Rick Barnes To Tennessee Volunteers Brings Instant Stability

ESPN reports that a deal has been finalized between the University of Tennessee and new head coach Rick Barnes. The move brings with it much needed stability to a program in flux.

Tennessee fans everywhere should be thrilled to death right now.

Of all the moves happening in the close of the 2014-15 season, the hire of former Texas head coach Rick Barnes by the Volunteers could be the smartest, if not the loudest. ESPN’s Jeff Goodman is reporting that the announcement will come some time Tuesday.

Rick Barnes to Tennessee is done, sources told ESPN. News conference later today.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 31, 2015

Barnes, whose record of 402-180 in 17 seasons at Texas speaks for itself, may not be the most popular of available head coaches, but he certainly knows how to win, and for a program like Tennessee, whose basketball program has seen fire and rain since the tumultuous (yet successful) Bruce Pearl era.

The Barnes hire comes on the heels of one of the most disastrous seasons in Volunteer history, where first-year head coach Donnie Tyndall found himself on the outside looking in after being fired in the wake of an NCAA investigation that found he committed a number of violations that could end up with him in coaches’ jail as the result of a potential show-cause order.

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Between the Tyndall blunder and chasing away post-Pearl hire Cuonzo Martin after three increasingly successful seasons, Bringing in Barnes is a sign that the Volunteers are finally ready to be a stable program once again, and honestly with a 7-11 season in the SEC, the Vols can only go up from here.

Barnes, who boasts 15 20-win seasons while at Texas, along with NCAA Tournament appearances in all but one season, is absolutely the guy to get it done, and in short order. The numbers dictate that he’s the guy you want to right the ship.

However, at the age of 60, one has to ask just how many good seasons can Tennessee expect out of Barnes. While making no assumptions about his health, with the rigors and demands of rebuilding a program, there are no guarantees that Barnes can or will put in the same 17 seasons he did with Texas.

What does speak to Barnes’ favor is the setups are very similar. Much like Texas, Tennessee is also a football-first school. While Texas has been more successful over time, the fervor for stadium Saturdays is just as intense, and despite maybe being third in popularity (also behind Lady Volunteers basketball), Barnes should have the wiggle room he needs to handle the program the right way.

That said, one of the keys to ultimate success for the program as a whole is to go into the Barnes era with a preferred, planned line of succession. Sure, it seems premature to even think of such a thing, but if Barnes can cobble together a solid staff, one of the top priorities embattled athletic director Dave Hart should insist upon is someone on the bench that can work with and one day succeed Barnes without causing the sort of turnover that could force the Vols to start over from scratch again in a few years.

Of course that’s the optimistic path, and chances are Barnes could outlast Hart, who may well have saved his job by bringing in Barnes over initial interview selection Chris Holtmann who just finished his first season at Butler.

Regardless of the subtle nuances, hiring Rick Barnes was a solid move for a program that absolutely needed it, and that’s something that can and likely will result in success on the recruiting trail and ultimately on the court.

Next: Where Do The Texas Longhorns Go From Here?

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