Butler’s search for a head coach: 4 names to watch
By Chris Stone
The unexpected summer coaching carousal spurred by the Ohio State Buckeyes’ firing of head coach Thad Matta continues to roll on as reports emerged Friday morning that Ohio State had reached agreement with Chris Holtmann, the current head coach of the Butler Bulldogs, on an 8-year deal worth $3.1 million annually.
Now, the Bulldogs will be left scrambling to find a new head coach in time for the July evaluation period. Luckily, it seems, the school has some names in mind. Scout’s Evan Daniels reports that four names you can expect to hear in the conversation are Micah Shrewsberry, LaVall Jordan, Matthew Graves and Michael Lewis. Other names will no doubt pop up as well during this process, but for now, we’ll focus on the four who have been linked most directly.
So, who are these guys? Here’s a quick look.
Micah Shrewsberry, Boston Celtics assistant coach
Butler has a history of staying within the family when conducting coaching searches and it will likely be the same this time around, especially on such short notice.
Micah Shrewsberry was an assistant head coach at the school under Brad Stevens from 2007 through 2011 before leaving to take a similar position with the Purdue Boilermakers. When Stevens left for the Boston Celtics in 2013, however, Shrewsberry joined him and remains on staff there as an assistant.
During his time with the Celtics, he has directed the team’s defense and coached its Summer League team.
The 40-year old doesn’t appear to be wedded to the NBA ranks. He interviewed with the University of Massachusetts when their head coaching position opened earlier this spring. Shrewsberry also has prior head coaching experience. He was in charge of the Indiana University-South Bend program 2005 to 2007 prior to joining Stevens’ staff at Butler.