Thad Matta meets with Ole Miss about coaching vacancy

Thad Matta met with Ole Miss about coaching vacancy

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 30: Former head coach of the Butler Bulldogs and Ohio State Buckeyes Thad Matta is seen during the game against the Villanova Wildcats at Hinkle Fieldhouse on December 30, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

After his earlier than expected exit from Ohio State last June, Thad Matta has now surfaced as a candidate at Ole Miss.

There are easy comparisons to make between Thad Matta and Andy Kennedy. After an initial report he would step down after the 2017-18 season, Matta was out as Ohio State’s men’s basketball coach last June. Kennedy was initially going to leave Ole Miss at the end of this season, but he shifted course and resigned effective immediately in mid-February.

Multiple major back surgeries and the related repercussions were enough to put coaching on the back burner for Matta. But 247 Sports reported Matta was spotted in Oxford, Mississippi on Friday, and Gary Parrish of CBS Sports confirmed Matta spent part of the week meeting with Ole Miss officials about their coaching vacancy.

Matta spent 13 seasons at Ohio State, with nine NCAA Tournament bids, five regular-season Big Ten titles, four Big Ten Tournament titles and two Final Fours (2007, 2012) during his tenure. But back-to-back seasons without a trip to the tournament, and a 17-15 mark in 2016-17 as a low-point put Matta on the hot seat before he was fired/resigned quickly last summer.

Combined with his time at Butler (one season) and Xavier (three seasons), Matta has a 439-154 record (.740 winning percentage) as a head coach.

Matta’s trip to Oxford is a signal Ole Miss is starting to ramp up their search for Kennedy’s replacement. He’s the biggest-name candidate to surface at this point, and as a still relatively young man (50, 51 on July 11) if Matta’s in better health a return to coaching somewhere next season could be coming. ESPN’s Jeff Goodman passed along that sentiment, via a source.

“He wouldn’t take any job,” the source said. “But he’d possibly consider coming back for the right one.”

It’s unclear if Ole Miss would be the proverbial “right job” for Matta. But there was enough mutual interest to schedule a meeting, and Matta’s presence in town was not kept very covert.