With Tuesday’s news that the University of Utah fired Larry Krystkowiak and thus is now in search of a new head coach for its men’s basketball program, talk naturally is heavy with whom athletic director Mark Harlan might get to fill the position.
Although it’s not a perfect predictor, it might be instructive to look at where the 11 current coaches in the Pac-12 Conference were before their current jobs to provide some clues as to the sort of candidates Harlan could be considering.
Of course, every program and every offseason is different in terms of the needs of universities and the coaches available for hire, and the current makeup of coaches in the conference certainly reflects that, as they came from a variety of places.
A bunch of them came from schools whose conferences are generally one-bid NCAA Tournament leagues, while a few came from schools often labeled as “mid-majors.” Just one came from a Power Five school, although he wasn’t the head coach — the lone current Pac-12 coach who was not a head coach at his most recent job before his current one.
Here’s a look at what each coach did before arriving at their current school and how they’re faring in their jobs now.
Arizona: Sean Miller
Went to Arizona in 2009 after four seasons at Xavier, where he went 57-23 and got to the NCAA Tournament four times. He is 302-109 at Arizona with seven NCAA Tournament appearances. The Wildcats are ineligible this season after a self-imposed ban.
Arizona State: Bobby Hurley
Went to Arizona State in 2015 after two seasons at Buffalo, where he went 42-20 and made one trip to the NCAA Tournament. He is 103-80 at ASU with two NCAA Tournament appearances.
California: Mark Fox
Hired before the 2019-2020 season after taking a year off when he was not retained at Georgia. He had spent nine seasons at Georgia, where he went 163-133 and made two NCAA Tournament appearances (no wins). Prior to going to Georgia, Fox was the head coach at Nevada for five seasons and compiled a 123-43 record with three NCAA Tournament berths. He is 22-37 in two seasons at Cal.
Stanford: Jerod Haase
Went to Stanford after four seasons at UAB. In his third season at UAB in 2015, the Blazers finished fourth in their conference but made the NCAA Tournament. In his fourth season, they went 26-7 but missed the tournament. He is 82-73 in five seasons at Stanford with no NCAA Tournament appearances.
UCLA: Mick Cronin
Went to UCLA in 2019 after 13 seasons at Cincinnati. In his first season with the Bearcats, they went just 11-19 and 2-14 in conference play but made the NCAA Tournament in each of his last nine seasons there. Prior to Cincinnati, he went 69-24 in three seasons at Murray State and made the NCAA Tournament twice. He is 36-21 in two seasons at UCLA and is in the NCAA Tournament this season.
USC: Andy Enfield
Went to USC in 2013 after two seasons at Florida Gulf Coast, the last of which saw FGCU make the Sweet 16 as a 15 seed. He is 154-109 at USC with three trips to the NCAA Tournament, including this season.
Colorado: Tad Boyle
Went to Colorado in 2010 after four seasons at Northern Colorado, of which only the last was a winning campaign (25-8). He has gone 232-142 with the Buffaloes with five trips to the NCAA Tournament, including this season.
Oregon: Dana Altman
Went to Oregon in 2010 after 16 seasons at Creighton, where he went to the NCAA Tournament seven times in nine middle years (none the first four or last three). Prior to Creighton, he was at Kansas State for four years, where he went 68-54 with one NCAA Tournament appearance. Before that, he was at Marshall for one season, where he went 15-13. He has made the NCAA Tournament seven times at Oregon, including this season.
Oregon State: Wayne Tinkle
Succeeded Krystkowiak at Montana in 2006 and went 158-89 in eight years with three NCAA Tournament appearances. Has gone 110-108 at OSU with two trips to the Big Dance, including this season.
Washington: Mike Hopkins
Was an assistant at Syracuse from 1995-2017 and was for a long time seen as the head coach-in-waiting for when the legendary Jim Boeheim retired. Hopkins was hired by Washington in 2017, however (Boeheim still hasn’t retired), and has had mixed results. The Huskies made the NCAA Tournament in 2019 but won just five games this season.
Washington State: Kyle Smith
Went to WSU in 2019 after three seasons at San Francisco in which he compiled a 63-40 record. Before that he was 101-82 in six seasons at Columbia. He is 30-29 in two seasons at WSU.