Report: Georgia likely to fire Tom Crean after four seasons

Georgia is likely to fire head coach Tom Crean after four seasons at the helm of the Bulldogs’ basketball program, according to a report from Chip Towers of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

According to Towers, the university has not finalized its decision.

“After overseeing the losingest season in the history of Georgia basketball, all indications are that Crean and the Bulldogs will part ways after the season concludes, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation,” Towers wrote. “However, an official decision has not been made.”

Towers noted that Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks declined to comment on Crean’s future with the Bulldogs. Crean signed a six-year, $19.8 million deal in March of 2018, and his buyout clause after year four reduces from $7.2 million to $3.2 million. Crean’s agent, Jordan Bazant, reportedly sought out a contract extension after the conclusion of last season, but that request was denied, per the AJC report.

Formerly the head coach at Indiana and Marquette, Crean had by far and away the worst win percentage of his career while in Athens. He went 47-74 in four years at Georgia, amassing a .388 win percentage, along with a 15-57 record in SEC play. Georgia finished no better than 10th in the SEC in Crean’s four-year tenure, and the Bulldogs never made it to the NCAA Tournament. Georgia finished the 2021-22 record with a 6-25 record (1-17 in conference play), placing the Bulldogs 14th in the SEC.

Crean managed to produce a No. 1-overall NBA Draft pick in his time with the Bulldogs, as former guard Anthony Edwards, a native of Atlanta, GA, committed and played one season at Georgia before being selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Georgia went 16-16 (5-13) during the 2019-20 season, despite Edwards’ best efforts.

Hired ahead of the 2018-19 season to replace Mark Fox, Crean’s Georgia tenure went poorly, but he still has a winning record in his 22 seasons as a head coach. Crean has 403-305 record in his career (.569 win percentage), including a .551 win percentage in nine seasons at Indiana and a .664 win percentage in nine seasons at Marquette.

Crean coached at Marquette from 1999-2008 and made the NCAA Tournament in five of his nine seasons at the helm. In 2002-03, with some help from eventual Hall of Fame guard Dwayne Wade, Marquette made it all the way to the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four. Then, in nine seasons at the helm of Indiana, Crean made the NCAA Tournament four times and won the regular-season Big Ten title twice.

Crean was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2015-16, just one season before he was fired by the Indiana Hoosiers. He’s coached three Consensus All-Americans in his career, but none came at Georgia: Victor Oladipo (2013, Indiana), Cody Zeller (2013, Indiana) and Wade (2003, Marquette).

A graduate of Central Michigan, Crean has served as an assistant coach at several schools in addition to his three head-coaching jobs, including Michigan State (1995-99), Pittsburgh (1994-95), Western Kentucky (1990-94), Michigan State (1989=90) and Alma (1987-89).

Crean’s final season at Georgia included controversy

Not only was Crean’s likely final season at Georgia his worst in terms of performance, but it also included a bit of off-the-court controversy, after an assistant coach was suspended and a media availability was cancelled on Feb. 19.

Georgia abruptly cancelled its Friday afternoon media availability with Crean that day, just hours after reports surfaced that an assistant coach had been put on suspension. The university then provided a statement that denied any correlation between the suspension and the media availability.

The reports said that assistant coach Wade Mason had been suspended indefinitely for an altercation with director of player development Brian Fish at halftime of Georgia’s Wednesday night loss at LSU.

“Obviously, it’s an unfortunate situation that we’re dealing with,” Crean said of the suspension. “It was all handled correctly, and we’ve tried to keep our focus on basketball. Unfortunately, today (in an 85-68 loss to Ole Miss), we just didn’t play very well. We had our moments, but not enough, especially defensively. We just gave up too many open shots. So, that’s just what it is. Our practices have been good, we’ve worked hard, prepared well, practiced short — we just didn’t play very well today as a team at key times, especially in the second half.”

One reporter asked if Crean saw what happened between Mason and Fish, with a follow-up question asking whether the suspension was Crean’s idea. Crean did not allow the reporter to finish his question before interjecting.

“I’m going to just refer everything back to the statement after making that first comment,” Crean said. “I hope you guys understand. We’re just going to leave it at that. I’d be happy to talk about the game, but I would just refer everything in regards to the situation we had to the statement.”