Coleman and Jericho Sims would return for another senior season. Those are their four-best players.