DistrictBaller

Steve Prohm- Murray State
Brett Reed- Lehigh
Dwayne Stephens- Michigan State
James Whitford- University of Arizona
Jeff Boals- Ohio State
Aki Collins- Marquette
Joe Dooley- Kansas
Pat Kelsey- Winthrop (reach right now, but I think he could be a good one)
Dalonte Hill- Maryland
Steve Masiello- Manhattan

__________________
"We will wreak havoc on our opponent's psyche and plan of attack."
- VCU Head Coach Shaka Smart

BM-GW

Dooley is a douche (GW grad), Hill has too much recruiting slime associated with him.

Manhattan looked like a decently coached team (with spotty talent) when I watched them last night vs Fordham. They're playing GW Sunday.

Chalmers0

I think those are 4 GREAT options, Prohm would obviously be my #1 I think but if I was a SLU fan I would love to get any of those guys

Billiken_JG

Thanks for the input everyone! There are just so many different ways SLU could go. As some people said, some of the higher level mid-major coaches (specifically Gregg Marshall) have a pretty good situation at the schools they're at right now. Dr. Chaifetz and maybe some other donors stepped up to kick in some money for Majerus' salary, but coaching salaries have gone up since then, so I'm not sure where their ceiling is as far as salary is concerned.

Obviously after Murray State's success last year, Steve Prohm is intriguing, but he's only in his second year there as head coach. I'm somewhat waiting to see how he does this year, just to see how much of last year was a carryover from Billy Kennedy.

There are several other mid-major coaches who have had some success at their current schools, but might not be quite as hot of a name as Marshall or Prohm. The one that sticks out the most is Ben Jacobson at Northern Iowa.

I've noticed that there are several mid-major coaches that while they could be intriguing, they're in year 1 or year 2 at their current schools. They might be good prospects, but I'd generally prefer to see a little more of a track record. Those would be guys (in no particular order) like Rob Senderoff, Geno Ford, Pat Kelsey, Steve Masiello, Paul Lusk at Missouri State.

I wouldn't have a problem with hiring an assistant coach from somewhere, even though you just never know how they'll do when they're in charge of the program. I'd want a really good one though. Names that jump out to me are Chris Collins at Duke, Tim Fuller at Mizzou, Matt Graves from Butler, Jeff Boals from Ohio State, among others.

Finally, there's the chance for a retread coach. Depending on who that would be, it could be either very good or very bad. I don't see a guy like Majerus out there this time who had retired previously, wanted to remain in the midwest, and had a connection to Jesuit schools which drew him to SLU. Among these retread possibilities are Jeff Capel, Rick Stansbury, and Fran Frischilla. I'm a little bit mixed on these guys. With that said, you don't know what big name coach might be looking for a job come the end of the season. I kind of wish that Bruce Weber had taken a year off after getting fired by Illinois, as he would've been a coach I would've been interested in, as I think he'd do well at SLU.

WH

I don't disagree with DB an A-Flyer about Marshall probably being off limits, but it never hurts to call. You never know.

Years ago I thought Charlotte should have dumped Lutz earlier than it did and went after Marshall when he was coaching nearby.

Ideally you'd hire a guy during the season so he can start recruiting, but any coach not now working is not working for a reason. Nor are there any home runs. SLU will be taking a chance no matter what, though that's usually the case with A-10 teams.

Whatever happens, they need to hire fast once the season ends, even if they don't get their top guy. If you are gonna wait you better be sure. SLU's momentum won't last if they have a big recruiting gap.

antboy

That's quite an increase in salary from when I last read (the article estimated base 800k, plus extras to around 1 mil, comparable to or slightly less than what Majerus was making). I also think it's a long shot that Marshall would leave for similar money and when he is plenty able to make a bigger jump from WSU. But that doesn't mean the SLU job is a step down for me, more that it's not worth changing jobs and risking needing to rebuild a program (that seems to be doing well, but might have unexpected or hidden problems).

