The college basketball world was stunned on Monday morning when ESPN broke the news that the Cleveland Cavaliers had hired Michigan's John Beilein as their next head coach.
Beilein had flirted with NBA jobs in the past, most notably the Detroit Pistons job last summer, but this came out of nowhere. There were some whispers about his candidacy in the last couple of days, but nothing that made it seem like he was on the verge of taking the position.
Athletic director Warde Manuel is now placed in a difficult spot. In most cases, when a coach is rumored to leave or be fired, there's already a list of replacements in place, both at the school and in the media. When it happens surprisingly, in mid-May, it's a little bit harder.
So what's next?
Job description
Under Beilein, Michigan was one of the most consistently successful programs in the country. The Wolverines finished as national runners-up in 2013 and 2018 but also reached the Sweet 16 in 2017 and 2019 and made an Elite Eight appearance in 2014.
Beilein helped bring the program back to the winning it had seen prior to the turn of the century. Michigan has been to eight Final Fours and six national title games and won the championship in 1989. Prior to Beilein taking over in 2007, though, the Wolverines hadn't been to an NCAA tournament in a decade.
On the plus side, Michigan is one of the most nationally recognizable brands in college sports; while that's due mostly to the football team, it carries over to basketball too. There's plenty of success on the basketball side, money won't be an issue and it's a very attractive job for a long list of coaches.
Who could be on that list?
Keep it in-house
Beilein completely transformed his staff over the past few years, with Saddi Washington, Luke Yaklich and DeAndre Haynes each having just two or three seasons of experience on the Michigan sideline. But given the timing of Beilein's decision, promoting an assistant coach is always an option -- à la Butler and Brandon Miller when Brad Stevens left for the Boston Celtics in 2013.
Washington has been at Michigan for three seasons after spending 10 seasons on Greg Kampe's staff at Oakland. He's a Lansing, Michigan, native who spent seven years playing overseas.
Yaklich has been credited with Michigan's defensive turnaround over the past two seasons after joining Beilein's staff from Illinois State. He also spent 14 years as a high school coach in Illinois.
Haynes has been at Michigan for two seasons, also joining from Illinois State after spending time at Toledo and Kent State. Haynes is a Detroit native.
They'll say no
Tony Bennett, Virginia: Bennett just won a national championship, didn't show interest in UCLA and could probably stay at Virginia for life. He's not going to Michigan.
Chris Beard, Texas Tech: Beard is one of the five highest-paid coaches in college basketball and is a hero in Lubbock. He's not going to Michigan.
Home-run hire
Billy Donovan, Oklahoma City Thunder: Had the UCLA search extended further into April, there was some buzz that Donovan would have been interested. Could Michigan be a realistic move? If he's trying to get back into college basketball, there aren't many better jobs that will open in the near future. But Donovan could also try to remain in the NBA if he and the Thunder parted ways. Michigan has to at least gauge his interest, though.
Wild cards
Thad Matta: If igniting the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry is Manuel's goal, why not go after Matta? He hasn't coached since leaving Ohio State in June 2017 but has expressed interest in a return to college basketball -- if it's the right spot. He's been mentioned for jobs over the past couple of cycles, but nothing got too close. He knows the Midwest and he knows the Big Ten.
Nate Oats, Alabama: Had Beilein left two months ago, Oats would have been one of the first names on this list. But Alabama scooped him up from Buffalo, and now he's probably out of contention. Coaches have left jobs quicker than this in the past, but I don't see it happening with Oats.
Juwan Howard, Miami Heat (assistant): The ties are obvious. He was a member of the Fab Five in the early '90s before spending nearly 20 seasons in the NBA. Since retiring in 2013, Howard has been an assistant coach for the Miami Heat. Howard doesn't have any experience recruiting or any experience as a head coach, though, and therefore he seems like an unlikely hire.
Make the call
LaVall Jordan, Butler: This one makes sense for a lot of reasons. He's a Michigan native, spent six seasons as an assistant coach under Beilein at Michigan and has three seasons of experience as a head coach, with mixed results. He went 11-24 in his one season at Milwaukee before moving to Butler and reaching the NCAA tournament in 2018. The Bulldogs went 16-17 last season.
