I explained last night on The Scoop that we would initially be talking about potential names of coaches who could replace Aaron McKie and that we would continue to provide sourced updates to our subscribers as we get them, and we'll be doing that in this thread.
So why does Matt Langel's name keep coming up? Beyond the obvious - including his Temple ties and the great job he's done at Colgate - I continue to hear from people I trust that he has a lot of support and is very likely in the mix. He won't do anything until Colgate is eliminated from the NCAA Tournament. They're playing Texas, ironically, Thursday night.
Could and will Arthur Johnson consider and interview candidates to whom he has ties from outside the area? Absolutely. But as Kyle said, also remember that with the football coaching search, Fran Brown got pretty far in the process before Stan Drayton got the job, so Arthur isn't going to automatically rule out someone with Temple ties and is very much open to listening.
In addition to some of the other names we considered on last night's podcast, here are two others I've heard in the last few hours, enough to mention here.
Mike Morrell - UNC Asheville head coach
Morrell just guided UNC Asheville to an NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bulldogs, who went 27-7 overall and 16-2 in winning the Big South, are the 15th seed in the West Region and will face No. 2 seed UCLA Thursday night. So in addition to keeping an eye on what happens with Colgate Thursday night in its 15-2 matchup against Texas, pay attention to what happens with UNC Asheville and Morrell as well. He has a connection to Arthur Johnson in that he was an assistant at Texas from 2015 to 2018.
Frank Haith - Memphis assistant, former Miami and Tulsa head coach
Haith has had his ups and downs as a head coach at Miami, Missouri and Tulsa. He coached Tulsa to a 21-10 overall record and a 13-5 mark in the American in 2020 and had the Golden Hurricane playing some very good basketball before COVID canceled the rest of the season. Then he went 22-32 in his final two seasons before joining Penny Hardaway's Memphis staff prior to this season. The Nevin Shapiro investigation at Miami also turned up some improprieties with basketball, so Haith was suspended for the first five games of the 2013-14 season when he had moved on to Missouri. He's also had a good track record of graduating his players and with his programs posting good APR numbers, and he was the AP and Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2012 and the AAC Coach of the Year in 2020. He also has a friendship with Arthur Johnson, so he's another candidate to keep an eye on.
So why does Matt Langel's name keep coming up? Beyond the obvious - including his Temple ties and the great job he's done at Colgate - I continue to hear from people I trust that he has a lot of support and is very likely in the mix. He won't do anything until Colgate is eliminated from the NCAA Tournament. They're playing Texas, ironically, Thursday night.
Could and will Arthur Johnson consider and interview candidates to whom he has ties from outside the area? Absolutely. But as Kyle said, also remember that with the football coaching search, Fran Brown got pretty far in the process before Stan Drayton got the job, so Arthur isn't going to automatically rule out someone with Temple ties and is very much open to listening.
In addition to some of the other names we considered on last night's podcast, here are two others I've heard in the last few hours, enough to mention here.
Mike Morrell - UNC Asheville head coach
Morrell just guided UNC Asheville to an NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bulldogs, who went 27-7 overall and 16-2 in winning the Big South, are the 15th seed in the West Region and will face No. 2 seed UCLA Thursday night. So in addition to keeping an eye on what happens with Colgate Thursday night in its 15-2 matchup against Texas, pay attention to what happens with UNC Asheville and Morrell as well. He has a connection to Arthur Johnson in that he was an assistant at Texas from 2015 to 2018.
Frank Haith - Memphis assistant, former Miami and Tulsa head coach
Haith has had his ups and downs as a head coach at Miami, Missouri and Tulsa. He coached Tulsa to a 21-10 overall record and a 13-5 mark in the American in 2020 and had the Golden Hurricane playing some very good basketball before COVID canceled the rest of the season. Then he went 22-32 in his final two seasons before joining Penny Hardaway's Memphis staff prior to this season. The Nevin Shapiro investigation at Miami also turned up some improprieties with basketball, so Haith was suspended for the first five games of the 2013-14 season when he had moved on to Missouri. He's also had a good track record of graduating his players and with his programs posting good APR numbers, and he was the AP and Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2012 and the AAC Coach of the Year in 2020. He also has a friendship with Arthur Johnson, so he's another candidate to keep an eye on.
