The University of Tennessee has a new head basketball coach just days after the abrupt firing of former head coach Donnie Tyndall. All we have heard the past few days is how the new candidate was pretty much set in stone but hadn’t been officially announced yet.
Well, now we know and Rick Barnes will officially be the head coach for the Tennessee Volunteers after being fired from Texas just days ago. This was announced earlier this morning via multiple reports.
What about the contract?
According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, Barnes and Tennessee have agreed to a six-year deal with Barnes making $2.5 million per year. The incentives for the job are pretty much what you would see at normal schools. If he makes it to the big dance, he gets another $50,000. If he wins it all, he gets another half a million. Some other benefits he receives involves a moving allowance, two vehicles or $850 a month for each vehicle, and tickets to both football (4 games) and basketball games (12 home/8 away). If the Vols were to terminate Barnes, he would get one million dollars for every year he has left on his contract.
Barnes’ history
- Barnes has been to the NCAA Tournament 22 times in his entire head coaching career. He has been to the Sweet 16 six times, the Elite Eight three times, and has one Final Four appearance.
- He comes in with an overall record of 604 – 314.
- He has coached at George Mason, Providence, Clemson, and most recently Texas.
- He recruited one of the best players in the NBA right now, Kevin Durant.
What Barnes must do …
Recruit! The Vols lost Josh Richardson which is a huge blow to the team considering he averaged 16 points per game last season and had more steals and assists than anyone else on the team. Another thing that he must do is make the fans buy into what he is doing. We saw with Bruce Pearl that if you can get the fans to buy into what you are doing, you will have tons of supporters and everyone knows that at Tennessee if the fans do not like you, they will run you off. Just ask Cuonzo Martin.
There is a press conference scheduled for 4 p.m. EST today to officially announce the hiring.
Dorm Room Hoops 