Seth Greenberg's surprising dismissal earlier this week at Virginia Tech means one major conference job is open as this offseason's coaching carousel slows down.
But while Virginia Tech is an ACC program, it is far from an elite job when it comes to basketball. The school has made just eight NCAA tourney appearances in its history, including only two in the past 25 years (1996 under Bill Foster and 2007 under Greenberg).
[ Related: Virginia Tech pulls tacky move before firing coach ]
Greenberg noted that the program is in better shape now than when he took over for Ricky Stokes before the 2003-04 season. That is true. He had winning records in seven of his nine seasons, and the school opened a $21 million practice facility while Greenberg was there.
Again, though, he went to one NCAA tourney and finished fourth or worse in the league seven times. Indeed, Tech has struggled to find its basketball footing since leaving the Atlantic 10 for the Big East before the 2000-01 season.
And the Hokies weren't that good in the A-10, either, finishing with overall losing records in four of their five seasons in that league. Not since the mid-'80s, when it was in the now-defunct Metro Conference, has Tech made back-to-back NCAA appearances.
In short, Tech is a tough job in a tough league. And the job will get harder starting in 2013-14, when Pittsburgh and Syracuse are expected to join the ACC from the Big East. Thus, while the "This is an ACC job" phrase will be tossed around with the Hokies' vacancy, it's a bad ACC job. The question for potential replacements is whether a bad ACC job is better than the one they currently have.
Here's a look at all the coaching changes this offseason.
| Air Force |
|---|
Former coach: Jeff Reynolds
New coach: Dave Pilipovich Buzz: Pilipovich, a Falcons assistant, was named interim coach when Reynolds was fired in February, then was given the full-time job in March. |
| Brown |
Former coach: Jesse Agel
New coach: TBD. Candidates could include Brown assistant T.J. Sorrentine, former Boston College coach Al Skinner and Oregon State assistant Doug Stewart. Brown appointed a new athletic director earlier this month. Buzz: Agel lasted just four seasons, winning 39 games, before being fired in early March. |
| Canisius |
Former coach: Tom Parrotta
New coach: Jim Baron Buzz: Baron was fired after 11 seasons at Rhode Island, but quickly got the Canisius job. Canisius has averaged barely 10 wins over the past six seasons. |
| Central Michigan |
Former coach: Ernie Zeigler
New coach: Keno Davis Buzz: Davis was fired in 2010 after two seasons at Providence and was out of basketball this season. He took Drake to the NCAA tourney in his only season as Bulldogs coach in 2008. |
| College of Charleston |
Former coach: Bobby Cremins
New coach: Doug Wojcik Buzz: Cremins, 64, retired in March after missing the last two months of the season for a medical leave of absence. Wojcik was fired in March after seven seasons at Tulsa; he averaged 20 wins but never took the Golden Hurricane to the NCAA tourney. |
| Colorado State |
Former coach: Tim Miles
New coach: Larry Eustachy Buzz: Miles spent five seasons with the Rams and guided them to the NCAA tourney this season. He left to become Nebraska's coach. Eustachy, who guided Southern Miss to the NCAA tourney this season, was hired as the replacement. He spent eight seasons at Southern Miss and won 142 games, though this season's appearance was the only NCAA bid the Golden Eagles earned in his tenure. Southern Miss did have four 20-win seasons under Eustachy. |
| Duquesne |
Former coach: Ron Everhart
New coach: Long Island coach Jim Ferry Buzz: Everhart did a solid job rebuilding a program that was in disarray when he got there, but he never got the Dukes into the NCAA tourney and that evidently caused school officials to fire him after six seasons and 99 wins. Ferry was hired away from Long Island, where he had coached for 10 seasons and led the Blackbirds to two NCAA appearances. He also has been a head coach at Division III Plymouth (N.H.) State and Division II Adelphi (N.Y.); he spent three seasons at Adelphi and guided them to the Division II tourney in each of those seasons. |
| Eastern Illinois |
Former coach: Mike Miller
