By Aidan Joly
The Craig Smith era has come to an end in the midst of his fourth season at the helm.
It was a semi-surprising firing as Utah has a respectable league record of 7-9 in the program’s first year in the Big 12, plus by the idea of making the move with four regular season games to go rather than waiting until the end of the year.
Smith did not go to the NCAA tournament during his tenure and was not going to this year, but the program won games against Kansas and Kansas State last week, the team’s best wins of the season. It raises some questions.
Anyway, about the job. Utah lacks NIL resources and it’s fair to say the program was not financially ready to make the jump to the Big 12. Getting more money will be important. Look what in-state rival BYU did, it brought in Kevin Young in a move that invigorated the fanbase, leading donor to shell out the dollars to land the top prospect next season in AJ Dybantsa.
It makes you wonder if Utah will go the same NBA route that BYU did. That being said, here are six potential candidates for the job. Assistant coach Josh Eilert, who served as interim head coach at West Virginia last season, will serve as interim for the remainder of the season.
Alex Jensen, Dallas Mavericks assistant
Hinting that the program could go the NBA route, Jensen’s name has to top that list. He was a starter on the 1998 team that made the national championship game under Rick Majerus and he is a Utah native. He also spent 10 seasons as an assistant coach for the Utah Jazz before heading to Dallas.
He also has international ties, serving as an assistant coach for the German national team in 2015 and served as the head coach for Team USA in the FIBA AmeriCup in 2022.
BYU has had success with a former NBA assistant with international ties. Young and Jensen have similar resumes.
Andre Miller, Grand Rapids Gold head coach
Another former Utah player who starred on the 1998 team, Miller would bring significant name recognition to Salt Lake City.
Miller played in the NBA for nearly two decades before retiring in 2016. He took a few years off before resurfacing as the head coach of the G League Grand Rapids Gold in 2022 and has been in that position since.
He doesn’t have any other coaching experience outside of that and has never coached college basketball. There would be some question marks around the hire, but would follow the trend of programs hiring former players.
Johnnie Bryant, Cleveland Cavaliers associate HC
Bryant, who played for Utah from 2004-2007, still holds the program record in three-point percentage.
He got his coaching start in 2014 with the Jazz under Quin Snyder and was there until 2020, leaving to become associate head coach of the New York Knicks, and then leaded to Cleveland this past year for the same position under first-year coach Kenny Atkinson, who has led the Cavs to an NBA-best record of 48-10.
Young is young, just 39, but knows the program and region well. It would be a good hire as long as he surrounds himself with coaches who know the college landscape well.
Jerrod Calhoun, Utah State head coach
Could Utah go back to the Utah State well? Smith was the head coach at Utah State before coming to Utah, and the Aggies’ program has become known for churning out power conference head coaches.
Calhoun, in his first season in Logan after coming from Youngstown State, has the Aggies at 14-3 in the Mountain West and 24-4 overall and in line to make the NCAA tournament.
Calhoun began his head coaching career at Division II Fairmount State and has won over 250 games as a head coach.
Speaking of, I can very much see a Craig Smith-Utah State reunion if Calhoun leaves for another job.
Leon Rice, Boise State head coach
Rice is an intriguing candidate for Utah. Rice has been the head coach at Boise State since 2010 and has won over 300 games, while leading the Broncos to each of the past three NCAA tournaments.
Before he served as Boise State’s head coach he was an assistant coach at Gonzaga for more than a decade.
The semi-issue here is age, Rice is 61 years old and the vibe is that Utah wants somebody young to take over the program and be there for the long haul. Rice likely would not be that guy, as he is very much in the second half of his career.
Eric Olen, UC San Diego head coach
Olen is quickly becoming a very hot name in the coaching ranks. He has led the program from the Division II level and is 24-4 in the program’s first season of NCAA tournament eligibility, good enough to merit at-large consideration should it not win the Big West tournament.
Olen is 44 and his entire coaching career has been in San Diego after growing up and going to school in Alabama. He is still young but experienced and may wait for the right opening.
The drawback is that he does not have any area ties. Still, on coaching acumen alone, it deserves consideration.
Prediction: Jensen. I can see him or Miller, but I lean Jensen based on the fact that he is more experienced and has the international connections that Miller doesn’t. Both are beloved former players who the boosters would be willing to shell out money to bring in.
AJ Hoops 