Colleges
Finding Gold in March
A selection of college basketball coaches who parlayed their moment in the NCAA tournament sun into their next job
Chris Beard
The current Texas Tech coach became a name in 2016 when his 12th-seeded Arkansas-Little Rock squad knocked off Purdue. It was Beard’s only season with the Trojans before joining the Red Raiders.
Kermit Davis
The veteran coach burst onto the scene in 2016 when the 15th-seeded Blue Raiders stunned Michigan State, a popular pre-tournament pick to win it all. As a 12 seed the following year, Middle Tennessee did it again by knocking off Minnesota. Ole Miss hired Davis last week.
Andy Enfield
The boys of “Dunk City,” Florida Gulf Coast, became the first 15 seed to win twice. Enfield turned that Sweet 16 run in 2013 into a job at Southern Cal, where he has won one tournament game in five seasons.
John Groce
The fiery sideline stomper took 13th-seeded Ohio University to the 2012 Sweet 16 before losing to North Carolina in overtime. That led to a job at Illinois, where in five seasons he made the tournament just once before being fired. He’s now back in the Mid-American Conference as head coach at Akron.
Stan Heath
In his only season as a college head coach, Heath guided Kent State to the Elite Eight in 2002, prompting Arkansas to hire him. In five seasons with the Razorbacks, he never won an NCAA Tournament game and was fired. He now coaches the Lakeland Magic in the G League.
Darrin Horn
In his fifth season at Western Kentucky, Horn broke through as a 12 seed with back-to-back wins to make the Sweet 16 in 2008. South Carolina hired Horn and he never made the tournament in four seasons before the Gamecocks fired him. He’s now an assistant at Texas.
Danny Hurley
Rhode Island won its first-round games the last two seasons, positioning Hurley to take the vacant Connecticut job last week.
Archie Miller
Like Shaka Smart, Miller is far from a one-hit wonder, but his 2014 Elite Eight run at Dayton as an 11 seed, beating Ohio State, Syracuse and Stanford, quickly established him as a name to watch. Miller backed up that run with three more trips to the tournament before taking the Indiana job last year.
Bruce Pearl
The spotlight shined on this high-energy coach in 2005 when he took 12th-seeded Wisconsin-Milwaukee to the Sweet 16 with upsets over Alabama and Boston College, leading to a job at Tennessee. After running into NCAA issues there, he has resurfaced at Auburn.
Shaka Smart
Unlike many coaches on this list, Smart wasn’t a one-hit March wonder, but he became one of the hottest names in coaching in 2011 when he guided 11th-seeded VCU from the First Four to the Final Four. Smart led the Rams back to the tournament four more times before landing the Texas job.
Brad Underwood
His Stephen F. Austin squads won as a 12 seed in 2014 and then as a 14 seed two seasons later, leading to a job at Oklahoma State and now Illinois.
— Compiled by Michael Smith