New coach: Jay Spoonhour Buzz: Miller was fired after seven seasons and 75 total victories. Spoonhour, whose dad, Charlie, coached at Southwest Missouri State, Saint Louis and UNLV, had spent the past three seasons as coach at Moberly Area CC in Moberly, Mo. He is a former assistant at SLU, Valparaiso, UNLV, Missouri and UT San Antonio. |
| FIU |
Former coach: Isiah Thomas
New coach: Richard Pitino Buzz: Thomas said his firing caught him off-guard, but he won just 26 games in three seasons. Pitino, who turns 30 in September, is another big name for FIU. He spent last season as an assistant for his dad at Louisville; before that, he was an assistant at Florida under Billy Donovan for two seasons, and he also has been an assistant at Duquesne and Northeastern. |
| Grambling |
Former coach: Bobby Washington
New coach: TBD. Buzz: Washington coached the Tigers for three seasons and was reassigned after his team won just four games this season. He took over a program facing NCAA sanctions for low APR scores. |
| Idaho State |
Former coach: Joe O'Brien
New coach: Bill Evans Buzz: O'Brien, who won 56 games in six seasons, was fired. Evans was an assistant at Montana, Idaho State's rival in the Big Sky Conference. He also is the former coach at Southern Utah. |
| Illinois |
Former coach: Bruce Weber
New coach: John Groce Buzz: Weber won 210 games in nine seasons with the Illini and led them to a national runner-up spot in 2005. But the program seemed to have plateaued a few seasons ago. Groce had been coach at Ohio for four seasons; he led the Bobcats to two NCAA tourneys, including a Sweet 16 appearance this season. He is a former assistant at Butler, Xavier and Ohio State under Thad Matta. |
| Kansas State |
Former coach: Frank Martin
New coach: Bruce Weber Buzz: Martin enjoyed a successful five-year run at Kansas State, winning 117 games. But he somewhat surprisingly left for South Carolina. That led to the somewhat surprising decision by K-State officials to hire Weber, who had been let go at Illinois a few weeks before being hired by the Wildcats. |
| Long Island |
Former coach: Jim Ferry
New coach: Jack Perri Buzz: Ferry spent 10 seasons at LIU and guided the Blackbirds to two NCAA bids. Perri, his lead assistant, was promoted to replace him. Perri was an assistant for seven seasons under Ferry and is a former head coach at Division III Rhode Island College. |
| LSU |
Former coach: Trent Johnson
New coach: Johnny Jones Buzz: Johnson left Stanford and won 67 games in four seasons at LSU, including once NCAA appearance, before deciding to head to TCU. The Horned Frogs are getting ready to move into the Big 12. Jones arrives from North Texas, where he won 190 games in 11 seasons and took the Mean Green to two NCAA appearances. Jones is a former Tigers guard who played for Dale Brown. Jones also served as an LSU assistant for 12 seasons. |
| Miami (Ohio) |
Former coach: Charlie Coles
New coach: John Cooper Buzz: Coles, who turned 70 in February, retired after 16 seasons at the school; the RedHawks won 263 games during his tenure. Cooper had quickly turned around Tennessee State in his three seasons with the Tigers; he is a former Auburn, Oregon and South Carolina assistant. |
| Mississippi State |
Former coach: Rick Stansbury
New coach: Rick Ray Buzz: Stansbury retired after 14 seasons and 293 victories with the Bulldogs. As successful as he was, the general consensus seemed to be that his teams, more often than not, underachieved relative to their talent level. Ray had spent the past two seasons as an assistant at Clemson; he also has been an assistant at Purdue, Northern Illinois and Indiana State. |
| Mount Saint Mary's |
Former coach: Robert Burke
New coach: Jamion Christian Buzz: Burke lasted just two seasons, winning only 17 games. Christian, 29, is a MSM grad who spent this season as an assistant at VCU; he also is a former assistant at William & Mary. |
| Nebraska |
Former coach: Doc Sadler
New coach: Tim Miles Buzz: Sadler was 101-89 in six seasons with the Huskers, but he never could get them to the NCAA tourney. He is considered an excellent tactician, but never could get the caliber of player needed to compete in the Big 12 or Big Ten. Miles had been coach at Colorado State; he led the Rams to the NCAA tourney this season. |
| N.C. A&T |
Former coach: Jerry Eaves
