Who succeeds Pat?

[trb123]

The sad news from Knoxville has led to many discussions. On the old Boneyard, a long and erudite post forwarded the candidacy of coach Summitt's son. This needs to be brought to the attention of Tennessee althletic department and /or the UN asap. I will not be surprised to see Pres Obama, G W Bush, Warren Buffett and Putin as candidates in future.

If coach Summitt is unable to continue during the season , one of her assistants will take over. Ditto in the early preseason. If the interim coach wins a national championship, she may very well be the permanent coach (It has happened in Michigan). Even a FF appearence combined with a dominating SEC championship may do the trick for her. Otherwise, her chances of filling in Pat's shoes will remain small.

Candidates must have the following:
1. Head coaching experience in a major conference.
2. Success in conference play. This means winning conference championships. May be relaxed for some coaches (particularly in BE and SEC).
3. Success in OOC play. This means scheduling major OOC teams and winning against them.
4. Success in recruiting top players.
5. Consistent success in NCAA tournament
These are by no means the only criteria that will be considered. Many other points add weight to the candidates. Number of WNBA drafts among players coached, perfomance as a national coach etc.

Coaches with a Tennessee connection - e.g Caldwell and Harper - will be among those under consideration. These two coaches have a lot going for them. They are young and successful in their first head coaching assignments. The initial success opened some doors and they did not hesitate to jump up to a bigger job. This shows that they have hunger and in small amounts this will be a big plus for them. They now need to do well in their new jobs to remain under consideration.

I think that Jeff Walz or Muffet Mcgraw will take the job, if it is offered to them.

Statistically, Tennessee is at the top of WCBB - the most wins and most NCs (for the time being). This eliminates some competent assistant college coaches from consideration. Why bother about assitants when most head coaches will take the job.

NBA and WNBA coaches and assistants will certainly be considered, although I am not sure who the candidates are.

 

[ndmb]

Caldwell is the obvious choice. If I were the UT administration, I'd be keeping an eye on Walz, who they might be able to sneak out of Louisville for an opportunity like Tennessee. Other than those two, I'm not sure if there are other sure things. I don't think McGraw would move that this time in her career (but who knows). McGuff has had some success at Xavier, but I have not seen them enough to have a sense of his coaching ability. Who else is out there?

The other factor here is that this disease sometimes moves slowly. I wouldn't be surprised to see Summitt have another several years left in her.

 

[Alydar]

There are two roads for Tenn. The first is to continue down the path of the last 40 years. It keeps the Summitt face on the program and is the likely path the UT admin. will choose. It means that a Summitt disciple will be the next head coach and the staff will remain the same with few changes. The downside here is that whoever becomes the coach will have a HUGE shadow over their head, will never get full credit for any success and will get full blame for anything else despite not choosing his/her own staff. The other path, the unlikely path, has the school bringing in an outsider with a proven track record. That would mean bringing his/her own people to Tenn and saying goodbye to many of Pat's assistants. Tenn is still the No. 1 job in wcbb and a Walsh or Mulky would have a hard time refusing but they would both want to choose their own staff. This path will not happen in my opinion because there is too much Pat Summitt in the marketing of the LV's. Much like UConn and Geno, the LV's are a cult of personality and it will be impossible to change that quickly.

 

[Icebear]

One has to wonder what the return of Mickie DeMoss to TN means, too.

 

[EricLA]

i could see why they'd want Walsh - he's beaten tennessee out for 1 big recruit recently (Bria Smith) and is hot after several recruits from 2013 that tennessee really covets. but kids go to tennessee because they want to play for Pat. tennessee is not a good school academically and while it's a lovely campus, it's not remarkable as a destination school. Muffett leaving ND would be a step down for her, at least for everything related to academics.

still, i can see Muffett, Jeff, Sherri, Gayle G, and Kim Mulkey all on their wish list. i think Pat lasts 3 years at the most. a great deal depends on whether or not they are able to recruit 2-3 top 10 kids from 2013 and how they do with the rest of the kids they are after from 2012. to be blunt, the fact that she may not last more than 2-3 years and she may not always be there mentally to coach will give kids pause. will it give them enough to go elsewhere? we will have to wait and see...

one last thing -Micki and Holly Warlick are both coaches there. Micki failed in her attempts at head coaching, or i should say she wasn't able to succeed and i'm not sure the official reason she left Kentucky to go to Texas, then back to Tennessee, but at least at the time, head coaching was not for her.

Holly Warlick is their CD (Assoc HC) and Demoss and Dean Lockwood are the assistants. i have no idea how long Dean has been there or if he's a viable candidate. Some tennessee fans also think Tyler Summitt might be a candidate. personally i think it will come down to Caldwell or Jolie-Harper, but time will tell...

 

[trb123]

Some men's coaches should be considered. Off the top of my head, I would suggest Chuck Martin at Marist, and Steve Alford at UNM.
I don't think Muffet Mcgraw will be offered the job. If she is offered the job, there is a very good chance, she will take it.

 

[Vowelguy]

still, i can see Muffett, Jeff, Sherri, Gayle G, and Kim Mulkey all on their wish list. ...

I highly doubt any of those names except possibly Walz. None of them are liked by the fan base. And I'm skeptical that they'd go with a male, but if they did then KY coach (and ex-TN asst) Mitchell would seem a more likely candidate.

I'd think the top of the list would be Warlick, DeMoss, Harper, Caldwell.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I highly doubt any of those names except possibly Walz. None of them are liked by the fan base. And I'm skeptical that they'd go with a male, but if they did then KY coach (and ex-TN asst) Mitchell would seem a more likely candidate.

I'd think the top of the list would be Warlick, DeMoss, Harper, Caldwell.

Caldwell and Harper make sense.

