2025 WCBB Coaches Hot Seat edition (merged)

[nwhoopfan]

Here's another thought for the Missouri HC position: Beth Cunningham, who has now achieved a third straight 20-win season for Missouri State after her predecessor, Coach Mox, left for UVA. And she's had to reload personnel with that team. Remember that Cunningham had a very good, extended run at VCU before resigning (issues with athletic director) working with Muffet McGraw and Carol Lawson before landing this position.

She's obviously gotten to know the lay of the land in Missouri. I could also see her if some B1G positions open up, given her Indiana upbringing and experience at Notre Dame as a player and assistant coach. Stay tuned.

Missouri St. has been a solid program for quite a while now. Since the 2009-10 season, they have won 20 or more games in all but 4 seasons, under 4 different coaches. So...Kellie Harper had 3 of the 4 non 20 win seasons.


edit--here's something else interesting, most of the former Missouri St. coaches don't do well when they go elsewhere

 

[WBBTakeover]

I think she may have one more year on her contract but I would say Adia Barnes at Arizona. She hasn’t had much success, in spite of getting those highly touted recruits, a few years ago.

Meh, she always seems to find a way to sneak into the tournament (and could very well do so again this year despite having no quality wins). Arizona is going to hesitate to fire her (she's an alum, after all) unless they find that she's abusive.

 

[Dillon77]

Missouri St. has been a solid program for quite a while now. Since the 2009-10 season, they have won 20 or more games in all but 4 seasons, under 4 different coaches. So...Kellie Harper had 3 of the 4 non 20 win seasons.


edit--here's something else interesting, most of the former Missouri St. coaches don't do well when they go elsewhere

Nice research there.
Hmm, so maybe some of these coaches are meant to be in/left the Mid-Major level too early?

(Morgan) Cunningham also has that solid run at VCU - another mid-major. Would her skill set translate at the P5 level? Or has she found her comfort zone?

She is coaching well and is a solid teacher, from what I've read/heard. Cunningham worked (briefly) as ND's recruiting coordinator when Ivey went to the NBA for one year (in fact, she headed up the Caitlin Clark recruiting).

The SEC could be tough sledding. If it opens up (and it should), the Northwestern job might be an interesting landing spot: administration has shown patience and the school's overall reputation sells itself with a certain kind of player.

Stay tuned....this will all get loonier in a few weeks.

 

[HuskyFan1125]

So I keep hearing 2 names for Missouri, Molly Miller and Jeff Mittie?

Miller i get but can someone explain to me how Mittie fits into this picture? He is having success at Kansas State and has a good recruiting class coming in next season. Apparently it’s not even the first time this season he has been mentioned for the Missouri job.

Just curious if anyone has insight.

 

[cancontent]

So I keep hearing 2 names for Missouri, Molly Miller and Jeff Mittie?

Miller i get but can someone explain to me how Mittie fits into this picture? He is having success at Kansas State and has a good recruiting class coming in next season. Apparently it’s not even the first time this season he has been mentioned for the Missouri job.

Just curious if anyone has insight.

No insight from me, but this poster who I follow is perplexed like you. From their perspective it could be seen as a salary raise play. But who really knows?

 

[12au]

So I keep hearing 2 names for Missouri, Molly Miller and Jeff Mittie?

Miller i get but can someone explain to me how Mittie fits into this picture? He is having success at Kansas State and has a good recruiting class coming in next season. Apparently it’s not even the first time this season he has been mentioned for the Missouri job.

Just curious if anyone has insight.

SEC football money tide lifts all boats. He also has a senior-laden team, so now's a good time to cash in

 

[Vowelguy]

SEC football money tide lifts all boats. He also has a senior-laden team, so now's a good time to cash in

Yeah the hierarchy now is that you basically dont turn down the SEC or BiG if they come calling. There are a few exceptions of non-P2 schools that have big wcbb investments (UConn, ND, ...) but KSt aint of them.

And with the portal now, your top HS recruits can come with you. Witness the HS player who switched from VT to KY to follow Kenny Brooks.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Hmm, so maybe some of these coaches are meant to be/left the Mid-Major level too early?

I'm gonna go ahead and say it's just about impossible to predict if it will work out or not. I can come up with examples of coaches who went from mid major (or even non D1) to P4/P5 and did well, but I think much more often they get canned after somewhere between 3-5 years that don't pan out very well. There's pretty much 3 options when it comes to coaching hires: get an established coach or roll the dice on someone from the mid major level or an assistant coach w/ no previous head coaching experience.

 

[triaddukefan]

I wonder if the coach from SMU is on the hotseat.

 

[WBBTakeover]

I wonder if the coach from SMU is on the hotseat.

I'd say yes--only because they can buy a replacement and bring in better transfers if they truly care to improve (see what they were able to do in volleyball last season).

 

[cancontent]

I wonder if the coach from SMU is on the hotseat.

If she isn't, I'd be very surprised.

