Inexperienced coaches cashing in on success

On Tuesday afternoon University of Providence introduced former Drake University head coach Keno Davis as their new head coach. Davis completed an amazing season in Des Moines this past season, going 28-5, double champions of the Missouri Valley Conference and taking the Bulldogs to their first NCAA tournament berth since 1971. He was named AP Coach of the Year shortly after the Final Four. I thought there was no debate that Davis was the coach of the year in just his first season as a head coach. I am impressed with what he was able to accomplish. Having said this, Providence can not justify this hiring with any rational thinking if they truly want to contend in the Big East. The 36-year old Davis was an assistant under Bruce Pearl in the mid 1990s and was also an assistant at Iowa in the early 90s. However, I do not think that he has proved himself enough in a smaller conference to warrant a hiring at a Big East school with a heck of a lot of tradition. Providence had been put in a tough spot; other candidates such as George Mason's Jim Larranaga had turned down the job offer, so they were not at the top of their list in Davis. At the same time, there are a lot of top assistants out there that are waiting their time to shine in the head coaching ranks, as well as broadcasters and analysts that may very well have deserved it over Davis. This has become an increasing occurence in recent years with impressive NCAA tournament runs, and the quick trigger of coaches to be hired and fired. Massachusetts head man Travis Ford has been a prominent figure in many coaching positions including the Providence and Oklahoma State jobs. Ford is a bright, young mind just as Davis, but he has compiled a record of 123-116 over four seasons at the helm, after a 24-9 season this year. Based on those statistics, Ford is an under .500 coach with the exception of one season, but because he guided his team to the NIT finals and second place in the Atlantic 10 one season he is considered a hot commodity. A perfect example of a mistake in hiring was back in the early part of the decade with Arkansas. The Razorbacks fired Nolan Richardson, and decided to turn things over to Stan Heath, who had just guided Kent State University to an elite 8 run in his first season. After just one season, Arkansas granted Heath a $700,000 contract; Heath led the Razorbacks to a paltry 70-52 record before being fired after five seasons. In my opinion, the greatest hire of this NCAA offseason thus far has been South Carolina signing ex-Western Kentuck coach Darrin Horn. Horn was the head man with the Hilltoppers for five seasons, earning a 111-48 mark over that timespan. Horn has proved that he can coach at the mid-major level, and now has remarkable experience going through the roller coaster ride of a season five times and has seen success. There is something to be said for a coach having seen and heard everything before, and with more experience coaches become better versed and more successful. Major schools that are hiring these mid-major coaches with just one year of success and experience are making a mistake, they have not proved themselves with their own players and their own systems. Davis and Ford may end up becoming incredibly successful at their respective positions, and Horn may have a difficult road, but I undoubtedly have much more confidence in the coach that has been successful for longer than someone who just became a head coach and may have caught lightning in a bottle.