Here is an update on the search to replace Rick Stansbury at Mississippi State….
Mississippi State AD Scott Stricklin is going with Parker Executive Search to help identify candidates. This is a very similar situation with the search to replace Bruce Weber at Illinois – PES helped hire Strickland, as they did with Illinois AD Mike Thomas (http://hoopdirt.com/blog/7ab3cd22/daily-dirt-3-16-12/…). PES will be charging their standard $90,000 fee for the search. Some early names that have come up are:
Kermit Davis – Head Coach Middle Tennessee State. He is a 1982 Mississippi State grad. Davis’ father, Kermit, Sr. was the head coach at Mississippi State for seven seasons (1970-77). His team is currently 26-6 and will play Tennessee tonight in the NIT. Davis is 179-132 in 10 years at MTSU. He has also been the head coach at Idaho and Texas A&M. Has 250 career victories (14 seasons as a head coach).
Larry Eustachy – Head Coach Southern Mississippi. Took his team to the NCAA tournament this season with a 25-9 record. Has 142 wins in his 8 seasons at Southern Miss. Has 402 wins in 21 seasons as a head coach with stops at Iowa State, Idaho, and Utah State. Here’s a great article from the NY Times on how far Eustachy has come from all of the issues that he had earlier in his career: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/15/sports/ncaabasketball/coac…
Sean Woods – Head Coach Mississippi Valley State. Led the Delta Devils to a 21-win season and an NCAA Tournament bid this season. Is a former standout at Kentucky. Also worked at TCU and Texas A&M-CC. Is a very “hot” name right now. More likely have a shot at Samford and Winthrop, but his name is being mentioned here as well.
Johnny Jones – Head Coach North Texas. Took his squad to their 3rd straight Sun Belt title game this season. Has won 190 games in his 11 seasons at North Texas. Has SEC experience – is an LSU alum who spent 13 seasons on Dale Brown’s staff. Also worked as an assistant at Alabama. His name has also been mentioned at SMU.
Tom Herrion –Head Coach Marshall. Has won everywhere he’s been. Went 80-38 at the College of Charleston, and has had back to back 21+ win seasons in his first two years at Marshall. Has been a high major assistant at Pitt, Providence, and Virginia.
