A major shakeup seems to have occurred in the SEC with the impending departure of Billy Kennedy at Texas A&M. What do to the Aggies do moving forward?
Following eight years at Texas A&M, Billy Kennedy will soon be officially relieved of his head coaching duties. The Aggies struggled this past season and Kennedy will not return for a ninth season in College Station. He will coach until Texas A&M is eliminated in the SEC Tournament, which could come in the next few days. In our early season head coach rankings he came in at 69th, but things certainly haven’t ended as Kennedy hoped.
Kennedy’s coaching career began with a dozen years as an assistant coach, beginning at his alma mater Southeastern Louisiana. He had stops at schools like Texas A&M, Creighton, and California before accepting his first head coaching job at D-1 Centenary in 1997. He spent two years with the Gentlemen before six successful years at his alma mater. Prior to his hire by the Aggies in 2011, he also had five solid years leading Murray State, with a brief stint on Frank Haith’s staff at Miami in there as well.
Kennedy took over for Mark Turgeon (who left for Maryland) in 2011. He did great things at Murray State and appeared in the NCAA Tournament both there and with Southeastern Louisiana. His time with the Aggies saw a few years of great success but also some stagnant years. This team competed well after transitioning to the SEC, making the Tournament in 2016 and 2018, with the team ranking in the top 5 briefly in both seasons.
Unfortunately, a disappointing 13-17 season has doomed Kennedy. His Aggies were upset by UC Irvine and Texas Southern and struggled in SEC play, finishing in 11th place in the conference. Just three years ago, they tied at the top of the lead with a 13-5 mark, but could only win 6 SEC games this season. The team dealt with injuries and inconsistent play, but will return three double-digit scorers for next season. Guards Savion Flagg (13.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg), Wendell Mitchell (13.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg), and TJ Starks (12.3 ppg, 3.5 apg) can all produce for this team if they all return and this Aggies squad could compete again in the SEC very soon.
A popular name to replace Kennedy will be Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams, who has deep Texas roots. Williams has done stellar work at both Marquette and Virginia Tech and this job would put him in the part of the country that he knows best. There will certainly be other candidates for the position, including hot mid-major coaches. The Aggies’ last two hires were successful coaches at Wichita State and Murray State, so expect those kinds of names to emerge in this hunt. Either way, the next head coach will land at an SEC program with the potential to do some great things in this deep conference.
Kennedy has been fighting early onset Parkinson’s disease for the last year and has had an entire community rallying behind him. Even as he departs from the Aggies, his fight will rage on and he will not be forgotten by this team and these fans. He didn’t win enough games and Texas A&M didn’t take the next step. He departs with two Sweet Sixteen’s in hand, including last year’s upset win over North Carolina. The next head coach might have what it takes to elevate this program to yearly SEC contender, but Kennedy’s service and contributions cannot be forgotten or overlooked.