5 NCAA Men’s Basketball Head Coaches Who Might Get Fired

What happens when a team fails to perform? Its players, strategies, and execution – everything, and everyone come under scrutiny. But most of all the person who is held responsible for the team’s failure is the head coach.

Going by the awful performances that have happened this season, here is a speculation list of 5 head coaches who might be close to facing the brunt of firing.

Larry Stewart, Coppin St. 

This is Larry Stewart’s first season with the Coppin State in the role of a head coach. Surprisingly, Stewart also played college basketball with the Coppin State from 1988 to 1991. He was appointed the head coach on May 2, 2023. The Eagles have a dreadful 2-14 record in the season and are nowhere close to giving their best. All their matches have been extremely low-scoring from their side and this must have put Stewart under the radar.

They have 2 losing streaks of 7 matches each in this season. However, the bright side for them is that the conference game has just started. If Stewart wants to make a difference then it has to be in the conference.

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They have lost one game in the conference and won one. Stewart can try different tactics and execute them well, lest he might find it difficult to defend his job. 

Jason Hooten, New Mexico St. 

This is Jason Hooten’s first season with the New Mexico State as the head coach. The Aggies have a horrendous 8-10 record in the NCAA tournament and the players too haven’t performed well on the offensive front. Most of their matches have been mediocre or low-scoring, however, credit goes to Hooten for taking the match with the Cardinals to the overtime. 

Though their regular season record is nothing commendable, their conference record is better. And it has been the ray of survival amid all the disappointing moments. They have a 2-1 record and rank second in the CUSA. Hooten must be under tremendous pressure and what can save the day for him is if he continues to perform well in the conference. Hooten should make sure this team is able to give what they are capable of.

Juwan Howard, Michigan Wolverines

The Michigan Wolverines head coach Juwan Howard has attracted a lot of controversy. Firstly, he couldn’t perform in his capacity as the head coach after undergoing heart surgery. Then there were rumors of having a fiasco with the strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson. If these things weren’t enough his anger issues from last year had already made him a not-so-wanted figure when struck the Badgers’ assistant coach.

This is followed by poor performances this season. Though, Howard cannot be entirely blamed for it considering that the associate head coach Phil Martelli was the interim head coach in Howard’s absence. The Wolverines have an appalling 7-11 record and a 2-5 stat in the conference. It is high time that Howard pulls up his socks else who knows that the now-accepting Wolverines’ management might want to have another look at Howard’s record.

Kenny Payne, Louisville Cardinals 

The Louisville Cardinals head coach Kenny Payne’s campaign is mired in complications. He was appointed last year and could help his team with only 4 wins. This season too the Cardinals haven’t fared well enough. They have a 6-11 record and a 1-5 conference record so far. They have lost all the crucial matches and this has led to fans having an open petition to fire the newly recruited head coach. 

The Cardinals have only won one conference game which came against the Miami Hurricanes. Their biggest demotivating moment in the tournament came when they lost against their long-term rivals the Kentucky Wildcats by a blowout margin of 76-95. If things continue to be the same for the Cardinals then Payne might be fired from his job and a new head coach would be appointed. Payne has had his fair share of chances and needs to capitalize on the remaining matches to prove his worth as a coach. Hopefully, he’ll be able to sort out the issues and propel his team to better performances.

Marvin Menzies, Kansas City 

Marvin Menzies was hired for the position of the head coach at the Kansas City in 2022. The Kansas City Roos have an abysmal record of 7-12 and ranked at the eighth spot in the Summit. They have won just one conference game while losing three of them. With the experiences that Menzies brings in, the Kansas City officials would have wanted their team to win more matches. Menzies should derive inspiration from the fact that the previous head coach Billy Donlon had resigned to become an assistant coach at the Clemson.

And if Menzies would have performed well with this team, he too would have opened a host of opportunities for himself. However, going by the Kansas City’s performance it isn’t too late for Menzies to turn the tables. He is just in his second season and can provide the impetus to his team to perform better and ultimately save himself from being fired.

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