Report: Bob Huggins, Donnie Tyndall among McNeese candidates following Will Wade departure

Earlier this week, NC State officially named Will Wade its next head men’s basketball coach. Wade was the head coach at McNeese State the past two seasons and led the Cowboys to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. On Monday, college basketball insider Jeff Goodman provided a list of potential candidates to fill the opening left by Wade.

“Bill Armstrong (Baylor), former West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins, James Miller (Okl St.), Matt Woodley (Wake), former Tennessee head coach Donnie Tyndall, Chase Buford (KU) and former NBA head coach Sam Mitchell,” Goodman wrote on X.

“McNeese AD Heath Schroyer and former coach Will Wade have upgraded the profile of the program and also the resources. Schroyer took a chance on Wade and it clearly paid off.”

Bob Huggins is perhaps the most notable of the coaches on Goodman’s list. He was the head coach at West Virginia from 2007-23 but resigned after being arrested for a DUI.

During his time at the helm of the Mountaineers, Huggins amassed a 345-203 overall record and 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament. West Virginia reached the second weekend of the Big Dance five times under Huggins, and the Final Four once in the 2009-10 season.

If McNeese State doesn’t hire Huggins, it will have no shortage of other quality candidates. Baylor assistant Bill Armstrong. Most recently, Armstrong was the head coach at Link Academy. The team won the 2023 Men’s GEICO National Championship and was led by 2024 five-star prospect Tre Johnson.

Before taking over at Link Academy, Armstrong served under Will Wade as LSU’s associate head coach. Armstrong was fired with Wade in 2022 only days after the school received NCAA notice of allegations involving violations that had occurred since 2017.

Donnie Tyndall was another experienced coach on Goodman’s list. He was Tennessee’s head coach during the 2014-15 season, leading the Volunteers to a 16-16 record and a 7-10 mark in conference play.

However, the program fired Tyndall after the NCAA notified Tennessee officials of possible major violations at Southern Miss relating to academic ineligibility and improper financial aid. The NCAA ultimately leveled a 10-year show-cause penalty on Tyndall.

If McNeese State were to hire Tyndall, it would have to “show cause” for why it shouldn’t be sanctioned by the NCAA. Only four coaches have ever been a head coach again at the collegiate level after their show-cause penalty expires.

Alas, it’s worth noting Wade coached at McNeese State despite the NCAA imposing a two-year show-cause penalty on him for his actions at LSU. Only time will tell who will be the next head man at McNeese State.