Rhode Island Basketball: 5 potential head coaching candidates for Rams

The NCAA Tournament is barely underway, but the coaching carousel is already in full swing. Teams that failed to live up to expectations are moving on, and that includes Rhode Island Basketball. Rhody parted ways with David Cox after four seasons on Friday, and they’re now in search of their 21st head coach in school history.

Cox was hired by URI back in 2018 as a replacement for Dan Hurley, who is now at UConn. The Maryland native had served under Hurley for four seasons as an assistant coach for the Rams, and he seemed poised to make the move to the big chair.

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out. Cox’s overall record at the helm — 64-55 — isn’t too bad on the surface. But Rhody finished 10th and 11th respectively in the last two seasons, both under .500 overall. Couple that with a 16-28 record in their last 44 conference games and the decision is much clearer. Rhode Island’s KenPom ranking this year (135) was their worst since Hurley’s first season in 2012-13.

Now the question is… who’s next? URI remains an attractive position in the Atlantic 10, with an impressive arena and a good amount of success, both recently and historically. So let’s take a look at five people who could be in the mix.