Maryland basketball surfaces with the newest glitzy head coaching gig across college basketball. Especially after Kevin Willard accepted the previous most prestigious opening at Villanova Sunday.
Willard saw his name attached to the ‘Nova head coaching job throughout March Madness. He dealt with unrest within the athletic department (Damon Evans left as athletic director for SMU) and Maryland’s NIL woes. Willard will officially get a fresh start, plus make his return to the Big East after previously leading Seton Hall.
The Maryland job, however, comes with multiple perks. The next head coach will inherit a program fresh off a Sweet 16 run. There’s also the Big Ten schedule that’ll attract the next coaching leader. Willard’s replacement also has a deep college basketball transfer portal talent pool to pluck from.
Who are the best candidates? There’s a mix of experience coaches (including with NCAA Tournament runs in tow) and a mid-major fast riser.
Buzz Williams, Texas A&M
The seasoned Williams is already hearing the most buzz for this Maryland opening. He’s the first coach mentioned on Inside MD Sports’ hot board on 247Sports. His body language on multiple nights indicate he wants out of College Station.
The College Park university can capitalize. Williams’ resume features 11 trips to the NCAA Tournament. He even owns a better coaching record than Willard at his past three coaching stops of Marquette, Virginia Tech and Texas A&M.
He has zero Final Four appearances, though. That’s the only blemish on his coaching career. But he’s perfect for Maryland if the university wants to lean on an experienced coach.
Mark Byington, Vanderbilt
The Terrapins can become fixated on someone from the Southeastern Conference. Outside of Williams, Byington is a contender.
Byington took a 9-20 program and immediately turned the Commadores into a March Madness team — going 20-13. Every team he’s coached wins.
Byington went 131-97 overall at Georgia Southern then 82-36 at James Madison — the latter earning a NCAA Tournament bid under him last year. His buyout got set at $1 million per The Athletic after he accepted the Vandy job.
Tony Bennett, former Virginia head coach
Need to be realistic: The retired Bennett will always have his name linked to any major opening. And this one has its reasons in attempting to coax him.
For starters, Bennett already knows the DMV (Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia) area very well from his time in Charlottesville. He won’t need to rebuild from the ground up compared to past stops Virginia and Washington State.
But, Bennett likely will be turned off by the A.D. opening. But Maryland needs to swing big if its adamant about winning a national title. The 55-year-old Bennett is one of the few national title winners still out there.
Bryce Drew, Grand Canyon University
Drew endured a disappointing early exit with Grand Canyon. However, he rebuilt himself since Vanderbilt.
The 50-year-old is an astonishing 120-40 overall with the Lopes. He recruits astonishing length for a private school that plays in a mid-major conference.
His dismal production at his last power conference stop (Vandy) likely won’t make him a first option. He also locked in a six-year contract in Dec. 2024 and even purchased a $6.2 million house in the Phoenix Valley. He may hear a phone call, though, from Maryland.
Duane Simpkins, American University
Simpkins isn’t any coach who would make a significant jump to Maryland. He knows the Terrapins well — having played for the legendary Terps coach Gary Williams.
Simpkins averaged more than 10.5 points per game in his final three seasons on campus from 1993-94 to 1995-96. He took American University back to the NCAA Tournament after a decade dry spell.
He’s got a “personal affinity” for Maryland basketball per Jeff Erman of Inside MD on 247Sports. Simpkins looks like the perfect guy to work with what Maryland has. He won with even more limited resources at American.
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