Busting Brackets
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NCAA Basketball: Top 10 worst coaching hires of the last decade

By Joey Loose

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - FEBRUARY 04: Head coach Kevin Stallings speaks to a referee during the second half of a 77-60 Vanderbilt upset of Texas A&M at Memorial Gym on February 4, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - FEBRUARY 04: Head coach Kevin Stallings speaks to a referee during the second half of a 77-60 Vanderbilt upset of Texas A&M at Memorial Gym on February 4, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – NOVEMBER 27: Head coach John Groce of the Illinois Fighting Illini gestures to his players as they take on the Indiana State Sycamores during the 2014 Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on November 27, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Illinois won 88-62. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – NOVEMBER 27: Head coach John Groce of the Illinois Fighting Illini gestures to his players as they take on the Indiana State Sycamores during the 2014 Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on November 27, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Illinois won 88-62. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Honorable Mentions

Not all of the poor coaching hires of the last decade could make the top 10, so here are a few of the bad decisions that just missed out. Most of these coaches simply floundered when given opportunities with power conference programs while others were just plain terrible, though we’ve saved the bigger controversies for the real list.

  • Tony Barbee (Auburn – 2010)
    • UTEP head coach who couldn’t handle SEC, disposed of after four seasons and 49-75 mark.
  • Jeff Bzdelik (Wake Forest – 2010)
    • Fired Colorado and former NBA head coach who stumbled to just 51-76 at Wake.
  • Steve Donahue (Boston College – 2010)
    • Led Cornell to the Sweet Sixteen before taking Al Skinner’s program to new lows in his four years.
  • Brian Gregory (Georgia Tech – 2011)
    • Never higher than ninth in the ACC; just didn’t win enough.
  • John Groce (Illinois – 2012)
    • After success at Ohio, couldn’t quite make his mark at Illinois: just one NCAA bid.
  • Eddie Jordan (Rutgers – 2013)
    • His 29-68 record in three years was abysmal even by Rutgers standards.
  • Brandon Miller (Butler – 2013)
    • Sidelined by medical issues and couldn’t quite replace Brad Stevens (14-17 in his one year).
  • Craig Neal (New Mexico – 2013)
    • Couldn’t elevate the program after Steve Alford left for UCLA and home attendance torpedoed during his tenure.
  • Ernie Kent (Washington State – 2014)
    • A 47-77 run so far at WSU isn’t particularly great but maybe that could still change?
  • Dave Leitao (DePaul – 2015)
    • Just 29-65 in his second DePaul stint for a program that is miles from its glory days.
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