Tennessee’s basketball program is searching for a new head coach since firing Donnie Tyndall, who only lasted one season before getting fired for unethical conduct at his previous job at Southern Mississippi.
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Tyndall had been accused of committing academic and financial violations, and this ultimately led to Tennessee firing him.
The Volunteers are reportedly planning to hire Rick Barnes, who was just fired by Texas after 17 seasons.
Barnes had led the Longhorns to 16 trips to the NCAA Tournament, including five Sweet 16 trips, three Elite Eight trips and a Final Four berth in 2003. However, the Longhorns fell far below expectations this season.
They fell from being ranked sixth in the country with a 12-2 record to being knocked out in the Round of 64 by Butler, and they were unable to win a championship in Barnes’ tenure despite possessing many talented teams.
Reports have since come out that Barnes was backed into a corner as athletic director Steve Patterson told him to fire his coaching staff or be fired himself. Barnes ultimately took the bullet.
Meanwhile, the Volunteers have been looking to recover since Bruce Pearl was fired for lying to the NCAA about recruiting violations.
Pearl had led the Volunteers to their first Elite Eight trip in 2010, and they made it to the Sweet 16 under Cuonzo Martin before he left to coach Cal.
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