The Georgia Bulldogs reportedly fired Mark Fox after nine seasons as head coach of the middling SEC basketball team.
The college coaching carousel is already in offseason form, even though the NCAA Tournament has yet to commence. It claimed its latest victim on Saturday in Georgia Bulldogs coach Mark Fox.
ESPN reported the firing of Fox early in the day. The 49-year old led the program for nine seasons, taking them to the NCAA Tournament twice (2011, 2015). The team never made it out of the First Round of the Big Dance, though.
Now, they’ll look to go in another direction. Fox was steady as they come, never winning less than 15 games after his initial season in charge when Georgia won 14. If they make the postseason this year, it will be the team’s fifth consecutive postseason.
While Florida and Kentucky are always near the top of the SEC, however, it’s become clear that there’s room for other teams to emerge from the conference. This season Tennessee and Auburn are leading the charge, with Arkansas and Alabama lingering slightly behind. Georgia can easily move up to that tier.
The next coach of the Bulldogs will be without the current team’s best player. Yante Maten – the only player to average double figures in scoring this season – is a senior and will graduate from the program. Therefore, the next coach is going to need to be a strong developer and an even better recruiter.
Here are three prospective candidates to take over the Georgia Bulldogs.