Texas head coach Shaka Smart has emerged as a strong contender for the opening at Michigan.
However, Smart has compiled just a 71-66 record in Austin and has not won an NCAA Tournament game in his four seasons with the Longhorns. Orangebloods.com writer Dustin McComas said that Smart has had a perfect storm of bad luck and issues with close games in his tenure at Texas.
“He was definitely going to be on the hot seat this upcoming season,” McComas said Thursday. “I think if he would’ve lost that first NIT game, that would’ve put Chris Del Conte, the athletic director, in a really tough spot because everything we had heard is the buyout for his deal was basically a non-starter. They didn’t want to pay something over $13,000,000 to fire a basketball coach.