Arkansas Coaching Search List 1.0

Chances are Yurachek already has his guy, but here are coaches who either are or should be under consideration

San Diego State Aztecs head coach Brian Dutcher gestures to his players against UC Irvine. / Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – So with Eric Musselman headed to the West Coast, it's time to look at a list of coaches Arkansas is rumored to consider and some the Razorbacks may want to kick the tires on before making a final decision.

BRIAN DUTCHER, San Diego St.

San Diego State Aztecs head coach Brian Dutcher reacts after a foul. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Dutcher's style of basketball will play well at Arkansas and he knows how to build a winner.
Arkansas fans might remember the year Musselman was throwing an L up on his forehead at San Diego State fans, Dutcher had the Aztecs in the national championship game.

His contract reportedly maxes out at $2.7 million in 2028. Arkansas can easily match that and can use the $1 million it will be owed from USC and the difference from Musselman's yearly salary of roughly $4.2 million to help cover the $10 million buyout.

GREG MCDERMOTT, Creighton

Creighton Bluejays head coach Greg McDermott talks to a referee about a call he disagrees with. / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

In 14 seasons at Creighton, McDermott has only had one losing season. All of his other seasons featured at least 20 wins, including five 24+ win seasons and four straight seasons of at least one NCAA Tournament win. Three of the past four years have included two Sweet 16 runs and an Elite 8.

The one drawback is it may be too little too late on McDermott. He reportedly signed a new contract with the Bluejays that puts him among the Top 20 highest paid coaches in America a few weeks ago.

BUZZ WILLIAMS, Texas A&M

Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams reacts in the first half against No. 1 seed Houston in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Arkansas fans take issue with the Aggies as a whole, but there's no doubt Williams has been a winner wherever he has gone, even bringing a basketball desert like Texas A&M to the forefront of the sport. He made Marquette a household name for a while, found a way to win games at Virginia Tech and posted 73 wins in the past three seasons in College Station.

His personality and straightforward approach to addressing issue will play well in Arkansas. He is also good at developing players over time, which will be a drastic change to Musselman's one-and-done approach across the board with players.

The issue with Williams will be cost. He reportedly made about $200,000 more than Musselman last season, which puts his at the top of this list in current salary.

ANDY KENNEDY, UAB

UAB Blazers head coach Andy Kennedy reacts during a close loss to San Diego State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. / Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Beard may be making a little noise with his second chance at coaching life in Oxford, but Andy Kennedy is the winningest coach ever at Ole Miss, and he did it without NIL. Kennedy knows the SEC inside and out as both a coach and former SEC Network announcer.

He only had one losing season, his final one down in Oxford. Kennedy knows the SEC recruiting footprint and has done surprisingly well at UAB. He's 101-37 in four seasons, has been to the NCAA Tournament twice and was the NIT runner-up. His worst season was 23 wins. He maxed out at 29 wins in 2023.

Matching money with UAB wouldn't be a problem for Arkansas and it would provide a familiar face Razorbacks fans know and appear to trust. Most of all, he would truly be appreciative of the job.

WILL WADE, McNeese State

McNeese State Cowboys head coach Will Wade during the second half of his team's NCAA Tournament game against Gonzaga. / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Absolute long shot, but he's on here because what he did isn't illegal anymore and he gets wins. Arkansas fans may not like him, but he wins games and as far as anyone knows he hasn't hit any women. He won 30 games at McNeese and took LSU to the Sweet 16.

MARK POPE, BYU

BYU Cougars head coach Mark Pope celebrates a Big 12 win with Fousseyni Faore. / Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Pope is familiar with the SEC. He won an SEC championship in both seasons he played at Kentucky. That coincides with Nolan Richardson's second run to the national championship and the following season.

He's put up 20+ wins in six of his past seven seasons dating back to his final two seasons at Utah Valley. He made former Razorback Jaxon Robinson a star while improving to 23 wins in the Cougars' first season in the Big 12 and a 10-8 conference record.

Despite his success, it appears his last extension was given back in 2020 that gets him to the end of the 2026-27 season.

Others possibly considered:

Chris Beard, Ole Miss: A lot of people want Beard at Arkansas, but he brings baggage that was too much for Texas to handle in the middle of a potential national championship run. The details of what went down are pretty undeniable. He may still end up in Fayetteville because he historically has made it clear he wants the job, but it will be tough for the athletics department to swallow the Longhorns' castaways when Texas is coming into the league. While this administration has taken a lot of risks on the PR front with its coaching hires over the past several years, none of those were head coaches.

Brad Underwood, Illinois: His name keeps popping up as someone definitely on the short list. It's hard to imagine Underwood making the move. His style of play often struggles against the SEC. It's great for the Big Ten though and he has had a ton of success there. Being in the Big Ten is almost a guaranteed ticket to the NCAA Tournament, especially with the Illini basketball program's reputation.

Jerome Tang, Kansas State: He's on the list, but doesn't seem to be moving the needle for anyone. Tang may end up with the job in the end and brings good energy. There's just not a lot of excitement for him at this time.

HOGS FEED:

• Keep up with news regarding Musselman departure, coaching search

• Musselman reportedly out at Arkansas as search begins

• Arkansas fans need to truly understand what happened in Chris Beard abuse incident before making decision on him either way

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