Stanford Basketball: 10 candidates to replace Jerod Haase as Head Coach

Kyle Smith

Each coaching candidate for the Stanford job has pros and cons and we’ve done well to talk about each of them at detail. With all due respect to those other coaches, Smith might be the best option for the Cardinal, especially if this program wants their first legitimate basketball success in several decades.

Much of Smith’s experience has come on the West Coast, including a nine-year stretch under Randy Bennett at nearby Saint Mary’s. His head coaching career included a nice rebuild and CBI title at Columbia and a three year jaunt at another local school in San Francisco. Three 20-win seasons later and Smith departed the Dons for Washington State back in 2019. He’s a few days away from taking the Cougars to their first NCAA Tournament in sixteen years.

Washington State was left behind by the other members of the Pac-12. Smith could opt to depart for another position instead of being relegated to temporary life in the WCC. Jumping into the ACC would a new challenge for Smith, who has answered every call to this point in his career. Most importantly, he’s won games at the Ivy League, and mind you Columbia isn’t exactly an Ivy school known for their basketball prowess.