How Tubby Smith to Minnesota Affects Michigan

By Sean · Thursday, March 22, 2007 · 9:25 PM |  Share | Leave a Comment 

Tubby Smith has been feeling the heat for quite some time now in Kentucky after not having the greatest success (in Kentucky fans’ minds) as coach of the Wildcats. As a Michigan fan, I couldn’t believe the outcry against a coach that has done so many good things, like getting to the NCAA Tournament. Either way, Smith was feeling the heat and it actually did appear that he was going to be back next with with UK. That changed today in a drastic way. This afternoon the shocking news came out that Tubby Smith was going to become the next coach of Minnesota. Minnesota?! That completely blind-sided me and left me at a loss for words.

The way it apparently went down was that Minnesota contacted Kentucky for permission to talk to Smith and actually offered him a deal of $1.5 million per year. Smith declined it and from there that talks would slow down a bit. Minnesota had other plans as original reports suggested that the Golden Gophers offered him $1.8 million per year and that was enough for Smith to accept. Now, however, there are rumblings that Minnesota may have offered a whopping $2.2 million per year. Whether that’s true or not, it is a huge number to offer a coach that was just seriously contacted earlier in the day.

This does affect Michigan in a number of ways. The obvious, it eliminates Tubby Smith from being considered as a candidate for the head coaching vacancy. Although it isn’t known exactly if Michigan had inquired about interviewing Smith or talking with him about the job, speculation suggests he was high up on the list of candidates. If he would’ve been the top candidate though, Bill Martin would’ve at least gotten in contact with him before today’s events unfolded, so in that respect, the effect isn’t huge.

Another thing that I immediately thought of was that Michigan now takes a step back and no longer is seen as the best job out there. Kentucky by far is a better place to be at right now as it is one of the nation’s top programs. I figured that Michigan would now have to compete with the Wildcats when hiring someone, but after seeing the lists to replace Tubby Smith by some UK fans, my original thoughts may be off. The names being thrown around are big ones. I’m not sure if Kentucky’s next coach will be on one of these lists, but the Wildcats are going big nonetheless. It could be a problem, but I actually believe Iowa will be competing with Michigan more for candidates.

The one thing I do think will reach Michigan is the domino effect. If Kentucky hires someone before Michigan then slowly other jobs will quickly become open. UK is likely going to get someone from a rather large basketball school, creating an opening there. That school then has to find a new coach and it would probably come from a mid-major or maybe even a big school still. As you can see, it is a chain reaction. Obviously, these hirings would have to take place pretty quickly to have a large effect on Michigan, but again, you never know.

So where does this leave Michigan right now. I’ll get to that tomorrow with a post that evaluates the current situation and throws around a few names. There is absolutely no need for Bill Martin to go out and hire someone because of this past day’s news. Rushing a decision is what led to Tommy Amaker being hired in the first place, and look how that turned out. Right now, the pressure is and should be on, but I Martin has to think things out before making any rash decisions.