Rodney Terry on getting Texas' full-time job: 'I was confident the whole time'

Texas announced Monday that former interim head coach Rodney Terry would be their next head coach, and Tuesday Terry had his introductory press conference in Austin. Media, administration, current players, and more were in attendance, as Terry was asked how confident he was that he’d secure the full-time job.

“Well I think from the very beginning,” Terry admitted. “My first conversation with CDC (Chris Del Conte) prior to meeting with the team and then once we made that decision that afternoon that I was going to be coaching the team he gave me that whistle and said hey, go earn this. Go earn it, you’re going to do the job that I know you’re capable of doing.”

Terry took over the head coaching reigns eight games into the season following the dismissal of Chris Beard, and he didn’t disappoint. He led the Longhorns to an 87-81 overtime win over Rice, and would go on to win a lot more games for the Longhorns this season.

“And I met with our team and just said hey guys, we’ve got the whole season in front of us, none of our goals have changed we’ve got a tough Rice team tonight we have to deal with. But we’re going to control what we can control, and we’re going to live where our feet are, and we’re going to live in the present, and we’re going to try to take care of business tonight and we’ll move forward from this. But yeah, that was the message, and again having his support meant a great deal heading into that ballgame that night,” Terry said.

The support of Terry would continue this season as he continued to sustain the team success. Under Terry, the Longhorns went 22-8, securing the Big 12 Tournament title and making it to the Elite 8 for the first time since 2008.

But this was expected for Terry, as he spoke more about his confidence in becoming the Longhorns’ next full time head coach.

“I felt confident the whole time to be honest with you Kirk, I’ve prepared my whole life for this opportunity,” Terry said. “47 years Division I basketball coaching, 32 years of coaching, five years at the high school level I’m a proud high school basketball coach in the state of Texas, we’ve got great basketball coaches by the way in the state of Texas, so I want to give a shoutout to those guys as well.”

Terry was an assistant for Texas from 2002 to 2011, followed by two head coaching stints at Fresno State and UTEP. He returned to Austin in 2021 to be an assistant yet again, a decision that’s now paying off tremendously for Terry.

“But no you’re prepared, I tell our team and our players, so many guys want opportunities in life, you have to be prepared for opportunities. I was prepared for this opportunity and my time at Fresno, my time at UTEP prepared me for this opportunity. Having had a chance to be here during some of the best seasons of Texas basketball, no one knows this place better then me in terms of the landscape, how to be successful here at an elite level, and I’m proud to convey that to our guys and what that took. I’ve tried to bring back former players to convey that to our guys and embrace playing at the University of Texas,” Terry said.

Terry closed out with a message that would get any Texas fan excited, sharing somepromisingg word about the program that conveyed a bright future ahead of the program with Terry now at the helm.

“We’re gonna get everybody’s best game right guys?” Terry asked to his players in attendance. “Every night, right? We may watch some games and we’re preparing for teams and there’s empty arenas a little bit. But when we go to that arena, what’s it gonna be guys? Sold out, they’re coming to see Texas right? They’re coming to see us, we’re the show right? But we embrace that, that’s not arrogant, everybody can’t coach at Texas, everybody can’t play at Texas. I’ve been here at the highest of highs, so I was very confident throughout the whole process Kirk.”