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9 potential candidates to replace Leonard Hamilton at Florida State

Florida State Seminoles head coach Leonard Hamilton watches his team from the sideline. The Florida State Seminoles hosted the Virginia Tech Hokies for a menÕs basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025.
Florida State Seminoles head coach Leonard Hamilton watches his team from the sideline. The Florida State Seminoles hosted the Virginia Tech Hokies for a menÕs basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. | Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Will Wade

Before we dive too far into the details, it’s important to know that nearly every major coaching opening in this sport will see Wade as a potential candidate. Despite his checkered past, he’s still just 42 years old and has been a winner at every stop in his coaching career, so why couldn’t he turn Florida State back into a national power?

Wade coached under Tommy Amaker at Harvard and helped Shaka Smart take VCU to a Final Four before beginning his head coaching career at Chattanooga in 2013. He had great work both with those Mocs and as head coach at VCU before spending five years at LSU. Although inevitably fired for recruiting violations, he built some great teams in the SEC, winning more than 100 games in that half-decade. Since then, Wade has bounced back nicely by rebuilding a mid-major power at McNeese State.

There’s nothing tying Wade to McNeese, where he’s 46-10 and has the Southland’s best program. If there’s mutual interest, he could do great things with the resources at Florida State. Wade built a winner in a tough SEC and could prove lethal especially in an ACC that’s been barren with talent in recent years. Whether or not he’d be interested in this particular job when many others will come calling is the biggest issue for the Seminoles.