With roughly two months left in the college basketball season, the offseason coaching market is beginning to take shape. This offseason could feature some major names on the move, so, today, Rivals.com's Rob Cassidy explores five major names that could find themselves in the job market in the near future.
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THREE THAT COULD BE PUSHED OUT
KENNY PAYNE, Louisville
Payne has already eclipsed last year’s four-win mark and has a couple of notable wins (over Miami and Florida State) on the resume. Still, the Cardinals are nowhere near the NCAA tournament conversation and boast a 7-15 record. That kind of marginal improvement is unlikely to be enough to save him from cleaning out his office following the season.
In addition to the on-court disaster, it has become difficult for the Cardinals to attract national-level recruits from both the high school and the transfer portal ranks.
With each passing week it becomes harder to see a way forward for the program under Payne as things continue to snowball.
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JUWAN HOWARD, Michigan
The most surprising name on this year’s hot seat list, Howard is less than three full years removed from the Elite Eight and signing the country’s No. 1 recruiting class. The Wolverines’ 7-15 record is one thing, but the clunky nature of the season has certainly added fuel to the fire. There have been controversies and mild embarrassments sprinkled all over the last two years and things seem to be headed toward a messy ending between the former Michigan star and his alma mater.
A good case could be made that Howard should be granted one more season in the big chair based on his high-level success coming out of the pandemic, but cries for a change will get louder as the losses continue to pile up. A 2-9 start to Big Ten play has started to sound alarm bells.
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JEROD HAASE, Stanford
This season felt like the final opportunity for Haase to save his job, as the Cardinal have not reached the NCAA tournament in any of his previous seven seasons as the program’s head coach. An eighth-straight miss would likely be the death blow to his tenure, especially when you consider that Haase entered the season with some level of expectations due to a talented roster.
These days, the Cardinal are nowhere near the NCAA bubble and boast a sub-.500 record. Barring a drastic turnaround, it feels as though Stanford will be in the market for a head coach come March.
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TWO THAT MAY LEAVE ON THEIR OWN TERMS
WILL WADE, McNeese State
Wade was fired from LSU in 2022 after a second round of NCAA rules violations that stemmed from player compensation, allegations that seem even more trivial under today’s NIL lens than they did at the time. These days, the former Tigers head coach is back to winning at a high clip and has his McNeese State squad 18-2 and looking very much like the favorite to win the Southland Conference.
Not only is Wade a proven winner at the highest level of college basketball, he’s also known as one of the game’s best recruiters. Nothing is done until it’s done, obviously, but it certainly feels like it’s going to take a Herculean effort for the Cowboys to retain Wade if the right high-major job comes calling.
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JEROME TANG, Kansas State
Tang’s name isn’t quite as hot as it was a few months back, as the Wildcats’ hot-and-cold season has removed some of the shine that radiated from his name following last year’s Elite Eight run. Still, the charismatic Wildcat head coach will be a tantalizing option for a number of programs this offseason.
Add in the fact that there has been some level of rumored friction between Tang and the K-State administration stemming from the early-season dismissal of Nae'Qwan Tomlin, who now plays for Memphis, and the second-year head coach is definitely worth listing here. Tang may ultimately decide to remain in Manhattan, but if he wants to take on a new challenge he’ll have that option.
