Tigers should aim high in coaching search

Why? It’s simple, really.

On early Friday afternoon, the Yellow Jackets officially announced on Twitter the hiring of Josh Pastner as their next basketball coach, replacing Brian Gregory who was fired after five seasons with a record of 76-86.

Pastner leaving on his own accord is a win-win for both sides.

Memphis gets out from under the massive number it would have taken to get rid of Pastner, north of $10 million, by paying just $1.255 million over two years – saving the athletic department roughly $9.3 million.

Pastner gets a fresh start at a program that was National Championship runners-up in 2003 and plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference with the likes of Duke, North Carolina and Virginia.

Pastner’s situation at Memphis appeared unsalvageable. He missed the postseason entirely in back-to-back seasons – something that had not happened since the Tic Price and Johnny Jones days back in the late-90s, and recruiting had fallen off significantly – leaving little hope that the situation would improve in the near future.

So, Pastner opted to take a pay cut – he reportedly signed a six-year, $11-million contract at Georgia Tech, leaving his $2.65-million annual salary at Memphis – to get a clean slate and take over a rebuilding process in Atlanta.

This leaves Memphis in the middle of its second major coaching search since December when head football coach Justin Fuente left the Tigers to replace the legendary Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech.

Athletic director Tom Bowen is faced with what is the most important hire for Memphis basketball since John Calipari took over for Jones, who was the interim head coach for one season after Price.

Bowen and President David Rudd do not have to go the same route that they took back in December when they hired 34-year-old Mike Norvell, who is considered one of the brightest young offensive minds in college football.

Memphis football is not yet the national brand Memphis basketball is, though Bowen, to his credit, has worked tirelessly to make Tiger football competitive and nationally relevant. But this does mean that Memphis basketball is able to attract a more established coach and a bigger, more exciting name.

Getting a big name is somewhat important. It goes without saying the Tigers want to get someone who they believe will succeed on the court, but they also need someone who can reenergize the fan base.

Hiring a 30-something-year-old assistant who has potential to become a great head coach one day is a really good hire for football, but that’s setting your standards low for Memphis basketball – not to mention that’s the exact route that failed with Pastner, albeit under very different circumstances.

Memphis should aim high with this hire. It’s going to cost money, but returning to basketball prominence comes at a steep price.

Who are some of the names that have surfaced during the few days the Memphis job has been open? The highest profile name so far has been current Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall.

The 53-year-old Marshall has been at Wichita State since 2007 and has won eight games in the NCAA Tournament over the last four seasons, including a trip to the 2013 Final Four.

Marshall would cost a ton, likely around $4 million annually, and that could be more than Memphis is willing and able to pay.

If Marshall doesn’t work out, assuming he’s priority number one, then Memphis could turn their attention to second-year Virginia Tech head coach Buzz Williams.

Before taking over at VA Tech, Williams had a six-year run at Marquette that included making two Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight – not to mention putting players like Jimmy Butler, Wes Matthews and Jae Crowder in the NBA.

Williams is currently make a salary similar to what Pastner was making at Memphis, so it would take a large offer to get him. But he would likely cost less than Marshall.

Former Tennessee and current Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl is a name that is always brought up when talking about potential Memphis basketball coaching candidates, and that’s because many feel that his style of play coupled with his large personality and ability to recruit extremely well would be a perfect fit for Memphis – similar to what Calipari once was for the Tigers.

But Pearl’s off-the-court trouble at Tennessee on top of his large price tag could deter Memphis from making a serious run at him.

If Memphis is forced to move further down their list from the top names, there are still plenty of high-profile candidates that could be in play.

One is former Oklahoma and VCU head coach and current Duke assistant Jeff Capel.

The 41-year-old Capel already has nine years of head coaching experience, guiding a Blake Griffin-led Oklahoma team to the 2009 Elite Eight; however, turmoil over impermissible benefits given to a former Oklahoma player led to Capel’s termination – though former Oklahoma assistant Oronde Taliaferro was found to be the culprit while Capel was never implicated.

Since 2011, Capel has been the associate head coach under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke, and he even coached the Blue Devils to victory in February when Krzyzewski had to miss a game. Some have mentioned Capel as a future successor to Krzyzewski at Duke once the legendary coach decides to retire.

Some other names that could be in play at Memphis are Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy, former Tennessee assistant under Pearl, former Wichita State assistant under Marshall and current East Tennessee State coach Steve Forbes, Middle Tennessee head coach Kermit Davis, former Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings head coach and current Nevada coach Eric Musselman and former Kentucky and current Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith.

Memphis filled its football coaching vacancy in five days, and they’ve reportedly hired the same search firmed used to find Norvell.

Expect Memphis to move quickly and efficiently in finding their next basketball coach, and assuming the timeline is similar to their football search, they should have the spot filled by week’s end.