Texas Basketball: John Beilein emerging as potential HC candidate?

Maybe a solid initial candidate if there were to be an opening for the Texas basketball head coaching job would be the Cavaliers’ John Beilein.

If the Texas basketball program was to find a way to replace head coach Shaka Smart if things continue to get worse on the Forty Acres, who could that come with? One name that is rising right now for the Texas job if it were to open is the former Michigan Wolverines head coach currently with the Cleveland Cavaliers John Beilein.

According to a report from The Athletic, Beilein is not expected to stay with the Cavaliers beyond this season and stepping down at the All-Star Break was a real consideration for him.

According to a piece written up by Jeff Borzello of ESPN, one of the potential landing spots for Beilein if he were to step down from his NBA head coaching job with the Cavaliers is the Texas Longhorns basketball program. The other potential college basketball landing spots that Borzello mentioned in his piece for Beilein were the Boston College Eagles and DePaul Blue Demons.

Borzello also wrote up that he didn’t think that Beilein would take a mid-major head coaching job if this situation were to present itself.

Here’s what else Borzello had to say about the possibility of Beilein landing with the Longhorns, among a number of other options if Beilein were to step down from the Cavaliers.

"This will likely be the primary job that comes up in speculation about Beilein’s future. Texas coach Shaka Smart’s job status is the biggest question entering the coaching carousel, as the Longhorns are likely to end his fifth year in charge with just two NCAA tournament appearances and zero NCAA tournament wins. A 29-point loss over the weekend to an 11-14 Iowa State team without its best player was Texas’ fourth defeat in a row and dropped the Longhorns to 14-11 overall and 4-8 in the Big 12.Smart is still owed a lot of money and does have talent on the roster, but should he get fired or leave for a different job, Beilein would be a logical candidate in Austin. Texas has not had an issue getting players, but it hasn’t translated into success on the court. If the Longhorns can bring Beilein talent, he will likely figure out the second part of the equation. It’s worth noting that Texas assistant coach Luke Yaklich was an assistant under Beilein for two seasons before Beilein left for the NBA."

Texas holds a record of 14-11 (4-8 Big 12) at this point of the regular season. Smart isn’t viewed in a positive light at the moment after his team fell short against the Iowa State Cyclones over the weekend by a dreadful final score of 81-52.

Meanwhile, Beilein holds a record of 14-40 with this young Cavaliers team at the All-Star Break. The Cavaliers are a rebuilding team in the NBA right now, and Beilein was likely brought in to help that transition along for at least one more year.