Good morning! We are two days out from the release of the bracket. Before we get to the madness, carousel chaos is mandatory. I’m expecting a burst of movement today.
What I’m monitoring/hearing:
• Villanova opening is an inevitability. I’d be surprised if an announcement isn’t made in the coming hours. When that happens, the search process will officially begin
• Keep an eye on Iowa and UCF. Many are waiting/watching to see what happens with both in the next 24 hours
• Texas is considered a lock to open unless Rodney Terry makes a huge run into the NCAA Tournament, even with UT potentially playing its way into the NCAAs after beating A&M in dramatic fashion on Thursday. Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder was a rumored candidate in recent weeks, but that’s not happening. The potential list is filled with sitting power-conference coaches
• Elsewhere, NC State AD Boo Corrigan flew out to Houston on Thursday to interview Will Wade in person. His candidacy seems to be picking up steam, but we’ll see if any info about other potential players leaks on Friday
Two headlines from Thursday were a firing and a hiring. The former: Ben Johnson’s overnight dismissal at Minnesota. He’s out after four seasons. I’ve got more on the situation in Minneapolis in the capsule below. The latter: Murray State hired Creighton assistant Ryan Miller. He interviewed in NYC this week with school leadership and accepted the offer Thursday morning, sources told CBS Sports, and added that Ja Morant had a voice throughout the process, including supporting another promising candidate in Dayton assistant James Kane. Morant is represented by Miller’s brother, NBA player-turned-agent Mike Miller.
Remember to check back in here every morning, afternoon and evening; this story will get frequent updates.
We’re at 21 job openings right now and that number is going to increase Friday. We’ll almost definitely hit at least 40 coaching moves in this cycle — and 50-plus wouldn’t be a surprise at all. That said, I don’t expect 2025 to hit the levels of absurdity that 2024 did, when there was a record 68 job swaps. Be sure to bookmark this page. It will get daily updates moving forward.