 

[Dillon77]

I'm gonna go ahead and say it's just about impossible to predict if it will work out or not. I can come up with examples of coaches who went from mid major (or even non D1) to P4/P5 and did well, but I think much more often they get canned after somewhere between 3-5 years that don't pan out very well. There's pretty much 3 options when it comes to coaching hires: get an established coach or roll the dice on someone from the mid major level or an assistant coach w/ no previous head coaching experience.

Thanks.

Oh, I was just going along with the Missouri Valley Conference example. As you know, most of us have been watching/commenting on/drawing information on the coaching carousel for years. We've seen some hires from mid-majors do well (see Bowling Green to Michigan State) and others, not so well. Coach Mox is probably going to get some more time to keep going up the hill in Charlottesville.

I like a person like Cunningham because she's got more than 10+ years on coaching winning mid-major programs and has assisted on a very successful P5 team. Stay tuned.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Meh, she always seems to find a way to sneak into the tournament (and could very well do so again this year despite having no quality wins). Arizona is going to hesitate to fire her (she's an alum, after all) unless they find that she's abusive.

They almost certainly won't fire her. The issue would almost certainly not be the results on court, per se, but I suppose there could be some salary vs. results angst.

To be clear, we are not really talking about this year, unless they offer an extension and she says "no" at what is offered. UA offered an extension to only one of 4 coaches that would typically be at that point, and one is ranked in the top 10 in their sport. I can not stress enough that the school simply doesn't have funds to throw around.

The public relations hit, OTH, would be huge. Adia is adored by most of the fan base, actually I like her a good deal as well. As one of the opponent media said, she is one of the few coaches who is brutally honest about her program.

 

[WBBTakeover]

They almost certainly won't fire her. The issue would almost certainly not be the results on court, per se, but I suppose there could be some salary vs. results angst.

To be clear, we are not really talking about this year, unless they offer an extension and she says "no" at what is offered. UA offered an extension to only one of 4 coaches that would typically be at that point, and one is ranked in the top 10 in their sport. I can not stress enough that the school simply doesn't have funds to throw around.

The public relations hit, OTH, would be huge. Adia is adored by most of the fan base, actually I like her a good deal as well. As one of the opponent media said, she is one of the few coaches who is brutally honest about her program.

FWIW, I don't think she should be fired. While the National Championship game run looks like an outlier (thanks to Aari and a few other major contributors), her ability to rebuild the program into having annual NCAA Tournament berth expectations is not. Her teams, more often than not, play hard even when they are clearly undermanned.

 

[cancontent]

Looks like things will remain status quo at Boston College.

 

[DefenseBB]

To me, the first school that needs to make a move is Houston...Ronald Hughey has been dreadful during his tenure.

Uncle Joe McKeown needs to retire. Maybe he and Doug Bruno can have a "Chicago announcing party" and both retire on the same day.

While their NET isn't terrible at 92, I do think it's time for PSU to move on from Kieger. They were 1-17 and 10-19 and keep losing the good players they do initially get.

Wake, SMU, Pitt all warrant changes but their coaches are still in early years of their contracts so I think the ADs will let it play out, not sure why when the writing is clearly on the wall but hey it's not my money.

There are the rumblings about Mike Neighbors and given the hard fall that has occurred, something ain't right in Little Rock so a time to change may need to occur. I wouldn't be surprised if he got another year though. I know Auburn has caused some concern but to me, Johnnie Harris should get another year to see if she can turn it around-doubtful but still....

Big Ten- the bottom of this conference is a hot mess- NW, PSU I have already mentioned. Purdue is going nowhere, Rutgers made the mistake hiring Washington in the first place and then there is our girl Marissa who needs drastic improvement and to weather the verbal harassment claims.

I feel for @azfan as ASU needs to move on from Adair but she too is still in only year 3, so the AD may give her one more year to totally ruin their program but with a "positive, can-do, happy face" attitude. Hang in there my friend. UCF is also a mess but similar to ASU, this is year 3 so she's safe. At least BYU has Delaney Gibb to tout. Texas Tech is really the program that needs to move on from Gurlich who has done nothing with a tradition rich and supportive fan base. It's always tough to fire a legacy coach but its time Red Raiders, its time....

The Big East can make a case to fire any of the coaches not at UConn, Creighton, 'Nova or Marquette (yes, Seton Hall needs to take a hard look at Bozzella) as none of these coaches save Austin Parkinson (beset by major injuries) look to be headed in the right direction. Georgetown is safe as they just made him permanent last year but, not a great first full-time year. This conference can't improve until the coaching gets better. Xavier, PC and Georgetown are perennial cellar dwellers. Heck, I even think SJU needs to move on from Joe T. He drastically underachieved this year. But alas, I am not thinking any changes occur.

 

[dws3665]

The University of Arkansas is in Fayetteville, not Little Rock, so the source of your something rotten needs to be adjusted a couple hundred miles to the NW. And while there are several things wrong there, one of the biggest is that the athletic department hasn't provided the WBB program with any resources (read: NIL) for recruiting/keeping players. It seems likely that they're giving him one more year under the Rev Share program to see if he can turn things around. (I would point out, though, that the $ is not the ONLY problem, and Neighbors is responsible for some of the issues, like any HC.)

