The college basketball coaching carousel was quite active last season, with a number of schools making changes to try and become more competitive. The impact of the transfer portal and NIL has drastically changed the game in college basketball, making it harder for teams to sell their fan bases on a traditional build up since you could theoretically buy a super team in the portal and make a deep March Madness run.
The carousel is also in a unique place since big name programs like North Carolina can't always land their top candidates since NIL has leveled the playing field. The Tar Heels landed former NBA head coach Michael Malone to run their program, shoving alum Hubert Davis out the door after five uneven seasons that included an appearance in the National Championship Game in 2022.
Davis' seat was on fire entering the 2025-26 campaign so it's not a complete shock he didn't survive it. Let's take a look at seven more coaches who need to win to save their jobs entering this season.
Mark Pope, Kentucky
This situation feels quite similar to what happened with Davis at North Carolina as an alum is under intense pressure to get a true blue blood back to its previous glory days. Pope has won tournament games in each of his first two seasons in Kentucky, including a Sweet 16 run in 2024, but that is not good enough for a program that has championship pedigree like the Wildcats.
A fumbling and bumbling run in the transfer portal this summer didn't look good on Pope, although a surprise pickup of Iowa State wing Milan Momcilovic gives them a shot to be a Top 25 team. It feels like the second weekend is a bare minimum goal for Pope this year and if he can't reach that bar there's a chance Kentucky embars on another coaching search in the spring.
Mick Cronin, UCLA
UCLA is in a similar spot as Kentucky as an underachieving blue blood but unlike the Wildcats, who won a national championship in 2012, the Bruins are entering their 31st year without a title. Cronin has had a good run with UCLA, including a surprising First Four to Final Four run in the bubble tournament in 2021, but he has underachieved of late despite having talented rosters.
The move to the Big Ten has been challenging for UCLA, which has more exhaustive travel during the season that has made it tougher for them to build a strong resume for March Madness. This will be year eight in Westwood for Cronin, who hasn't reached the second weekend since 2023, and if he doesn't make it to the Sweet 16 this season the Bruins may opt to start over now that they have a new athletic director in charge.
Steve Forbes, Wake Forest
An expanded NCAA Tournament means that there is more pressure on Forbes to finally get the Demon Deacons back to the dance. Wake Forest has posted five consecutive winning seasons under Forbes, who peaked with a 25-win campaign in 2021-22, but they haven't made the NCAA Tournament yet as he enters his seventh season at the helm.
Seven years is a very long time to not make the NCAA Tournament, especially in a power conference like the ACC that has the capability to send eight teams into the field on a good year. A long-term contract extension has bought Forbes some time but if the Demon Deacons don't go dancing again there's a good chance he gets bought out.
Ed Cooley, Georgetown
When you controversially jump ship from one school in a conference to another you had better win there. That has not been the case yet for Cooley at Georgetown, who signed a lucrative deal to bolt from Providence and has a 42-57 record in three seasons, including a 16-44 mark in Big East play.
Expectations aren't high for the Hoyas this season and Cooley lost some important players to the transfer portal, putting him in a tough spot entering a huge fourth year. Public disclosures indicated that Cooley made over $5 million in 2024, meaning any buyout he has on his contract should be hefty, but if the Hoyas continue to flop there may be some motivated Georgetown boosters who step up to help cover it.
Micah Shrewsberry, Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish thought they had pulled off a coup when they swiped Shrewsberry from Penn State after he guided the Nittany Lions to a 23-win season that included an NCAA Tournament win in 2023. Shrewsberry has struggled to adapt to life in the ACC, posting sub-.500 records in each of his first three seasons and is working with a roster this season that is almost entirely new.
The contract Notre Dame gave Shrewsberry runs through the end of the decade but the Fighting Irish have deep pockets if they want to move on. A winning record feels like the bare minimum that Shrewsberry needs to accomplish this season to avoid giving Notre Dame the temptation to start over.
Mike Boynton, Michigan
The reigning national champions had to make a surprising coaching pivot when Dusty May bolted for the NBA in June, promoting lead assistant Mike Boynton to the head job. That decision was important to maintain as much continuity as possible with a loaded roster, but it is important to note that Boynton only received a two-year deal to become the Wolverine's head coach.
The deal itself is essentially of the "prove-it" variety, meaning that Boynton needs to show out this year to get to the second season of the deal. Few openings in the country would be more attractive than Michigan's right now so Boynton will need to win big this season to ensure he stays on the job beyond the upcoming campaign.
Porter Moser, Oklahoma
It looked like Moser was going to be looking for a job in mid-January but a heater at the end of the season where Oklahoma won 8 of 10 to narrowly miss the NCAA Tournament saved him. New AD Roger Denny announced that Moser would be back for this season with a significant NIL boost, raising the stakes on him to make noise in a loaded SEC.
Moser has done solid work for the Sooners, posting a 95-75 record, but he has just one NCAA Tournament appearance in six years to show for it. Failure to add a second should ensure that the Sooners are in the market for a new coach in the spring, although it is fair to wonder whether the fit between Moser and Oklahoma was a wise call to begin with.
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