Bill Self: If He Left, Who Could Replace Him?
By Ryan Noel
With rumors – really weak ones, really – circulating this week about potential NBA interest in Kansas coach Bill Self, we decided to take a look at what his potential replacement list would look like.
At a school like Kansas, replacing the head coach is no easy task. The school has only had seven head coaches in its illustrious history, only one of which had a losing record (the founder of basketball himself, James Naismith).
Replacing a surefire Hall of Famer like Bill Self would only serve to make that task harder for the Kansas athletic department. Self would leave a legacy of a national title, multiple Final Four appearances, and the ever-present “streak” of Big 12 titles for the Jayhawks.
The other main issue facing the selection of a new coach is the question of “staying in the family”. Kansas is fortunate to have a wide-reaching “coaching tree” thanks to Naismith, Phog Allen, and Larry Brown, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they need to only search within it.
We’ll take a look at the candidates we think would ultimately come up, and maybe a few that wouldn’t – but should.
Next: Danny Manning