Every Coaching Candidate has an Imperfect Resume

Kentucky fans are experiencing a major coaching search for the first time since 2012. Iowa is the only Power Five program with a longer coaching search drought. When Mitch Barnhart hired John Calipari and Mark Stoops, social media did not play the same role in our daily lives.

The Big Blue Nation is experiencing this phenomenon for the first time. Discerning the avalanche of information is difficult. On Monday night, I reminded fans that coaches frequently say one thing, then do another. In 2006 Nick Saban said, “I will not be the coach at Alabama.” John Calipari was confronted by a Memphis reporter at his UK introductory press conference days after the head coach said he was staying at Memphis.

There’s another thing we should all consider while parsing through candidates. Nobody is perfect.

When examining candidates, there is not one single person with just a “pros” list. There are always a couple of “cons.” Let’s take a moment to go through the resumes of respected college basketball coaches as a reminder that even the best of the best are not without fault.

John Calipari

When Kentucky hired John Calipari, it seemed like a no-brainer. He was coming off of a National Championship game appearance and three straight conference titles. However, the Tigers did not make the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament until 2006. Calipari also had some perceived baggage as a bag guy after UMass’ Final Four was stripped, which was soon followed by a vacated Final Four at Memphis.

Mick Cronin

Steve Alford never went to an Elite Eight during his four-year UCLA tenure. The Bruins found his replacement by hiring a Midwest guy who had never been to the Elite Eight. Mick Cronin took Cincinnati to nine straight NCAA Tournaments, but only one Sweet 16. During Cronin’s second season in Westwood, UCLA went to a Final Four and two years later the Bruins were Pac-12 champs. Past production does not indicate future performance.

Billy Donovan

Billy the Kid started his coaching career in Lexington, tying him to two previous Kentucky basketball coaching vacancies. Even though the Cats were turned down twice, how often can you hire a coach with two National Championships on his resume?

There are some obvious glaring cons to hiring Donovan. He has not been a college basketball coach since 2015. In the almost decade away, the sport of college basketball has drastically changed with the addition of the transfer portal and NIL. There’s also the timing aspect of it all. The Chicago Bulls will be in a play-in game in the middle of next week, delaying the roster-building process.

Dan Hurley

Speaking of two-time National Champions, the guy who just won back-to-back titles surely has an unblemished resume, right?

Before he became the biggest name in college basketball, Hurley was struggling to find success in the postseason. He led the charge as the Huskies returned to the Big East ahead of the 2021 season. In Uconn’s first three years back in the league, Hurley’s only Big East Tournament win was against DePaul. Prior to his 12-game NCAA Tournament win streak, Hurley was 0-2 in March Madness.

He’s the best in the business now, but two years ago Hurley was a good coach that couldn’t get over the hump in March.

Scott Drew

Kentucky has never hired a coach with a National Championship on his resume, but Scott Drew’s track record was picked apart by many even before we knew Calipari was leaving for Arkansas.

The BBN prides itself on Kentucky’s success in the SEC Tournament. Even though the Big 12 is the Kansas Jayhawks’ conference, Drew has never won a Big 12 Conference Tournament and Baylor has won the regular season three times.

Even though Drew has the title on his resume, folks point to the Covid year as a fluke, ignoring the fact that they needed to beat an undefeated team to cut down the nets in the title. In 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, Drew made the second weekend five times and was bounced in the opening round three times.

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An optimist will look at the glass half full when examining resumes. A pessimist will point to the bad to prove a point and disqualify a candidate. You can play this game with every single coaching candidate in virtually every sport. Wade into these waters wisely.