Report: Houston coach Kelvin Sampson interviews for Milwaukee Bucks head coach position

Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson has interviewed for the Milwaukee Bucks head coach position, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported. He was an assistant coach with the organization from 2008-11.

Sampson has been the head coach at Houston since 2014 following six years as an NBA assistant — three with the Bucks and three more with the Houston Rockets from 2011-14. He has taken the Cougars to five straight NCAA Tournaments, including an Elite Eight and a Final Four appearance amid four consecutive trips to the Sweet Sixteen. This past season, Houston fell to Miami as a No. 1 seed to wrap up its final campaign in the American Athletic Conference as it leaves for the Big 12.

Sampson is the first “high-profile college coach” to interview for the Bucks’ job, Wojnarowski reported. However, shortly after the news broke, FOX 26’s Mark Berman reported a text from Sampson strongly indicating he’s not leaving for the job.

“Can’t wait to compete in the Big 12 next season. Go Coogs!” Sampson wrote.

Sampson has put together an interesting career at the collegiate level. In 34 seasons as a head coach, he has a 731-345 record with notable stops at Washington State, Oklahoma and Indiana prior to his time at Houston. However, he ran into some recruiting violations during his career both at Oklahoma and Indiana, the latter of which resulted in five “major” violations that ultimately ended with Sampson’s resignation.

His time in the NBA coincided with a five-year “show cause” penalty. That made it incredibly hard for Sampson to coach at the collegiate level again, which led him to the Bucks and Rockets before Houston hired him. With the Cougars, he has totaled a 232-74 record and at least a share of four AAC titles in the last five seasons.

Milwaukee is working to replace Mike Budenholzer, who was fired May 4 after the No. 1-seeded Bucks fell to the No. 8-seeded Miami Heat in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee finished 58-24 this season to clinch the Eastern Conference’s top seed. On the whole, Budenholzer totaled a 271-120 record over his five seasons at the helm and took the Bucks to an NBA Championship in 2021.

As they go about their search, the Bucks are set to be involved with multiple big names. Their list, according to Wojnarowski, includes Golden State assistant coach Kenny Atkinson and Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin, among others.