Cuonzo Martin leaving Tennessee to coach Cal
By Joe Nardone
Mar 27, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Cuonzo Martin speaks at a press conference during practice for the midwest regional of the 2014 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Cuonzo Martin will no longer be coaching the Tennessee Volunteers. This according to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, who reports that the once maligned Martin will now take the head coaching job with Cal.
It wasn’t that long ago that Cuonzo Martin was on the hot seat. Well, at least as far as some Tennessee fans were concerned. Fast-forward one good NCAA Tournament later and Martin apparently became a hot coaching commodity.
This isn’t great news for the Vols. Finding a suitable replacement for Martin is going to be hard. It might be even tougher to find a new coach that will appease their passionate fanbase.
As for Cal, though, this is an interesting hire. Do they really believe in Martin or did they become another program that got caught in the new “it” coach via the NCAA Tournament?
Time will tell, obviously. Although, it will be an interesting couple of days as far as how Tennessee reacts, their initial coaching search and how much loot they are willing to spend to land a new coach.