It’s
really a bit too soon to talk about hot seats and coaching carousel stuff, but we’re up to the task. And there are definitely some coaches around the ACC and country who have warm behinds. So let’s take a look, ACC first, and who might be good replacements.
- Boston College – The basic idea behind hiring Earl Grant was that his teams play hard and might overcome a talent gap through effort. First part is true, but the second? Not so much. Our pick for replacement – UConn assistant Kimani Young. He’s ready, but he’s probably in line for a bigger job.
- Damon Stoudamire – he’s had some interesting moments in Atlanta, but losing Naithan George was a crippling blow and Baye Ndongo has been wildly inconsistent. Our pick for replacement – Shaka Smart. He’s hitting a bit of a rough patch at Marquette, but is still well regarded. He’d be in a great recruiting area too.
- Jeff Capel – we hate to put him here, but his career record at Pitt is 119-112 and he’s only made the tournament once. He also has a new AD who may be more impatient than his predecessor. Our pick for replacement: Archie Miller. He’s from Western PA and understands the area perfectly. And while he flamed out at Indiana, he was very good at Dayton and has Rhode Island trending in the right direction. He’d be a great fit for Pitt.
- Mark Pope – BBN isn’t having it. Pope is a brilliant coach but he misread his roster this year and even though he’s one of their own, they’ll take him out because a bad year is unacceptable in Lexington. Our pick for replacement – Todd Golden. Second choice: Ole Miss’s Chris Beard.
- Hubert Davis – UNC is doing well at the moment and Caleb Wilson is a star and the roster is solid. Our theory about Hubert though is that he has bad people skills and that will catch up to him. Our pick for replacement: Danny Hurley. It’ll be a stretch to persuade Andrea Hurley to leave the Northeast, but Danny appears to have some issues to work out when it comes to Duke and if it were us, we’d pitch him on that. Plus it’d be funny after years of UNC clutching their collective pearls about Coach K’s language to see Hurley cursing up a storm in Chapel Hill. And the thought of Hurley and Will Wade going at it brings back a great 70’s vibe for the Triangle. Realistically though? Vanderbilt’s Mark Byington looks like a great fit. Long shot – Chris Beard. He’s rehabbed at Ole Miss and wants back in the big time. Whatever happens this year is a blip because the guy can coach. UNC fans will find ways to deal with his, uh, issues because in the end, his teams win.
- Steven Pearl – He’ll probably get another year, but he certainly doesn’t look like a chip off the old block. Our pick for replacement – UConn assistant Kimani Young. We toyed with his UConn colleague Luke Murray here and at BC, but neither job seems like a great fit.
