“Kevin Willard is going to weigh the offer to stay at Maryland… or he’s going to go be the next head coach at Villanova,” said CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein on Wednesday while providing an update on Villanova’s ongoing situation. The Wildcats have been struggling for 3 years now to find a coach they could connect with after Jay Wright abruptly resigned back in 2022. In light of Kyle Neptune’s recent exit, the front office put out a search for a viable candidate. Lo and behold, Kevin Willard’s name came up, even though he was coaching a team that was still competing in the March Madness series. Well, that obstacle is now removed, as the Maryland Terrapins recently got eliminated by the Florida Gators through an 87-71 score. Therefore, this raised hope that an official decision regarding Willard’s future could be announced in the coming hours.

Unfortunately, people might have to wait for more than a few hours, as the head coach is currently in the stage of indecisiveness. In the aftermath of the Maryland-Florida game, Kevin Willard participated in a presser. The 49-year-old coach made it clear that “So I have not even…. No, I don’t know what I’m doing, Il just be honest with you. I haven’t talked to my agent. I haven’t talked to my wife. I made a promise to this team that I was gonna focus on this team, and that’s all I have done. So, I haven’t talked to anybody. I have an agent; I’m sure he’s talking to people because that’s what agents like to do, but, you know, I don’t know.” 

The rumors about a potential Kevin Willard exit from the Maryland Terrapins have been circulating over the last two weeks. Willard has reportedly been open with the media about calling for a fundamental change within the basketball program at Maryland. From NIL to revenue sharing, he has highlighted exactly what he needs from the College Park folks to get them to keep him with the Terrapins. As covered by ‘The Athletic’ reporter Lindsay Schnell, a discussion had taken place with Willard about leaving the 4th-seated Terrapins and jumping to Villanova. Willard had reportedly been offered a contract extension by Maryland, which raised some expectations that he would choose to stay on. However, the coach made it clear that he won’t sign anything yet until the program meets his expectations.

“I want this program to be great,” said Willard. “I want it to be the best in the country, I want to win a national championship, but there’s things that need to change. … I need to make sure that where we are with (name, image and likeness) and revenue share is not where we’ve been with NIL over the past two years. We’ve been one of the worst, if not lowest, in the NIL in the last two years. So that’s first and foremost.”

Kevin Willard was not the first prospect the Villanova Wildcats were looking into. The team had initially attempted to bring Richard Pitino, son of legendary college coach Rick Pitino, to their side. According to college basketball reporter Rob Reinhart, Pitino was considering both Villanova and Xavier as his next home after having spent 4 years with the New Mexico Lobos. After having reportedly been on calls with both camps, Pitino initially agreed to sign with Villanova. However, he had not immediately signed a formal contract. This allowed Xavier to later counter-offer Pitino with a significantly better monetary deal. After Chris Mack declined the offer to join Xavier, Pitino signed in.

While the shift to square one occurred for the Wildcats, another prospect for the team emerged through rumors: Bob Huggins. The Naismith Hall of Famer, with 45 years of coaching experience under his name, had not been active in the coaching scene since June 2023. For now, however, the Villanova Wildcats front office might be prioritizing Willard.

Given the issue with the NIL, Kevin Willard already sees one factor that is pushing him towards exiting Maryland. However, recent changes in the team’s management have now given him another one.

Kevin Willard’s uneasiness after Damon Evans’s exit might compel him to join Villanova: “I don’t know who we’re going to hire.”

In the 3 years that he has spent with the Maryland Terrapins, Kevin Willard most likely formed a good working relationship with former athletic director Damon Evans. Evans was reportedly the one who brought the coach in, and the one who recently gave Willard a term sheet for a new contract on Selection Sunday. However, Willard did not sign the negotiation. After all, as he said then, “[Evans is] probably going to SMU, so it’s kind of tough to negotiate with somebody that’s maybe not here”. Sure enough, Evans eventually left his position to join the same one at Southern Methodist University. While Willard and Evans might not have seen eye-to-eye about the extension contract, the former now feels that things were better with him around.

“Right now my biggest concerns in life right now are I don’t know who my boss is going to be,” said Willard. “The guy who brought me here, who I really like, appreciative of him bringing me to College Park, is not here. I don’t know who we are going to hire. In today’s day and age, that worries me a little bit. My honesty got me in trouble, might as well keep getting in trouble.”

A new person will hold Maryland’s athletic director position. However, even then, they may not meet Willard’s demands. What choice will the coach have then but to exit? Therefore, Willard added that while he has not had any conversations with another school, he indicated his agent has. In the end, the coach stated that “This is going to be a family decision. I love College Park. I love Maryland. When you’re at this point in your career, I have to take everything into consideration, but I haven’t talked to anyone, so I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Stay or leave? Which decision do you think Kevin Willard will go with? Let us know in the comments section down below.