Coach Mike White’s sudden departure for Georgia leaves Florida searching for another coach in a high-profile program during the span of several months.
Athletic director Scott Stricklin opted for a rising star from outside the Power 5 to hire Billy Napier from Louisiana to replace Dan Mullen in football. The same approach seven years earlier by Jeremy Foley produced respectable, not earth-shattering, results under White, who left Louisiana Tech for Gainesville.
His Gators reached four straight NCAA Tournaments before missing out Sunday, yet never seriously contended for an SEC title. Under White, UF was 142-88 but also 17-20 in March.
The 45-year-old’s exit with five years remaining on his contract gives the program the chance for a reset.
Stricklin could go in multiple directions — a proven veteran, a Power 5 coach looking to make a move or an up-and-comer from mid-major.
Stricklin said Sunday the search “has already begun.”
Whomever the 51-year-old AD targets will face a much stronger SEC than White entered. The impact of the transfer portal since its October 2018 inception and name, image and likeness legislation last July have intensified the challenge facing the next Gators’ coach.
A vocal segment of fans is clamoring for Rick Pitino, mentor to Billy Donovan and one of the game’s brilliant strategists. Pitino will lead Iona (25-7) against the Gators (19-13) at 9 p.m. Wednesday in the NIT, ironically to be played on “Billy Donovan Court” at the O’Connell Center.
But 69 with ample baggage, Pitino is a non-starter.
Among veteran coaches, Stricklin could pluck the Donovan tree and pursue Anthony Grant at Dayton or Shaka Smart at Marquette.
Grant would be a solid, though somewhat uninspired hire.
The 55-year-old Miami native was fired at Alabama following six seasons (2009-15). His 2019-20 Dayton squad was 29-2, earning him Associated Press coach of the year honors after COVID-19 canceled the NCAA Tournament. Otherwise, the Flyers have settled for three NIT berths during four seasons under Grant, who has a 294–161 career record.
The 44-year-old Smart, despite a failed stint at Texas (109–86, six seasons), might excite the fan base a bit more. But he led Marquette to the 2022 NCAA Tournament during his first season in Milwaukee and might not want to leave a basketball school for one where football is king.
Illinois’ Brad Underwood is an intriguing veteran Power 5 coach whose name often comes up when jobs open. The 58-year-old has led the Illini to consecutive NCAA bids and six trips to the Big Dance in nine seasons as head coach, including three seasons at Stephen F. Austin (2013-16) and one at Oklahoma State (2016-17).
UConn’s Dan Hurley has the pedigree and track record, but Florida would have to convince the 49-year-old from New Jersey to leave the northeast. The Huskies have reached consecutive NCAA Tournaments, including this year’s 23-9 squad as a No. 5 seed. Hurley also twice coached Rhode Island two the Big Dance and is 224–151 in 12 seasons as a head coach.
The mid-major level offers many possibilities, among them Murray State’s Matt McMahon, North Texas coach Grant McCasland, San Francisco coach Todd Golden and Cleveland State’s Dennis Gates.
— The 43-year-old McMahon’s current squad is 30-2 and a No. 7 seed in the NCAA following the program’s fourth regular-season title in the Ohio Valley Conference in five seasons. His teams are 153–66 in seven seasons, including four with 23 wins or more.
— McCasland is 178–81 in eight seasons as a head coach, including five at North Texas. The 45-year-old is a former point guard at Baylor who has four 20-win seasons at North Texas and coached the Mean Green past Purdue as a No. 13 seed during the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
— At 36, Golden is a wildcard with just three seasons as a head coach. But the Dons are 24-9 and NCAA Tournament bound this season. Golden also served three seasons at Auburn under Bruce Pearl (2014-16) and knows the SEC.
— Among possible candidates, Gates might be the most familiar with Florida, given his long stint under Leonard Hamilton as an FSU assistant (2011-19). The 42-year-old Gates is 39-18 at Cleveland State following an 11-21 inaugural campaign and led the 2020-21 squad to the NCAA Tournament. This year’s team loss to Wright State in the Horizon League tournament final as the No. 1 seed.
If Wes Miller were willing to leave Cincinnati after an 18-15 inaugural season with the Bearcats, the 39-year-old would be the definition of up-and-coming coach. He was 104-34 during his final four seasons at UNC-Greensboro where he became the school’s head coach at age 28.
That’s the same age Donovan was when he became the nation’s youngest head coach in 1994 at Marshall.
