Entering the season with an interim coach gives Charlotte supporters an interesting perspective, as we're essentially beginning the season amidst an active coaching search. A lot of names were tossed around in June after the resignation of Ron Sanchez, but ultimately the timing of his departure locked our fate into a season with an interim coach the moment he resigned.
Charlotte's financial and NIL situations were scapegoats for the coaching search coming up dry, and there is certainly a need for improvement on both of those fronts. However, the opportunity to spectate a program like West Virginia go through the same process and end with the same result offered some consolation to Charlotte's situation. Mike Hill is certainly not above criticism over his hiring tactics for Charlotte's two main sports, but the coaching search going the way it did shows that he had a well placed insistence on hiring a turnkey solution, meaning a head coach with meaningful experience and success. These rankings will be updated periodically as the season progresses based on how the coaches on our radar perform.
#1- Aaron Fearne (Charlotte)
Coach Fearne enters the season with the Charlotte job being his to lose. What exactly is the bar that must be cleared to win it? It's very hard to nail down but it should be obvious to everyone if and when it is cleared, much like with Rodney Terry at Texas last year. Certain benchmarks could make it clear: A deep run in the AAC Tournament or an invite to the NIT would show an ability to get the most out of a roster which has not been seen here for a long time. If there is a threat that Coach Fearne could be hired away to a peer program come March, that would be the clearest sign that Fearne is it.
#2- Bob Richey (Furman)
Richey's sustained level of success at Furman will have him at the top of a lot of lists by the time the season ends, and should be at the top of Charlotte's as well. Whether or not his next move is to a level beyond Charlotte is not yet written, but if any power conference program in the Southeast decided to move on from their coach I would imagine that Richey's agent would be one of the first to receive a phone call. No one would blame him for leaping to the ACC or SEC over Charlotte in that scenario.
#3- Mark Byington (James Madison)
Coach Byington is on the second stop of his career, and led James Madison to a 12-6 record their first season in the Sun Belt. Prior to coaching the Dukes, Byington spent seven years at Georgia Southern where he reached 20 wins four times and 10+ conference wins his last six seasons in charge. At only 47 years old he still has a lot of his career in front of him. He's an example of a coach that's already been rewarded for his display in the head coaching chair, and would bring that motivation to Charlotte.
Note: This was written before James Madison's opening victory over Michigan State.
#4- Mike Morell (UNC Asheville)
Morell is coming off the first NCAA Tournament appearance in his young career. He rebuilt the Bulldogs from scratch following the departure of Nick McDevitt and showed clear improvement of quality in each year of his career, per KenPom rankings (347th > 302nd > 244th > 209th > 148th). Morell worked with Shaka Smart at VCU and Texas prior to becoming a head coach. His experience on the sidelines of programs at multiple levels of the sport, and geographic experience in North Carolina are both assets that could be used at Charlotte.
#5- Matt Langel (Colgate)
Langel is an outsider that we, and Mike Hill, need to keep our eyes on. The 45-year old is beginning his 13th season as a head coach, all of them at Colgate. He has led the Raiders to 23 or more wins four of the last five seasons, the only blemish being the 2020-21 season in which Colgate only played 16 games (going 14-2 and making the NCAA Tournament). Colgate has also represented the Patriot League in four of the last five tournaments, and would have been an NIT Auto-Bid in 2020 had the postseason not been cancelled. Langel is a 2000 Penn graduate, and was an assistant to Fran Dunphy at both Penn and Temple. Having been looked over for the Temple job a second time in spite of his success could motivate him to take a job in the Owls conference.
Retread Watch
#1- Mark Turgeon
Turgeon should be the highest priority retread candidate. He has sat through a couple of coaching cycles without being called back up to a Power 5 opening, which is on Charlotte's side in as much that he may need to take a job outside of that realm to get back into coaching. What puts Turgeon at the top of my retread list is he has seen success outside of the Power 5, having taken Wichita State to the 2006 Sweet Sixteen. While, admittedly, he fell short of expectations placed upon him at Maryland, his Terrapins were ranked 52nd or better in 9 of his 10 seasons as head coach. Coach Turgeon also made the NCAA Tournament all four of his seasons at Texas A&M.
#2- Chris Mack
Coach Mack has proven to be a coach worthy of our attention, the only checkmark he lacks which we are in need of is "program builder". He took over high quality programs at Xavier and Louisville and did a fantastic job of maintaining the high standards set by previous coaches. His tenure at Louisville unraveled due to scandal but the fall-off following his departure certainly cements the influence he can have over a program. Like with Bob Richey, Coach Mack will likely get offers from programs higher up the pecking order than Charlotte. The West Virginia job seems perfect for him, having spent his whole career in the Ohio River Valley. I was quite surprised Coach Mack didn't end up at West Virginia this summer. However, the transfer portal being closed would have hand-cuffed him this season, keeping a rebuilding season with minimal control off of his CV may have motivated him to sit out another year.
#3- Tom Crean
I really hope this is the only time his name shows up here.
#4- Stay tuned.
There are several retreads that Charlotte should welcome with open arms if the opportunity presents itself. Success outside of the Power 5 would be a great indicator for success at Charlotte. No one should be overlooked because expectations were not met at a program in a conference on a different financial plateau.
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