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Alabama and Avery Johnson negotiating a buyout

By Brad Berreman

FAYETTEVILLE, AR - MARCH 9: Head Coach Avery Johnson of the Alabama CrimsonTide yells at his team during a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena on March 9, 2019 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
FAYETTEVILLE, AR - MARCH 9: Head Coach Avery Johnson of the Alabama CrimsonTide yells at his team during a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena on March 9, 2019 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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After a first round loss in the NIT this week, Alabama and coach Avery Johnson are negotiating a buyout.

Alabama is a football school, first and foremost, so when Avery Johnson was brought in as men’s basketball coach it was notable. But after four seasons, as first reported by Michael Casagrande of AL.com, the school and Johnson are negotiating the terms of a contract buyout.

Alabama’s 2018-19 season ended with an 80-79 loss to Norfolk State in the NIT on Wednesday night.  Johnson has a 75-62 record as coach of the Crimson Tide (34-38 in the SEC), with at least 18 wins each season and an NCAA Tournament berth last year.

Johnson was under contract through 2023, after getting a contract extension in 2017. Under the terms of his deal, if he is fired before April 15 he would be owed an $8 million buyout. After April 15, the buyout drops to $6 million.

Expectations were automatically raised when Johnson came to Tuscaloosa, amid the SEC as a whole investing a lot more in basketball. Four postseason berths in as many seasons is fine, but three first-round NIT exits is not so good and this year’s opponent noticed a lack of energy from Alabama players before the game even tipped off.

That said, it’s safe to say parting ways with Johnson would not be done without a good idea of who will replace him. Iowa State coach Steve Prohm, a 1997 graduate of Alabama, has immediately surfaced as a candidate. The No. 6 seed Cyclones play No.11 seed Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday night.

Before Johnson was hired, Alabama made a run at Gregg Marshall before he rebuffed them and stayed at Wichita State. The Shockers advanced in the NIT earlier this week, with their next game coming Sunday against Clemson. Marshall has long been a candidate to jump to a bigger school,  but Wichita State’s move to the AAC has curbed that a bit over the last couple years.

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Alongside the NCAA Tournament, the college basketball coaching carousel is starting to spin. Alabama can now be added to the list of open jobs, with enough appeal that fans can hope for an upgrade over Johnson.