Rodney Terry opens up on the 'surreal' emotions of landing dream job at Texas

It’s safe to say Rodney Terry’s dream job was at the University of Texas. Once Terry was named permanent head coach after a tremendous interim stint in 2022-23, it was a surreal feeling.

Terry led Texas to the Elite Eight after taking over earlier in the year for Chris Beard. Beard was dismissed amid domestic violence allegations and eventually landed at Ole Miss.

But after a fresh start and now a new era, Terry opened up about what the gig meant to him.

“It’s just been so surreal in terms of you feel like you’re still living a dream right now, to be honest,” Terry said. “You know, I just think back to when everything happened. I got a chance to meet with our seniors and talk to them a little bit about what we were still trying to embark on for this year. And I never forget Brian Cunningham saying to myself and to our team … and reminded him as we were still playing, you know, trying to get to the Final Four, I said, let’s continue to make that 30-for-30.

“You have to pinch yourself and just again, it’s a dream come true. It’s a dream job for me. I’m going to work my tail off in terms of how hard you have to work to try to be the best that you can be and be the best version of yourself.”

The new Texas coach used a lesson he taught his players throughout the season when he put the job into perspective.

“But you know, just sitting down and taking a deep breath, I always tell my guys to take a deep breath,” Terry said. “We tried to take a deep breath in the last four minutes of that game. Just take a deep breath guys, we’ve been here, you know and you try to take take advantage of that in terms of what an opportunity. And I just thank God. I told our guys all the time about about praying and it was kind of a lost art. I’ve asked God many times. It’s like God put me where you need me to be. 

“I want to be a little selfish and I would love to be the head coach at the University of Texas. I tell that guy all the time, he’s going to answer every prayer … And it may not be sometimes on our timetable, but he’s going to always answer your prayer. I promise you. And I just look back at that and reflect back on that and he’s just been so good to me and I’m just so blessed.”

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