NCAA Shakes Out Coach Searches: Wait Couple of Weeks for Moves

No coach in March Madness leaves until after his team has been completely eliminated

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas Razorback basketball fans are locked in an agonizing wait to find out if head coach Eric Musselman has a decision to make regarding his job. That means waiting at least until the NCAA Tournament to play out anyway before any level of comfort can settle in.

Basketball fans probably have a football coaching legend to thank for that. When Michigan coach Bill Frieder told athletics director (and former football coach) Bo Schembechler he was taking the job at Arizona State once the Wolverines' tournament run was over, he didn't get a chance to wait.

"I don't want someone from Arizona State coaching the Michigan team," the blunt hard-nosed coach told Frieder. "A Michigan man is going to coach Michigan." 

The Big Ten is full of crusty coaches making infamous statements that people use to justify bad decisions later on at other schools. Assistant coach Steve Fisher took the reins and promptly led Mighigan to its only national championship in school history. That goes back to 1909, so it's not for lack of chances. 

It also made coaches reluctant to leave where they are until they are knocked out of March Madness. Musselman has been available for over a week and Louisville has done nothing. That's because Baylor's Scott Drew is viewed as the top target, which requires waiting until the No. 3 seeded Bears complete their season.

Remember, he wasn't named the coach for the Hogs until April 7 in 2019. The only people who know for sure if something's going on behind the scenes aren't talking and, as usual, the only ones doing the talking don't know for sure.

Michigan also has an opening along with a couple of other places, but there have been no announcements. If the primary target isn't coaching in the NCAA Tournament, then there's no reason to hold off on pulling the trigger. After all, the transfer portal is already open, so there's recruiting to be done.

Once you look at it with a little logic, Musselman may be doing what he has to do. That's primarily rebuild this roster. He'll have plenty of spots and they all won't be filled until probably summer.

If nothing else, this whole transfer portal combined with name, image and likeness has made basketball even crazier. It's becoming a complete overhaul of the entire roster and usually, with Musselman, some assistant coaches coming and going too. After the disappointments of the past season, that wouldn't be particularly surprising.

Now everybody has to just wait. Razorback fans haven't been in a position of having a basketball coach leave for another gig in a long time. That hasn't happened since Eddie Sutton crawled off to Kentucky in the spring of 1985. The rest were fired.

Despite what armchair experts thing, Musselman hasn't done anything to merit being fired that we know about. There have probably been things he's been at odds with the bosses about, but nothing out of the usual disagreements.

Every coach has that now and then, even the legends. Just relax and enjoy the baseball season. Right now, it's the last hope fans have for any success.

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