Tom Crean ain't leaving Georgia just yet: Report
***UPDATE: Georgia has made Tom Crean’s firing official since this article was published.***
Tom Crean and Georgia have to wait a hot minute before they can go their separate ways, according to a report from the AJC’s Chip Towers.
You see, Tom Crean’s contract requires Georgia to give him at least seven days’ notice before they end their relationship. According to Chip’s report, the Dawgs are yet to do so.
The part of this report I found most interesting: Athletic Director Josh Brooks gave Tom Crean the opportunity to take his $3.2M buyout and hit the old dusty trail on February 23rd.
Tom Crean declined.
At that point, Georgia basketball was 6-22 and fresh off a 91-77 loss at Texas A&M.
Tom Crean reportedly hired attorney Tom Mars
So, since Georgia didn’t give Tom Crean that seven-day notice at least a week ago, he’s still officially Georgia’s head basketball coach.
The original terms of Crean’s deal provided him a $7.2M buyout if Georgia fired him from his basketball post. However, a clause cuts $4M off that arrangement at the end of Crean’s fourth season.
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Another not-insignificant detail from Towers’s report: Tom Crean hired well-known coach and NCAA eligibility attorney Tom Mars to represent him.
So while the terms of that contract are seemingly black and white, Crean and Georgia still have some big-boy conversations ahead of them, it would seem.
Jonas Hayes leads the oddsmakers’ picks to replace Crean
While Georgia fans await any official word on Crean’s departure, Jonas Hayes gains steam as the favorite to replace him.
Former player JJ Frazier weighed in via social media.
Oddsmakers at Sportsline list Hayes as their current favorite, at +300.
Murray State’s Matt McMahon follow narrowly behind Jonas Hayes at +400.
Read up on our entire Georgia basketball coaching hot board here.
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