I think Auburn may actually be more likely to make a move than Arkansas. I don't disagree that Johnnie should get more time, but Auburn has not traditionally been patient with its coaches.

 

[dws3665]

I also want to state unequivocally that I am NOT saying that there is nothing rotten in Little Rock.

 

[LETTERL]

Looks like things will remain status quo at Boston College.

BC just never seems able to get over the hump. She has brought in some great recruits but she loses most of them to the transfer portal. I guess BC figures they can't do worse; she does have them around 0.500 most years.

To me, BC's most dangerous weapon is The Conte Forum. Dead arena that can lull other teams to sleep or a slow start sometimes.

 

[southie]

Kansas just completed a dreadful season by getting upset by Texas Tech. Is their head coach in trouble?

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Kansas just completed a dreadful season by getting upset by Texas Tech. Is their head coach in trouble?

I'm too tired to look, but I thought they were doing ok the past few seasons, he hasn't been there "forever" so I would doubt it offhand. Like anything else, sometimes it is expectations that really matter in any case.

 

[BigTenGuy]

Marisa Moseley probably coached her last game for the Badgers yesterday. The loyal and great Serah Williams deserves better. The Badgers coaches and players give off the vibe of a very unhappy team.

For an athletic department that does most women’s sports well, it is amazing the deep rut that Wisconsin WBB finds themselves in. Losing 31 in a row to Iowa is quite a streak of futility.

 

[cancontent]

Marisa Moseley probably coached her last game for the Badgers yesterday. The loyal and great Serah Williams deserves better. The Badgers coaches and players give off the vibe of a very unhappy team.

For an athletic department that does most women’s sports well, it is amazing the deep rut that Wisconsin WBB finds themselves in. Losing 31 in a row to Iowa is quite a streak of futility.

While I'm happy she's thrived regardless, I agree. Not a fan of seeing comments on social media hoping that she transfers, but I understand why they do.

 

[DefenseBB]

Kansas just completed a dreadful season by getting upset by Texas Tech. Is their head coach in trouble?

My inside source says no as they had been performing well for the last 2 years and have a good recruiting class coming in next year. I am of the sentiment, he's been there a while and has not really achieved anything but each school has different "success" definitions.

 

[yhun89]

Looks like things will remain status quo at Boston College.

Not a great choice IMO. The amount of decent talent she's lost (Mair, Gakdeng, Soule) should be concerning for any team in a major conference, especially when they're towards the bottom. It doesn't help that Dontavia Waggoner seems to have only stayed because she's a loyal person. Not for the coach. Not for the team. Her own morals.

The amount of bad decisions she made in many games this season (When Todd was on a hot streak, she sat her down for an entire quarter, she did the same to Dontavia a few times) should get her removed from that program immediately. If she loses Teya to the portal, she should be done.

 

[cancontent]

Not a great choice IMO. The amount of decent talent she's lost (Mair, Gakdeng, Soule) should be concerning for any team in a major conference, especially when they're towards the bottom. It doesn't help that Dontavia Waggoner seems to have only stayed because she's a loyal person. Not for the coach. Not for the team. Her own morals.

The amount of bad decisions she made in many games this season (When Todd was on a hot streak, she sat her down for an entire quarter, she did the same to Dontavia a few times) should get her removed from that program immediately. If she loses Teya to the portal, she should be done.

While I agree with your point about head scratching decisions, what if those decisions were for disciplinary reasons (e.g. not following the gameplan)? We're seeing posts on other threads with comments on how certain players should be benched a while as a form of teaching to manage bad habits/behaviours. Wondering if these specific actions could be viewed from that perspective.

 

[yhun89]

While I agree with your point about head scratching decisions, what if those decisions were for disciplinary reasons (e.g. not following the gameplan)? We're seeing posts on other threads with comments on how certain players should be benched a while as a form of teaching to manage bad habits/behaviours. Wondering if these specific actions could be viewed from that perspective.

I was at these games where Todd and Dontavia were benched after going on a hot streak. They didn't appear to have any sort of body language whatsoever. Coach didn't reprimand them on the bench or anything. Even gave them a pat on the back when they checked back in. I do not believe these were disciplinary decisions, especially when they were so random in each game. She's just not a good coach for this program.

 

[Vowelguy]

Not a great choice IMO.

If you dont care and only want to save money then it's a good choice. Not sure BC cares about anything other than M Hockey and FB. (+ they have an A+ coach in WLax).

 

[HuskyFan1125]

Auburn is open!!

 

[triaddukefan]

I'm too tired to look, but I thought they were doing ok the past few seasons, he hasn't been there "forever" so I would doubt it offhand. Like anything else, sometimes it is expectations that really matter in any case.

I think they made the tournament last year. A close loss to Michigan in round 1... if I recall correctly.

edit. they beat Michigan, lost to USC in the 2nd round. Won the WNIT championship the year before. Made the second round in the NCAA's the year before.