Ohio State Coaching Hot Board: ESPN releases candidates to watch to replace Chris Holtmann

The search to replace Chris Holtmann is underway. Ohio State fired Holtmann on Wednesday after 6.5 years in Columbus. The Buckeyes were 14-11 (4-10) this season, after finishing with a losing record last year.

ESPN has released its initial list of candidates for the Ohio State job, featuring several coaches the Buckeyes could consider. Here is a look at who ESPN expects to be in the mix for the Ohio State job:

Greg McDermott, Creighton

Greg McDermott has been at Creighton since 2010 and has had a ton of success. The Bluejays have reached the NCAA Tournament nine times under McDermott, including last year when they advanced to the Elite 8.

Creighton is currently 18-7 (9-5) and on its way to another NCAA Tournament berth. McDermott would be paid more and have better resources at Ohio State, which could make the job an attractive one for him to go after.

Sean Miller, Xavier

Sean Miller had a successful run at Arizona, before being fired in 2021 for off-court NCAA issues. He was then hired by Xavier in March of 2022 to lead the Musketeers program for the second time.

Xavier reached the Sweet 16 last season but is only 13-12 in 2023-24. Still, Miller is a proven winner who is already in Ohio, giving him ties to the area.

Lamont Paris, South Carolina

Lamont Paris has done an incredible job in Year 2 at South Carolina. The Gamecocks are 21-4 (9-3) and ranked in the top 15 nationally after entering the season picked to finish last in the SEC.

Paris did a nice job of adding talent from the transfer portal to rebuild the Gamecocks roster. He is an Ohio native who has ties to the Big Ten after spending seven seasons at Wisconsin as an assistant.

Dusty May, FAU

Dusty May is sure to hear his name mentioned for several jobs this offseason after leading FAU to the Final 4 in 2023. May graduated from Indiana, which is another job that could come open in the coming months.

The Owls are having another excellent year and are currently 19-5 (9-2). We will see if May decides that now is the right time to make a move and if that move is to Ohio State.

Other potential Ohio State candidates

ESPN mentioned several other potential candidates for the Ohio State job, including Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams. Williams worked with new Ohio State Athletics Director Ross Bjork at Texas A&M before Bjork accepted the same position at Ohio State.

ESPN also mentioned three high-profile candidates who could be tough to land due to their buyouts in UCLA‘s Mick Cronin, Iowa State‘s T.J. Otzelberger and Alabama‘s Nate Oats. Ohio State is already going to have to pay nearly $13 million to Chris Holtmann for firing him.

Other names ESPN mentioned include Porter Moser from Oklahoma, Jamie Dixon from TCU, Eric Musselman from Arkansas, Niko Medved from Colorado State, Josh Schertz from Indiana State, Darian DeVries from Drake and former Louisville coach Chris Mack.