There is an increasingly restless feeling surrounding Texas men’s basketball. The seat for head coach Shaka Smart gets hotter with every loss as the Longhorns are the longest of long shots to make the NCAA Tournament. They would need a conference tournament win at this point to get in with an at large bid. The growing question is who will replace Smart?
ESPN Insider Jeff Borzello writes that John Beilein could be an option for the Texas Longhorns (story requires subscription).
This will likely be the primary job that comes up in speculation about Breilein’s future. Texas coach Shaka Smart’s job status is the biggest question entering the coaching carousel, as the Longhorns are likely to his fifth year in charge with just two NCAA tournament appearances and zero NCAA Tournament wins. A 29-point loss over the weekend to an 11-14 Iowa State team without its best player was Texas’ fourth defeat in a row and dropped the Longhorns to 14-11 overall and 4-8 in the Big 12.
Smart is still owed a lot of money and does have talent on the roster, but should he get fired or leave for a different job, Beilein would be a logical candidate in Austin. Texas has not had an issue getting players, but it hasn’t translated into success on the court. If the Longhorns can bring Beilein talent, he will likely figure out the second part of the equation. It’s worth noting that Texas assistant coach Luke Yaklich was an assistant under Beilein for two seasons before Beilein left for the NBA.
During his latest stop at Michigan from 2007-2019, Beilein took Michigan to the Final Four twice (2013,2018). He took Michigan to the tournament nine times in his 12 seasons with the Wolverines. Not too mention, twice winning the conference and the conference tournament. From 2012-2018, Breilein led Michigan to the Sweet 16 twice, Elite Eight once and NCAA Tournament runner up twice. He would help bring Texas back out of the doldrums of the Big 12 conference.