College basketball insider unveils intriguing 'call list' for Texas job after Chris Beard firing

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh•01/05/23•

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Texas pulled the band-aid off on Thursday, firing head coach Chris Beard for cause. A national job will now be open, with athletic director Chris Del Conte conducting the search. While there might be some time before the Longhorns name anyone, it’s never too early to speculate.

Seth Davis of The Athletic put together a list of names Texas should call, dubbing the group of candidates a “call list.” A typical saying when going through coaching searches — ‘you have to at least give them a call and make them say no.’

With the type of spending power the Texas athletic department has, they will always go after top names. Nine coaches are on the “call list” for Davis, coming in alphabetical order.

John Calipari leaving Kentucky “more credible” than ever

Pressure to win at Texas is immense despite not being one of the sport’s blue blood programs. Expectations would still pale in comparison to what Calipari has gone through at Kentucky, especially with a slow start to the 2022-2023 season.

Calipari has a lifetime contract with the Wildcats and is arguably the biggest-named active head coach at the moment. Even so, Davis believes there is a lot more credibility behind Calipari finally leaving Lexington after being linked to many jobs across the years.

“In light of Kentucky’s current struggles, and the fan base’s commensurate impatience, the notion that Calipari would actually leave this time is a lot more credible,” Davis said.

Calipari has one national championship on his resume, with pressure coming from Big Blue Nation to add a second. Six Final Fours, six SEC tournament titles, and six SEC regular season championships round out the accomplishment.

All that’s before even thinking about the success at Memphis.

Texas acting HC Rodney Terry could have a chance to keep job

The Beard new broke on a day when Texas played a game, facing Rice at the new Moody Center. While it took overtime, Terry still got the job done in his acting head coaching debut. Until Tuesday night against Kansas State, things had been going swimmingly too.

If Terry can impress over the next few months, the decision might be easy for Del Conte. Although he loves going out and making a big splash, results and players’ voices can be powerful tools.