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Greg Byrne shuts down rumors about Nate Oats' interest in Maryland job: 'No truth to that'

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh04/01/25griffin_mcveigh
NateOatsUF1
Mar 5, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats directs his team against the Florida Gators during the first half at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Will McLelland-Imagn Images

With coaching searches come coaching rumors. One recently has revolved around Nate Oats and the Maryland Terrapins not too long after Kevin Willard left for Villanova. However, Jeff Goodman reported on Monday that Oats has no interest in leaving Alabama for College Park.

Even further confirmation came later in the day via Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne. He ended any kind of speculation regarding Oats and Maryland when directly asked about the situation.

“I can absolutely tell you there’s no truth to that,” Byrne said.

Oats just wrapped up his sixth season with the Crimson Tide, another successful one. Alabama made the Elite Eight for the second consecutive year before losing to Duke on Saturday night. Three straight Sweet Sixteen programs is a program first as well.

SEC championships have come to Tuscaloosa under Oats, too. Two regular season titles have been won before also cutting down the nets in the SEC Tournament. Not too many programs inside the conference have found the same level of achievement since Oats took over.

Maryland just wrapped up their own campaign after making the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend. Willard got them to the Sweet Sixteen but lost out West to the one-seed, Florida. A buzzer-beater win against Colorado State in the second-round is a moment fans will remember for a long time.

Going 27-9 in the regular season was the school’s best finish since 2019-2020 but there was no postseason due to COVID-19. Maryland does have a ton of potential as a program however, they have a coaching search to deal with.

“They’re a little bit like a country music song right now, they lost a coach, they lost their AD, and they’re going to be out searching in a drier market because they’re coming in late in the cycle,” ESPN’s Pete Thamel said on College GameDay. “There’s really two paths they can take. They can mobilize some of that, some of that Big Ten and Under Armour money and go try to get a Final Four coach. You see Porter Moser there (on your screen), you see Buzz Williams, those have been two guys who believe to be gettable in this cycle.”

While Oats might be a dream hire for the Terrapins, he seemingly will not be a part of the coaching search. Not just based on a report either — direct words from Oats’ athletic director, putting his thoughts in a simple manner.