Arkansas has most attractive coaching vacancy available

The closer we came to the end of the season, the more coaches talked about the possibility this would be a big year for coaching changes.

Yes, and some people also believed the Big East would dominate the NCAA Tournament.

Nearly 10 days removed from Selection Sunday, we?ve had only 10 major jobs open. (And that?s stretching the definition to include Wyoming). If that seems like a lot to you, it?s probably because you?re one of the coaches who no longer have jobs.

Certainly some intriguing jobs are available, with one more joining the list Monday when Tennessee dismissed Bruce Pearl.

If you were a coach with your choice of those jobs, which one would you want? Which one should you want?

Well, we'll tell you:

1. Arkansas

Previous coach: John Pelphrey

Upside: strong corporate and community support, a fan base eager for a winner. Downside: Remote location.

Arkansas has won a national championship and reached Final Fours under two coaches. Its in-state talent base is spotty but seems to have hit a nice surge. The past two coaches set the bar at a level that a capable coach should clear fairly easily.

Should pursue: Buzz Williams, Marquette. He has Texas ties and has shown he can win with high school products and junior college recruits.

2. N.C. State

Previous coach: Sidney Lowe

Upside: Great location, strong in-state talent base, will pay for a winner. Downside: With two titans on the block, fans can be overly ambitious.

The man who gets this job would be entering a weakened ACC. The problem for the Wolfpack is constantly being measured against North Carolina and Duke, which have combined for four national titles in the past decade. But those programs recruit nationally for the most part, leaving State and Wake Forest to battle over some excellent prospects.

Should pursue: Mick Cronin, Cincinnati. For five years, he has looked Rick Pitino, Jim Boeheim, Jim Calhoun and Bob Huggins in the eye. Think he?ll back down from Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams?

3. Utah

Previous coach: Jim Boylen

Upside: Move to the Pac-10, extraordinary community/corporate support. Downside: Distance from history of success.

It feels like a while since Utah has been good, which does matter to players. They like to select schools that are, for lack of a better term, cool. But the switch to the Pac-10 ? coupled with BYU?s concurrent move to the WCC ? could represent a bonanza for the Utes.

Should pursue: Eric Reveno, Portland. He?s smart, personable, plays an appealing style and would not squander Utah?s new advantages.

4. Georgia Tech

Previous coach: Paul Hewitt

Upside: Atlanta annually is loaded with superb high school talent. Downside: Higher academic standards, middling interest in program, substandard arena.

Tech doesn?t really have a place for at-risk students. If not for the concern about Tech?s academic demands, this job would be near the top of the list because of the great talent the region produces: Dwight Howard, Josh Smith, Jelan Kendrick.

Should pursue: VCU coach Shaka Smart. What might invigorate the Jackets is Smart?s dynamic style of play ? which keeps lots of players involved and contributing ? rather than a constant reliance on short-term players and roster overhauling.

5. Oklahoma

Previous coach: Jeff Capel

Upside: Respected athletic director, proximity to Texas talent, great practice facility, power of football brand. Downside: Out-of-date arena, challenge of competing with Kansas and Texas powerhouses, pending NCAA investigation.

Oklahoma?s quick decision on Jeff Capel, coming two years after the Sooners reached the Elite Eight, leads to a natural question about what OU wants out of its basketball program. Do the Sooners desire Final Fours, or do they want the basketball program not to cause issues that might detract from football success?

We still have no real idea where the NCAA probe is headed, what level of sanctions might develop, and the roster is not promising.

Should pursue: Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall. In moving from Winthrop to WSU, Marshall demonstrated he could succeed in a relatively foreign region. Any worry he hasn?t gotten the Shockers to the tournament is beside the point; he has been there.

6. Tennessee

Previous coach: Bruce Pearl

Upside: Supportive community, out-of-area players have been open to matriculating. Downside: Bumbling administration, active NCAA infractions case, inconsistent talent base.

Candidates can?t be entirely certain they?ll work for the current athletic director, Mike Hamilton. They won?t know whether the NCAA will be punitive, and the roster could be in tatters by the time someone new takes over. UT made six consecutive NCAAs under Pearl, far beyond its historical norm, raising the question of whether the new coach would be stepping into the kind of situation that faced John Calipari?s replacement at UMass or Mike Montgomery?s successor at Stanford.

Should pursue: Belmont?s Rick Byrd. UT will outsmart itself, because that?s what it tends to do ? Lane Kiffin, anyone? ? but Byrd would offer stability, an appealing style of play and a bridge to the future.

read soccer news more sports news more football news more cricket news more golf news