I don't think the A10-MVC difference going forward will be negligible, if the A10 can compete with the lower-end BCS conferences for position, a huge difference in perception and likely NCAA bids. Assuming the t.v. deals continue to improve, the A10 and the better facilities would make SLU an easier school to recruit to long-term. But still not as good probably as waiting for a bigger job to pop up.

DistrictBaller

Yeah Marshall was bumped up quite a bit after they won the NIT. He's just a bit under 1.5 million a year now.

If you hear Marshall talk about his job, he clearly thinks Wichita State is mid-major in name only. They have the resources available to any BCS program out there.

I agree the A-10 and MVC are starting to separate from each other a bit, but Wichita State is every bit on the same level as SLU in most respects that matter and I honestly don't think SLU can match the salary he makes at this time. It took a whole lot of bargaining just to get the admin at SLU to agree to pay Majerus significantly less and he's a coaching legend.

__________________
"We will wreak havoc on our opponent's psyche and plan of attack."
- VCU Head Coach Shaka Smart

rusty X

I have not figured out why Dino Gaudio, the former Wake Forest coach, has not gotten a new gig. Clearly he got shafted at Wake, and his knowledge of basketball and ability to work with athletes has not vanished. And, with the passing of RM, the permanent head coaching job at SLU will be up for discussion.

__________________
If you are going to have sex with an animal, make sure it is a horse. That way, if it does not work out, you always have a ride home. So sayeth Willie Nelson.

For-DaLove

No way Marshall comes to SLU but this statement is 100% false. We have the money to pay big. The school has a ton of money and we have donors, 1 in particular who is willing to throw lots of cash to help pay for a good coach.
Say what you may about Biondi, but the dude is going to attempt to make a big-time splash hire. I'm not saying it will happen. It could though. We'll definitely offer some people completely out of our league. Biondi's hunger for control definitely won't help us, but there's certainly people who don't care about that kind of stuff if the money's right.

DoubleJayAlum

Marshall may actually be getting closer to $1.6M this year than $1.5M. WSU has really good attendance (they sell out all of their games in an arena that seats just over 10K) get a lot of money from the Koch brothers (yes, those Koch brothers), and don't have FB to drain the athletic department's finances. On top of that, they keep giving him raises even though he's only taken them to one NCAA tourney! IMO, if Marshall leaves, it will be for a school in the southeast where he is from. He did pass on NC State and South Carolina already, so it isn't like he's just looking to jump.

One other note on Marshall -- he is pretty difficult to get along with. I could forsee some pretty epic battles between him and Biodi!

I think the top two programs in the MVC will continue to be flush financially simply because of substantial attendance dollars. Lower bowl seats at both arenas go for serious dollars and haven't been available for a decade.

If you want to poach a coach from the MVC, look at Ben Jacobson. Northern Iowa is flat broke and the state of Iowa is threatening more financial cuts to the school. Despite his success, the school has a small fanbase (attendence is only around 4-5K) that often seems more interested in its football team. He's a top quality X and O's guy, but has passed on BCS offers in the past. He utilizes the same style as Majerus, so he'd be able to step in with minimal need to change personnel. The feeling has been that he's holding out for the day that the Minnesota or Wisconsin jobs become available.

Simms

I think the biggest issue with Gaudio is that he isn't good. I know that Dukes fans dreaded the prospect of him coaching us.

Bizziken

Two coaches I would like to see SLU talk to are Rex Walters from San Francisco and Sydney Johnson from Fairfield

DoubleJayAlum

FWIW, the MVC currently has two teams ranked in the top 25 while the A10 has none. Those two MVC teams both beat the A10 opponents on their schedule - one soundly at home, the other at the A10 team's home.

Frankly, the real problem is that both the MVC and A10 have some bad teams at the bottom of the conference.

waldo027

Jay Wright's contract at Villanova is up at the end of the season. I'd love to see him at SLU.

El Shaqtus

If he can't beat the Bills, join them?

__________________
Mom, thanks for everything.

RIP Coach Rick Majerus 12/1/12. You were the one that said it was OK to think big at SLU. You were right.

KVBL Lexington Kings