Steve Wojciechowski, Marquette: Wojo just signed an extension with Marquette, but he could be worth a phone call. He's been to two NCAA tournaments in the last three seasons with the Golden Eagles. Marquette would have been a top-10 preseason team, but with the Hauser brothers transferring out, some momentum was lost.
Bobby Hurley, Arizona State: Hurley was also working on a new contract after turning down St. John's in April, but Michigan is a different deal. If the Wolverines called, Hurley would likely listen. He's been to back-to-back NCAA tournaments with the Sun Devils.
Mike White, Florida: This is a little bit outside the box, but White has been to three consecutive NCAA tournaments with Florida -- including an Elite Eight run in 2017. He's won at least 20 games in seven straight seasons with the Gators and Louisiana Tech. Could be an interesting name.
Shaka Smart, Texas: Smart undoubtedly enters next season on the hot seat after failing to reach the NCAA tournament this past season (although the Longhorns did win the NIT). But he's still got some name cachet and has experience coaching at a football-first school. He's missed the NCAA tournament two of the past three seasons, however.
Backups
Porter Moser, Loyola-Chicago: Moser's name has popped up for a number of jobs since he led Loyola-Chicago to the Final Four in 2018. But the closest he came was with St. John's last month, and he eventually returned to the Ramblers. This is Michigan, though. If the Wolverines miss on a few big-name guys, Moser could make sense -- despite making just one NCAA tournament in 15 seasons.
Travis Steele, Xavier: Steele has been the head coach at Xavier for just one season, having replaced Chris Mack after 10 seasons on the Musketeers staff. Xavier went 19-16 in his lone season as head coach. But Steele is an excellent Midwest recruiter and has spent his entire career in the Midwest.
Craig Smith, Utah State: Smith did one of the best coaching jobs in the country last season, leading Utah State to a share of the Mountain West title and a 28-7 record before a loss to Washington in the NCAA tournament. He also won 48 games his final two seasons at South Dakota and is a Minnesota native.
John Thompson III: A bit outside the box, but he picked up some buzz at Vanderbilt and will get back into college coaching sooner rather than later. JT3 had significant success at Princeton and Georgetown before struggling in his final few seasons with the Hoyas.
Brad Brownell, Clemson: Brownell and Clemson missed the NCAA tournament last season, but the Tigers went to the Sweet 16 in 2018. He likely hasn't had enough sustained success to get serious consideration, though, going to two NCAA tournaments in his last 12 seasons of coaching. He does have plenty of Midwest ties, though, as an Indiana native who coached at Wright State for four seasons.
Scott Nagy, Wright State: Underrated on a national level, Nagy has won 66 games in three seasons at Wright State, going to the NCAA tournament in 2018 and winning a share of the conference title in 2019. He also helped transition South Dakota State into Division I and went to three NCAA tournaments in his past five seasons with the Jackrabbits.
Wes Miller, UNC Greensboro: The first team left out of the NCAA tournament this past season, UNC Greensboro has seen consistent success under Miller the past few years. Miller has won 81 games in his last three seasons, going to the NCAA tournament in 2018.
Matt McMahon, Murray State: Like Miller, the geographical ties aren't there for McMahon -- but he's had success the past two years at the mid-major level. The Racers have been to back-to-back NCAA tournaments and beat Marquette in the first round this year. Much of that is due to Ja Morant, but McMahon helped bring Morant to Murray.
Recommendation: Bobby Hurley or Mike White (if not Billy Donovan).
I think both of these guys are attainable and would have success. They've done well the past few years in terms of NCAA tournament appearances, but they could also be interested in a move. That said, if there's any chance Donovan leaves the Thunder for college, he's the obvious hire for Michigan.
Prediction: Billy Donovan.
The buzz continues to grow that Donovan would be interested in a return to college coaching -- and this would be his best opportunity over the next year or two. It would make a lot of sense for both sides.