Walz and Muffett would be good choices, but I'm not sure either would get an offer, and they might decline. Muffett has a special situation at ND. Jeff has young kids.

I think Gail G. is a real possibility.

Would they even consider anyone with UConn connections?

 

[UCweCONN]

No way they hire someone with UCONN connections. My bet would be on a former UT player.

 

[ochoopsfan]

Caldwell would lose credibility if she left LSU after one year. She is better off waiting to see if PS can make it another year or two or if a replacement for PS doesnt do well.
Old rule....you never want to succeed "The Legend", you want to be the one after.

 

[Vowelguy]

Caldwell would lose credibility if she left LSU after one year. She is better off waiting to see if PS can make it another year or two or if a replacement for PS doesnt do well.
Old rule....you never want to succeed "The Legend", you want to be the one after.

What does credibility have to do with anything here? She would have achieved one of the top jobs in the sport; she will ultimately be judged *solely* on how her teams do.

Sharon Versyp was only at Indiana for a year before her alma mater Purdue came calling.

 

[Icebear]

Would they even consider anyone with UConn connections?

I'm not sure Geno would go. Although that would shake up both programs.

 

[alexrgct]

What does credibility have to do with anything here? She would have achieved one of the top jobs in the sport; she will ultimately be judged *solely* on how her teams do.

Sharon Versyp was only at Indiana for a year before her alma mater Purdue came calling.

Agree- that job may never be available again, or at least not for years. If that job's available, you take it. It's just business.

 

[ochoopsfan]

Did Sharon Versyp take $900K for one years work and then leave? You are also comparing Indiana and Purdue with Tennessee, arguably the first or second best team in the history of the sport.

It certainly doesnt look good for someone to cut and run after a year, especially after someone threw a big raise at ya. Besides, I am one of a handful of westcoast people that werent all impressed with miss "High Heel Shoes".

 

[UConnCat]

Caldwell leaving LSU for the Tenn job would be like Matt Doherty bolting Notre Dame after one year to take the UNC job after Bill Guthridge retired. Of course, that move didn't turn out so well for Doherty or UNC but my guess is Caldwell would jump at the chance to take over the Tenn program. I think Harper would be a better choice but that's because, like OChoops, I'm not a big fan of Caldwell.

 

[stwainfan]

It will be interesting to see who will be the top 2 choices of Tennessee. I am sure there will be many coaches putting thier name on the list.

 

[LAKOTA]

One has to wonder what the return of Mickie DeMoss to TN means, too.

I was wondering about that too

 

[dtbtbtb]

How about Bruce Pearl? He is a friend of Pat and knows how to wear Orange

 

[Tonyc]

Waltz or Van Chancellor are my picks. Van has done it all in college and in the WNBA. TN alums dont have the experience. TN needs to get back to a top team and I dont think a former alum has enough experience to get them there. Jeff has done a great recruiting. TNs asst coaches are in place, Pat will need to be replaced as her disease takes over. TN needs someone whos been there.

 

[Jackalope]

I think the biggest issue will be in recruiting. UT is still in the hunt for some of the remaining prime 2012 recruits, not to mention 2013, which will be in full swing in a couple of short months. I am sure these recruits are thinking 3,4,5 years down the road and wonder what will happen with the knowledge that Pat's future is more uncertain in the later years of their college careers. I suspect that Pat, herself, has some type of succession plan where it would be clear to these recruits that once she steps down, they would be well acquainted with the next coach. My guess is Mickie DeMoss is the head coach in waiting, and recruits would be well briefed of this.

If this scenario makes sense, then it will be unlikely that the next UT coach would come from outside the current UT organization.

 

[Icebear]

Jack, that is exactly what i suspect and why I raised the question about Mickie earlier. I, also, expect that Mickie would have been aware of Pat's situation as long as anyone.

I think the biggest issue will be in recruiting. UT is still in the hunt for some of the remaining prime 2012 recruits, not to mention 2013, which will be in full swing in a couple of short months. I am sure these recruits are thinking 3,4,5 years down the road and wonder what will happen with the knowledge that Pat's future is more uncertain in the later years of their college careers. I suspect that Pat, herself, has some type of succession plan where it would be clear to these recruits that once she steps down, they would be well acquainted with the next coach. My guess is Mickie DeMoss is the head coach in waiting, and recruits would be well briefed of this.

If this scenario makes sense, then it will be unlikely that the next UT coach would come from outside the current UT organization.

 

[Jackalope]

Jack, that is exactly what i suspect and why I raised the question about Mickie earlier. I, also, expect that Mickie would have been aware of Pat's situation as long as anyone.

Bear, This does seem to be what UT is doing. However, look what happened with Stephanie Glance and NCState when Kay Yow passed away. Nothing is ever certain in college athletics.

 

[Vowelguy]

Jack, that is exactly what i suspect and why I raised the question about Mickie earlier. I, also, expect that Mickie would have been aware of Pat's situation as long as anyone.

DeMoss returned in 2010, when a position opened up. There is NO indication that PHS's condition was known before this summer.

 

[cardfan]

Waltz or Van Chancellor are my picks. Van has done it all in college and in the WNBA. TN alums dont have the experience. TN needs to get back to a top team and I dont think a former alum has enough experience to get them there. Jeff has done a great recruiting. TNs asst coaches are in place, Pat will need to be replaced as her disease takes over. TN needs someone whos been there.

why would they outside of the TN family? Both Holly and Mickie have about 40 yrs combined coaching at TN under Pat. It's one of them ahead of Caldwell. I'd bet a lot of money it won't be a male coach.

 

[MarieYLee]

What about Mitchell at UK? He has some ties to UT, is slowly building up a solid program. He seems to recruit nationally, and seems to be in a lot of recruits list, though he really hasn't landed a big-time recruit yet.