With Rodney Terry out, the Texas Longhorns are once again in the middle of a search for their men's basketball head coach. While there are a few options that could provide viable options for Terry's replacement, there is also a handful of candidates that the Horns should avoid.
From Rick Barnes to Shaka Smart to Chris Beard, the Longhorns ran through head coaches before settling with Terry in 2023. While Barnes happily relocated to Knoxville with the Tennessee Volunteers, Texas blew through Smart, who is now leading the Marquette Golden Eagles to repeated NCAA Tournaments.
The departure from Beard was due to extenuating circumstances and the Horns should steer clear of him like the plague.
So, Barnes and Smart most likely don't want to return and Texas needs to stay away from Beard, meaning the Longhorns can't bring back a former head coach from the last few decades.
After a decade and a half with the Iowa Hawkeyes, head coach Fran McCaffery is no longer with the program. After a 17-16 overall record and a 7-13 finish in Big Ten play, the Hawkeyes were eager to move in a different direction, and the Longhorns should take notes.
McCaffery had a 40-year head coaching career and as the world of college athletics continues to evolve, teams like Texas shouldn't be looking to people from the past to move their program forward.
Yes, McCaffery has the experience to lead a program like the Longhorns but he simply isn't flashy enough, winning enough, or in-touch enough to take the reigns at Texas.
Sure, Mike Cronin has led the UCLA Bruins on yet another incredible season for the program. However, he has gone viral at multiple points this year for throwing a temper tantrum of sorts during press conferences.
From calling his players soft to complaining about officials, Cronin's temperament is a far cry from what the University of Texas athletics department expects from its program's representatives.
For recruiting purposes and player retention, the Longhorns are going to want to hire Terry's replacement sooner rather than later but, athletic director Chris Del Conte will need to pick that replacement carefully.