Mack received a seven-year contract that was valued at roughly 28 million at Louisville, a price that Xavier was never going to be able to match.
Mack won 215 games at Xavier and brought the Musketeers to the NCAA's in eight of his nine years, one Elite Eight and a number one seed in this year's tournament before being upset by Florida State in the field of 32.
Mack is a loss, especially because of Xavier's often being a waystation for coaches on their way to another stop,but between Mack's nine years and being an alum made me think that tide had finally turned, especially with Xavier joining the Big East, their success there and finally pushing their way past the Cincinnati Bearcats to be the premier hoops team in the city.
However, for all that Xavier has become, they still have some issues to bull their way past in order to be one of those programs that coaches leave for rather than leaving for elsewhere.
Mack might have been a special case as despite his being a Xavier alum, his wife is from Louisville and that likely had a lot to do with the Cardinals landing Mack, despite his not knowing what awaits their program after the latest mess that Rick Pitino left a program in.
However, despite moving into the power conference level with the Big East, Xavier still has to prove itself on the biggest stage and no, a final four spot will not be enough- just ask Butler, who remain in much of the same position as Xavier, despite two championship game appearances.
Xavier will also have to prove long-term contention in the Big East, which since they haven't been there that long isn't their fault and despite leaps in coaching compensation and improvement to the Cintas Center, both aren't among the elite that will enable the Musketeers to retain or attract coaches to Cincinnati.
Mack might be taking all three assistants (although top assistant Travis Steele has a real shot at landing the head job) and Mario Mercurio as the head of basketball operations is likely Louisville bound as well so Xavier will be more than likely to take a look around nationally.
Hiring Steele will have the look of stability and might keep a recruit or two that might change their commitment, but it appears that keeping Steele will not mean that anyone else from the staff stays as noted above, so stability might just be a perception, not reality...
So, if it's not Steele ( If Steele wants to be a head coach, there are few jobs that will give a first-time head coach a better starting position, ask Mack, who was promoted when Sean Miller left for Arizona), then who?
Pat Kelsey was a Xavier player and assistant that has built a winner at Winthrop in the Big South, but Kelsey comes with some baggage from accepting the UMass job after the 2016-17 season and then reneging to Winthrop.
One name that I keep hearing is Northern Kentucky's John Brannen, who has won 46 games in the last two years.
Ryan Odom (UMBC) and Nate Oats (Buffalo) are currently of note after their teams scored big upsets in the NCAA's, but both signed new contracts after their wins and those more than likely with come with buyout clauses.
There are always rumors about Thad Matta wanting to return to coaching, but I'm not sure Matta is a great candidate for a Xavier return.
Matta didn't leave under the greatest terms and his drop in recruiting talent was a major factor in his departure from Ohio State.
Three candidates that I'd kick the tires on from smaller schools are John Becker, who has built Vermont into the bully of the America East (Has won 20 or more games of his seven year run and 31-1 in conference over the last two seasons), Steve Forbes of East Tennessee State (76-29 in his three years and has major recruiting experience with Gregg Marshall at Wichits State as an assistant) and Matt McMahon (26-6 last season),of Murray State, a school with a history of moving coaches up the ladder with success (Mark Gottfried, Mick Cronin ,Billy Kennedy and Steve Prohm).
It'll be interesting to see how Xavier handles their search with a quick hire or longer more national search.
If the hire happens quickly then I would think that is good news for Travis Steele, if they bring in lots of candidates then it is more likely that they are looking for experienced head coaches...
Back later with most likely a cleaning of the inbox...
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