Alabama head coach Nate Oats has 'no interest' in vacant Maryland gig

Maryland is looking for a replacement at head coach after Kevin Willard decided to move on and fill the vacant Villanova opening. One name that’s been thrown out there on the Terrapins’ wishlist is Alabama leader Nate Oats, after leading the Crimson Tide on another impressive run that ended in the Elite Eight this past weekend.

Don’t expect Oats to jet from the SEC program though. According to Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68, Oats has zero interest in the Maryland job, and there’s no truth to any of the recent reports connecting his name to the Big Ten program.

It’s easy to see why Maryland would’ve loved to hire Oats if he was available, but the 50-year old coach is building something special in Tuscaloosa. He just finished up his sixth season with Alabama, but the sting of defeat is still fresh on his mind after the Crimson Tide fell to Duke in Newark over the weekend.

All told, Oats is 145-63 as the leader of the Crimson Tide. He’s led the team to the conference’s regular season crown twice, and he’s won the SEC Tournament twice with the team, as well. In 2024, Alabama went to the Final Four, and they returned to the Elite Eight this past season. It’s evident the sky is the limit moving forward under Oats.

So with Oats out of the picture, where will Maryland turn next? ESPN’s Pete Thamel provided the latest on the Terrapins’ coaching search, and it seems, despite being late in the process, they could have interesting options after Willard’s departure.

“They’re a little bit like a country music song right now, they lost a coach, they lost their AD, and they’re going to be out searching in a drier market because they’re coming in late in the cycle,” Thamel said on College GameDay. “There’s really two paths they can take. They can mobilize some of that, some of that Big Ten and Under Armour money and go try to get a Final Four coach. You see Porter Moser there (on your screen), you see Buzz Williams, those have been two guys who believe to be gettable in this cycle.”

Alas, Maryland has some interesting options at head coach. The Terrapins are coming off of a Sweet 16 run, and they’re hoping to keep the momentum they’ve been building growing. They have to nail their next hire, but it remains to be seen which coach they can convince to join their effort moving forward.