Kentucky Coaching Search Timeline now that Scott Drew is out

Scott Drew is off the board, so Kentucky’s coaching search is moving on to the next top candidates, Dan Hurley and Billy Donovan. While Drew’s answer came swiftly, the next phase of the search may take almost a week due to some extenuating circumstances for both Hurley and Donovan.

Let’s start with Hurley. Kentucky is expected to back a Brinks truck up to his house in hopes of luring him to Lexington. On today’s radio show, Matt Jones said he’s hearing Kentucky will offer Hurley $11-12 million a year, but later wrote on KSBoard that the figure could be even higher. Hurley is clearly happy at UConn, coming off his second straight national championship with the Huskies. His wife reportedly wants to stay in the Northeast.

If they’re certain that money can’t change their minds, we may find out shortly. If they need to think about it, there’s at least one event we need to get through first.

Saturday: UConn National Championship Parade (Hurley)

UConn’s victory parade for its second straight title is Saturday. Starting at 11 a.m., the Huskies will ride through the streets of Hartford. Will they draw a bigger crowd than at their championship celebration on Tuesday? Either way, for optics alone, if Hurley is truly considering Kentucky’s offer, he will likely wait until after the parade is over.

If Hurley accepts the offer, we’ll throw a parade in his honor in Lexington the minute he lands. If he doesn’t, the search moves on and the timing gets even more complicated.

Wednesday: Chicago Bulls Play-in Game (Donovan)

Kentucky’s next top candidate is Billy Donovan, head coach of the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls play the Pistons in Detroit tonight, the Wizards in Washington tomorrow, and the Knicks in Madison Square Garden on Sunday. From there, they will play the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Playoffs play-in game on Wednesday. If they win that, they’ll keep playing. It’s hard to see Donovan accepting an offer while his team is still competing.

That said, Kentucky can’t afford to wait. During that period, second-tier candidates will likely be interviewed. On today’s show, Matt said that group includes five people right now, two of whom are Chris Beard and Sean Miller.

So, if Hurley turns Kentucky down, we won’t know about Donovan until next Wednesday night or Thursday morning or maybe even longer, and that’s only if he’s really considering it. Time to hurry up and wait.

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