The Utah Utes parted ways with head coach Craig Smith on Monday, a move most people didn’t see coming.
Utah may still make a postseason tournament like the NIT or the new tournament in Las Vegas put on by Fox. But, after four seasons, the Utes are moving on to a new beginning.
What will athletic director Mark Harlan do? With Utah still relatively new to the Big 12, this is a harder job to gauge.
They’ve opted to go coach-in-waiting with football coach Kyle Whittingham’s successor, and Gavin Peterson was quickly promoted to women’s basketball head coach when Lynne Roberts left for the Los Angeles Sparks.
Is this as simple as promoting someone from within? Or is Harlan in full job search mode?
For now, here are nine candidates to replace Smith.
Josh Eilert, Utah Interim Head Coach
For the second year, Eilert is replacing a sitting Big 12 coach. He did the interim duties at West Virginia last year in place of Bob Huggins. He will get four regular-season games, at least one Big 12 Tournament game, and perhaps some NIT games to make a case for the full-time job.
I don’t believe he’ll get it. But since he has head-coaching experience I have to imagine he’ll get some consideration, especially if Utah goes on a mini-heater to end the season.
Chris Burgess, BYU Assistant Coach
The Utah alum left the program last offseason to join BYU because he wanted to work under new coach Kevin Young. He was also an assistant under Mark Pope when he was at BYU. The back-and-forth is, well, interesting. Here’s a good piece by KSL’s Benjamin Criddle on why Burgess went back to BYU.
It feels like the only thing Utah could offer Burgess is the head coaching job. It’s also the one thing he’s never been.
Jerrod Calhoun, Utah State Head Coach
Guess where Smith came from? Yep, Logan, Utah. The Aggies have a habit of hiring upwardly mobile coaching candidates, including Danny Sprinkle (Washington), Ryan Odom (VCU), and Larry Eustachy (Iowa State).
Calhoun worked his way up from Division II Fairmont State, then to Youngstown State, and with the Aggies, he’s had them in the Top 25 this season. He has nearly 300 career wins. He might be a prime target for Harlan.
Ben McCollum, Drake Head Coach
If he’s not on Harlan’s list, he’s not paying attention. McCollum is one of the game’s rising stars. He took over Drake for WVU coach Darian DeVries and has already won 25 games. Before that, he was at Division II Northwest Missouri State and won nearly 400 games and four national championships.
Get him now before you can’t.
Chris Mack, Charleston Head Coach
Before he fell out of favor at Louisville, people forget how successful Mack was at Xavier — 215 wins in nine seasons with eight NCAA Tournament appearances. He’s won 21 games so far at Charleston, and he’ll be in demand if the Cougars reach the NCAA Tournament. He knows how to coach at a high-major level.
Bryce Drew, Grand Canyon Head Coach
The younger brother of Baylor’s Scott Drew is building a monster at GCU, where it won 30 games last year and is on track to reach the NCAAs for a fourth time in five years. Admittedly, his high-major audition at Vanderbilt didn’t go great (40-59), but he’s coaching like he’s ready for a promotion.
Alan Huss, High Point Head Coach
Played for Dana Altman. Coached in high schools. Became Greg McDermott’s top assistant at Creighton. High Point is in first place in the Big South for the second straight season. He may be ready for a high-major job.
Will Wade, McNeese State Head Coach
A high-major program will hire him again. It will be controversial. The question is whether Utah can handle that controversy because he’s proving that he can coach no matter where he is and what resources he has.
Steve Smiley, Northern Colorado Head Coach
The Big Sky Conference grows them well. Sprinkle was at Montana State before he landed at Utah State. Smiley has the Bears in position to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time and is the program’s leader in Division I wins.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
