Rodney Terry hot seat: Texas 'likely to make move' on head coach, per report

After Texas’ loss to Xavier Wednesday night in the First Four, the school appears to be nearing a decision on Rodney Terry’s future. The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman reported the Longhorns are “likely to make a move” on their men’s basketball coach.

Terry took over as Texas’ interim head coach following Chris Beard’s mid-season departure and earned the full-time job after leading the Longhorns to an Elite Eight. However, in two full years at the helm, the program missed the NCAA Tournament in 2024 and, Wednesday night, saw a 13-point lead disappear in the second half of the First Four against Xavier.

Questions were swirling about Terry’s future as Texas waited to learn its NCAA Tournament fate. Now that the season is over, it appears the school is preparing to make a change.

Rodney Terry took over after Chris Beard was fired midseason a couple years ago and took Texas to the Elite Eight to keep the full-time job.

But sources have told @TheFieldOf68 that Texas is likely to make a move on Terry after two straight years of barely making the NCAA…

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 20, 2025

Goodman also noted the coach who beat Texas on Wednesday was a name to watch when Terry got the job in 2023. Sean Miller got a “hard” look from Longhorns athletics director Chris Del Conte last time around before UT went on the tournament run and Terry earned the job. Xavier outscored Texas 47-33 in the second half of Wednesday’s game – a matchup Miller called “one of the greatest games I’ve been a part of.”

ESPN’s Pete Thamel recently said on College GameDay a decision was not “imminent” on Terry’s future as Texas waited to learn its fate on Selection Sunday. However, he pointed out an important note about Del Conte’s process the last few time the school underwent coaching searches.

The Longhorns quickly transitioned from Tom Herman to Steve Sarkisian, and Thamel also noted the move from David Pierce to Jim Schlossnagle in baseball and Karen Aston to Vic Schaefer in women’s basketball. He also mentioned Miller’s name as one floated last time around, and Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder also got some looks during that time.

“One thing to keep in mind, athletic director Chris Del Conte‘s hiring history shows he tends to have a candidate lined up before making a decision on his current coach, notably did that with Tom Herman (before) he transitioned to Steve Sarkisian, and that also happened in baseball and women’s basketball,” Thamel said. “Before promoting Rodney Terry last time, Del Conte did a lot of leg work on (Atlanta Hawks head coach) Quin Snyder and Xavier‘s Sean Miller. Don’t expect Snyder to be a candidate this time around, but do expect Del Conte to swing at the biggest names in the sport.