Vanderbilt Basketball: 12 candidates to replace Jerry Stackhouse as Head Coach

Casey Alexander

There won’t be many names as familiar with basketball in the state of Tennessee as Alexander and it’s just one reason he’d be an attractive candidate for the Commodores. Hiring a mid-major head coach without power conference experience can be a bit risky, but Vanderbilt can’t just sit on their hands when there’s a great candidate right in their town.

Alexander played college ball at Belmont in the 90’s and then spent 16 years on Rick Byrd’s bench at his alma mater. His head coaching career included early stints at Stetson and Lipscomb, taking the Bison to the NIT finals and a trip to the Big Dance. He shifted back to Belmont in 2019 and has won an OVC title and has the Bruins playing solid ball in their first two seasons in the MVC.

Would Alexander leave Belmont for Vanderbilt? He wouldn’t have to move, as both are in Nashville, but he’s spent nearly a quarter century with the Bruins in some capacity and has seen the Commodores fire multiple head coaches recently. His figures in recent years don’t exactly jump off the page as much as some other coaches, but he knows Tennessee and Nashville and winning basketball. It’s all about how he’d handle the jump to the SEC.