What probably should have happened last season after an 8-24 record has come to fruition this season after a non-improved 9-24 record. Allen Edwards has been dismissed after four years as the head men’s basketball coach in Laramie with an overall record of 60-76 and a conference record of 24-49. This season, Wyoming finished in last place of the Mountain West Conference for the first time since the conference was formed in 1999. Leaving UW Athletic Director Tom Burman no choice but to make a change after stating “significant progress” must be made at the conclusion of last season.
With the job now open, below is my shortlist (in alphabetical order) of who I would like to see rebuild the Wyoming basketball program and bring back life to the Dome of Doom. In my research, I two had two criteria:
1) The coach must be a current head coach in Division I college basketball. This eliminates out of work re-treads like Tim Miles and hotshot assistant coaches with no head coaching experience. People may not want to admit it but Wyoming has a serious talent problem with its roster right now and an experienced hand will be needed to rebuild this program the right way.
2) The coach had to have a history of winning at the Division I level. All the guys on the list below are winners and have the resume to prove it.
The shortlist below also includes the current salary of the coaches on this list as a reference point. Allen Edwards was making 490k per year in guaranteed compensation so use that as the comparison point to see if Wyoming could offer the coaches on this list an improved contract or not.
Travis DeCuire, Montana
Age: 49
Seasons, Winning % Overall: 6 seasons, 64.8%
Seasons, Winning % At Current School: SAME
Current Salary: 175K plus bonuses
There’s quite a bit to like about DeCuire. He’s been in Missoula for six seasons and has four twenty-win seasons to his name. During his time at Montana, his program has won three Big Sky regular-season conference titles and two conference tournaments. Before taking over the Griz he cut his teeth at California and Old Dominion for 12 seasons as an assistant coach. DeCuire would be a good fit in Laramie because he has experience recruiting in another cold-weather climate. Wyoming could give DeCuire a pretty big raise and the only concern is would he leave his alma mater who he played for from 1991 to 1994?
Steve Forbes, East Tennessee State
Age: 54
Seasons, Winning % Overall: 5 seasons, 74.7%
Seasons, Winning % At Current School: SAME
Current Salary: 400K base plus 50k stipend and 200k retention bonus
Forbes has the highest winning percentage of anyone on this list with five twenty-plus winning seasons for the Buccaneers in the Southern Conference. From a financial standpoint, it would be hard for Wyoming to match or pass the financial package Forbes has at East Tennessee State. Forbes has two regular-season and tournament conference titles as a coach winning both in the 2016-17 season and this current 2019-2020 season.
Jason Hooten, Sam Houston State
Age: 50
Seasons, Winning % Overall: 10 seasons, 59.2%
Seasons, Winning % At Current School: SAME
Current Salary: 225K
Hooten is the most experienced head coach on this list with 10 years of experience to his name. Hooten has won a single regular-season title with the Bearkats of the Southland Conference and has had five twenty-win seasons. Hooten first joined Sam Houston State as an assistant in 2004 and was an assistant for six seasons before being named the head coach. Would he want to leave a school he has been at for so long? Maybe a pay bump and a chance to coach at a school in a better conference would make him want to try a change in scenery.
Joe Pasternack, UCSB
Age: 42
Career Winning %: 6 seasons, 55.1%
Winning % At Current School: 3 seasons, 68.1%
Current Salary: 357K
Pasternack has coached in Laramie before when his UCSB team defeated the Cowboys 76-66 in the 2018-2019 season opener for both schools. Pasternack the only coach on this list who has been the head coach at multiple schools as he began his head coaching career at the University of New Orleans. UCSB has finished 2nd, 2nd and 3rd in the Big West under Pasternack. Could Wyoming lure him from sunny California to the high plains of Wyoming? I don’t know if they can but he would take home a great deal more of his salary moving from tax heavy California to state income tax-free Wyoming.
Wes Miller, UNC-Greensboro
Age: 37
Career Winning %: 9 seasons, 56.7%
Winning % At Current School: SAME
Current Salary: 301K
Miller is the youngest coach on this list but already has 9 years of head coaching experience as he was hired at UNC-Greensboro at just the age of 29. Under Miller, the Spartans have won two regular-season titles and one conference tournament in the Southern Conference. Miller is an east coast guy who played at James Madison and North Carolina during his college career so it may be hard to lure him out west. He’s a young coach with a winning record who can connect with modern players.
Final Thoughts
Can Wyoming land any of these coaches? Should Tom Burman be allowed to make this hire after hiring two of the worst basketball coaches in program history in Schroyer and Edwards? Are other names like the previously mentioned unemployed Tim Miles (who I have heard through Nebraska sources is being connected to the job) or the somewhat local Northern Colorado coach Tim Linder going to get a look? Those are topics for another blog as this coaching search moves along. Stay with us at WyoNation.com for news and analysis in the 2020 Wyoming basketball coaching search.
I say, let Burman sweat it out, as it is “his job” to get the right employee(s) for programs Burman’s Directing. He sweat it out with a successful Coach Bohl, its his turn to get it right with Men’s Basketball.
Only problem is, you don’t allow for two losing seasons, you fire mid season if you have to, regardless of broadcast commentaries. Can’t get – – can’t stay!
This time around, no more “pedigree basketball player” as coach.
Two things…
1) That “re-tread” Tim Miles is a better coach than anyone on your list.
2) If you think anyone in their right mind is moving from Santa Barbara to Laramie, WY, you’re nuts.
Jeff Linder, N. Colorado makes the moat sense. Six years as an assistant at Boise St., he knows how to recruit in the west. Four years at Greeley, his team came to Laramie three times and whooped us all three. MW is a step up from Big Sky for him.