Rick Barnes reveals conversation he had with Rodney Terry after firing

Texas has moved on from Rodney Terry after leading the program for two seasons as its head coach, and half a season as its interim coach. Before Tennessee heads to Indianapolis to take on Kentucky in the Sweet 16, Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes, who hired Terry at Texas in 2002, met with the media.

He was asked to give his thoughts on Terry’s firing. However, he revealed that he had two coversations with Terry before and after the news broke.

“I talked to him obviously before he had heard, and you know, he was hoping to have a chance to talk about it with (Texas AD) Chris Del Conte and see if there was a way moving forward,” Barnes said. “But after it happened — I talked to him the day before — I called him back after I’d gotten the news and before I could even say anything, he said, ‘Coach, I’m good.’

“He said, ‘I know God’s got a plan for me.’ He said, ‘(God) brought me here, he’s got something planned.’ And I think he’s just in a good place as a person, but you know, Rodney was a part of that program as an assistant (and as a) head coach for 11 or 12 years, and obviously was there when we had some good runs.”

Terry ultimately spent three seasons with the Longhorns in his second stint with the program. His original run as an assistant spanned from 2002-2011. From there, Terry went on to become the head coach at Fresno State (2011-2018) and at UTEP (2018-2021) before returning to Texas for his most recent run.

Texas made the NCAA Tournament in all three seasons with Terry leading the program. He led the team to an Elite Eight in 2023, which would cause AD Chris Del Conte to remove the interim tag from his name and hire him as the full-time coach beginning in 2024.

However, the Longhorns wouldn’t be able to reach the second weekend of the tournament in either of his two year’s as headman. Texas lost in the Round of 32 in 2024 before falling in the First Four this past season.

Still, it seems as thought Terry is in good spirits given the circumstances, given Barnes’ report. For now, it’s unclear what Terry’s next move will be, but Barnes will be rooting for him as he moves toward his next venture.

“Rodney’s a good man. I thought the staff did a good job with their team. He’ll be fine,” Barnes concluded. “Whatever he decides to do. I think he’s already had opportunities that maybe he passed on. But I love Rodney. It warmed my heart when I heard him say that God had a plan for him because I believe that. I think he’s got a plan for all of us. I think he’s sovereign. I don’t think his sovereignty has ever lost. So he’ll put him where he wants him to be.”