New coach: Cy Alexander Buzz: Eaves won just 99 games in 11 seasons with the Aggies. Alexander, 58, has had a long coaching career, including stints as head coach at MEAC rival South Carolina State (where he won five league titles) and at Tennessee State. |
| Northern Arizona |
Former coach: Mike Adras
New coach: Jack Murphy Buzz: Adras resigned in December; he won 193 games in 13 seasons and had been coach since Ben Howland left NAU to take over at Pittsburgh. Murphy, who was an assistant at Memphis, was hired to replace him. Murphy spent eight years at Arizona, his alma mater, in various roles under Lute Olson. He also is a former scout for the NBA's Denver Nuggets and had been an assistant at Memphis for three seasons. |
| North Texas |
Former coach: Johnny Jones
New coach: Tony Benford Buzz: Jones left to coach LSU, his alma mater. He guided the Mean Green to 190 wins and two NCAA appearances in 11 seasons. Benford, a Texas native, had been serving as an assistant at Marquette and also was an assistant at Nebraska, New Mexico and Arizona State. |
| Ohio |
Former coach: John Groce
New coach: Jim Christian Buzz: Groce led Ohio to two NCAA appearances in his four seasons at the school, and he left to take over at Illinois. The Bobcats turned to Christian, who had spent the past four seasons at TCU with middling results. Christian definitely knows the landscape, as he had coached at Kent State, Ohio's MAC rival, before leaving for TCU. With TCU moving into the Big 12, the pressure would have increased for Christian to oversee a winner. The pressure will be less at Ohio. |
| Rhode Island |
Former coach: Jim Baron
New coach: Danny Hurley Buzz: Baron was fired after 11 seasons with the Rams; he had some pockets of success but never led them to the NCAAs. Hurley had done a quick turnaround job at Wagner, and the hope is his high school ties in New Jersey will help URI's recruiting efforts. |
| Saint Francis (Pa.) |
Former coach: Don Friday
New coach: Rob Krimmel Buzz: Friday resigned after four seasons and a 32-86 record. Krimmel, a former Saint Francis player, was his top assistant and was promoted to the top job a few days after Friday left. After his playing days with the Red Flash, Krimmel spent 12 years as an assistant at the school before moving up. |
| Samford |
Former coach: Jimmy Tillette
New coach: Benny Seltzer Buzz: Tillette had spent 15 seasons as the Bulldogs' coach before being fired. He led them to the NCAA tourney in 1999 and 2000, but they were 11-19 this season, their sixth consecutive losing record. Seltzer, who played at Washington State and was an assistant at Indiana the past four seasons, is a Birmingham native who grew up close to the Samford campus. Seltzer also is a former assistant at Marquette and Oklahoma. |
| SMU |
Former coach: Matt Doherty
New coach: Larry Brown Buzz: Doherty won 80 games in six seasons with the Mustangs, who will move from Conference USA to the Big East in 2013-14. SMU hasn't made the NCAA tourney since 1993. Brown was a surprising hire. He will turn 72 before the season starts and hasn't coached college ball since 1988, when he guided Kansas to the national title. He is the only coach in history with an NCAA title ring and an NBA title ring (with Detroit). He has a tough task: SMU was a middling program in a mid-major league and now is readying to move to the Big East. |
| South Carolina |
Former coach: Darrin Horn
New coach: Frank Martin Buzz: Horn, who was fired, never seemed to be a good fit with the Gamecocks. He frequently was overmatched on the sideline in the tough SEC East and averaged 15 wins in his four seasons at South Carolina. Martin was hired away from Kansas State, which is a far hotter program than South Carolina right now. It'll be up to Martin to change that. |
| Southern Illinois |
Former coach: Chris Lowery
New coach: Barry Hinson Buzz: Lowery enjoyed immediate success as the coach at his alma mater, leading SIU to NCAA appearances in each of his first three seasons at the school. But the Salukis didn't reach the NCAAs in any of the ensuing five seasons and Lowery was fired in early March. The replacement was a bit of a surprise. Hinson was director of basketball operations at Kansas, and he also is the former coach at Missouri State. While he enjoyed some success at Missouri State, he never led the Bears to the NCAAs in his nine seasons at the school. |
| Southern Miss |
Former coach: Larry Eustachy
