Report: Texas 'doesn't want to' give Rodney Terry head coach job but 'may have no choice'

Rodney Terry has captured the hearts of nearly everyone involved with the Texas basketball program. After winning the Big 12 Tournament championship on Saturday, multiple players went to bat for the interim head coach, vouching for the tag to be dropped. What the Longhorns have accomplished this season under Terry is remarkable.

Unfortunately, athletic director Chris Del Conte does not operate this way. He is still going to want to hire one of the biggest names out there. We originally saw that when he hired Chris Beard away from Texas Tech and through other sports in Austin. Del Conte wants to make splashy hires, especially with a move to the SEC on the way.

As revealed on Sunday evening, Texas is a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament and a legit threat to make the Final Four. If Terry can somehow pull off making an appearance in Houston, Del Conte may have no choice but to make him full-time, even if insiders are reporting the AD does not want to.

“They’re going to swing for some of the big boys, if they don’t hire Rodney Terry,” Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 said. “If Rodney Terry goes deep, they’re going to have to give it to Rodney Terry. They don’t want to. Chris Del Conte doesn’t want to ultimately.

“But he may have no choice if Rodney Terry goes deep, second weekend or beyond. If not, they’re going to try to swing for the fences.”

Terry could even win more hearts over in the Round of 32. If Texas does matchup against Texas A&M and then gets a win, the coaching search might be over before it ever really begins. A win over the in-state rival plus a first Sweet Sixteen appearance since the Rick Barnes era could lock it up for Terry.

Big names to say ‘no thanks’ to Texas according to Jeff Goodman

Goodman then laid out who the two main big names Texas will go after. Both will be Big 12 opponents next season, with Scott Dew of Baylor and Houston‘s Kelvin Sampson being mentioned. Both would tell the Longhorns “no thanks” and opt to stay at their current spots.

“I think Scott Drew, Kelvin Sampson both say ‘thanks and no thanks’ and then you may hire Rodney Terry anyway,” Goodman said. “A name like Steve Forbes could be in play there. We’ll see.”

Del Conte will have an interesting decision to make once Texas’ season is over, for better or for worse. You can tell Terry is wanted by almost everyone in the program but at the end of the day, Del Conte will just have to do his job.