After nine seasons with Mark Fox at the helm, Georgia will now turn its attention to hiring a new coach.
The Bulldogs went to the NCAA Tournament only twice during Fox’s tenure, and the next coach will certainly be expected to get there more often.
But in this era of SEC basketball, that won’t be an easy task given the level of competition. That makes this an extremely important hire for everyone involved.
So, who should be on Georgia’s radar entering one of the most important hires in the program’s history?
Let’s take a look at how this coaching search could unfold.
The candidates that make sense
Tom Crean (former Indiana coach)
Crean will be a hot commodity for obvious reasons.
He led Marquette to a Final Four back in 2003, and did a much better job at Indiana than people gave him credit for. He has nine NCAA Tournament appearances in 18 seasons as a head coach, so that’s a good percentage for a school that’s trying to get there on a regular basis.
Getting Crean won’t be easy due to possible better fits at Pitt or UConn, so Georgia will have to convince him that it’s willing to make the commitment needed to rise up the SEC ladder.
Thad Matta (former Ohio State coach)
Here’s another coach that knows a little something about postseason success, as Matta guided Ohio State to the national title game in 2007, and then to another Final Four in 2012.
He’s right there with Crean in terms of being a highly-sought out coach that may have a better chance at landing at Pitt or UConn.
But given how well he recruited in Columbus, he’s a very intriguing option for a school in a recruiting hotbed.
Earl Grant (College of Charleston head coach)
If you’re looking for one of the best up-and-coming candidates out there, look no further than Grant.
He’s in his fourth season as head coach of the Cougars, and most importantly, has already helped them secure a bid in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Grant was an assistant at Clemson and Wichita State, and played at Georgia College in Milledgeville.
He’s only 41 years old and will be at a power conference job sooner rather than later.
Steve Forbes (East Tennessee State head coach)
Forbes has the experience you’d want when it comes to trying to turn a program around.
He’s won at least 24 games in all three seasons at East Tennessee State and led the Bucs to the NCAA Tournament a year ago. What he has that the other candidates don’t is previous SEC experience, as he served as Bruce Pearl’s assistant at Tennessee for five years.
Forbes has always been seen as a great recruiter, and that would be a plus at a job like Georgia.
Eric Musselman (Nevada head coach)
It was somewhat surprising when Musselman passed on the Cal job last offseason since he seemed like a natural fit out West.
But someone with NBA head coaching experience and many years of working with top-tier talent is going to have the ability to make it work in a lot of different areas of the country, and Musselman won’t have any shortage of suitors given what he’s accomplished in Reno.
Nevada has won at least 27 games in back-to-back seasons, and the only hesitation in interviewing him may be that Fox was also the Wolfpack head coach before taking over in Athens.
Who will get the job?
You know how the coaching carousel works. All it takes is for one move to throw the entire thing off, and then you’ve got a whole new set of candidates to work with.
Again, this is all about timing for the Bulldogs. With the Pitt and UConn jobs already available, and fellow SEC member Ole Miss also looking for a coach, it’s important that the school understand what it needs to do to attract candidates.
If the Georgia administration is willing to commit to putting the basketball program in a position to succeed, it has the resources to lure many quality candidates. This is an SEC job in a great recruiting area, so there is plenty of appeal.
Crean or Matta would be the best possible choices, which isn’t exactly a surprise. If I had to pick one over the other, I’d probably choose Crean.
However, if those two aren’t available or interested in the position, then Grant feels like the next most likely choice.
He’s well-respected in coaching circles and is seen as one of the top rising coaches in college basketball. It may take a little time for him to build the Bulldogs into a consistent top half SEC team, and that may not be something that fans want to hear.
But long-term, he feels like a very good choice should Crean or Matta wind up taking jobs elsewhere.
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