New coach: TBD. Candidates could include Southern Miss assistant Steve Barnes, UTEP coach Tim Floyd, Wichita State assistant Greg Heiar, Louisiana-Lafayette coach Bob Marlin and Mississippi Valley State coach Sean Woods Buzz: Eustachy was hired away by Colorado State after spending eight seasons at Southern Miss; he led them to the NCAA tourney this past season. |
| Southern Utah |
Former coach: Roger Reid
New coach: Nick Robinson Buzz: Reid, a former BYU coach, retired after five seasons with the Thunderbirds. Robinson had been an assistant at LSU for the past three seasons; he also is a former Stanford assistant. |
| TCU |
Former coach: Jim Christian
New coach: Trent Johnson Buzz: Christian definitely was a hot commodity when TCU hired him away from Kent State after the 2007-08 season. But the Horned Frogs struggled under his watch, and with TCU readying to move to the Big 12, Christian obviously felt it was time to move on. He left for the Ohio job. Johnson, meanwhile, had just finished his fourth season at LSU. He took the Tigers to the NCAA tourney in his first season but had struggled since. As with Christian, he obviously felt the time was right to move on. |
| Tennessee State |
Former coach: John Cooper
New coach: Travis Williams Buzz: Cooper left to take the Miami (Ohio) job. He did nice work in rebuilding the TSU program in three years. The Tigers won 20 games this season for the first time in 32 years. Williams quickly was promoted to replace his old boss. Williams is a former head coach at Division II Fort Valley (Ga.) State who also coached pro ball in China. |
| Tulsa |
Former coach: Doug Wojcik
New coach: Danny Manning Buzz: Wojcik is the winningest coach in school history, with 140 wins in seven seasons. But he never got the Golden Hurricane to the NCAA tourney and he was let go after the season. Manning, who was the first pick in the 1988 NBA draft, had been an assistant at Kansas for the past five seasons; for four seasons before that, he was Bill Self's director of student-athlete development. |
| UAB |
Former coach: Mike Davis
New coach: Jerod Haase Buzz: Davis, the former coach at Indiana, averaged a bit more than 20 wins per season in his six years with UAB. He led the Blazers to one NCAA appearance but was fired after the season. Haase, who played at Kansas, had spent the past nine seasons as an assistant at North Carolina. |
| UNC Greensboro |
Former coach: Mike Dement
New coach: Wes Miller Buzz: Dement was fired in mid-December, and Miller – a former guard for Roy Williams at North Carolina – was named the interim coach; he was given the fulltime job in March after guiding the Spartans to a 11-11 mark during his time as the interim. He is a former assistant at Elon and High Point, which also are located in North Carolina. |
| Virginia Tech |
Former coach: Seth Greenberg
New coach: TBD. Possible candidates could include Kansas assistant Joe Dooley, Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall, Richmond coach Chris Mooney, Lehigh coach Brett Reed, Old Dominion coach Blaine Taylor, Wofford coach Mike Young Buzz: Greenberg took the Hokies to one NCAA appearance in his nine seasons at the school. |
| Wagner |
Former coach: Danny Hurley
New coach: Bashir Mason Buzz: Hurley oversaw a quick turnaround at Wagner, guiding the Seahawks to 38 wins in two seasons before leaving for Rhode Island. Mason was promoted from an assistant's job. At age 28, he will be the youngest Division I coach in the nation next season. |
| Western Kentucky |
Former coach: Ken McDonald
New coach: Ray Harper Buzz: McDonald was fired in January during his fourth season at the school. Western went to the NCAA tourney in his first season but fell quickly after that. Harper was named the interim coach and ended up leading the Hilltoppers back to the NCAAs after they shockingly won the Sun Belt tourney title. Harper won two Division II titles as coach of Kentucky Wesleyan. |
| Winthrop |
Former coach: Randy Peele
New coach: Pat Kelsey Buzz: Peele was fired after five seasons. Kelsey is a former Wake Forest and Xavier assistant who was out of basketball this season, saying he needed time away from the game to finally come to grips with Skip Prosser's death from a heart attack in the summer of 2007. He played for Prosser at Xavier and coached under him at Wake. |
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