Winners of two straight, the question is can an interim coach Todd Simon gain enough momentum to get serious consideration for the head basketball coach moving forward? There's a lot of games left to play and he'll have an opportunity to do so.
But in case it's not enough, these are some of the names I've heard tossed around. Some names are on here because their names may have been mentioned, but they have zero traction. Others that may be viewed as pipe dreams might actually have legs.
As you will see underneath, as usual, this is going to go many different ways before something is agreed upon. The good news for the Runnin' Rebel program is that there is a ton of interest in this job, some expected, some unexpected.
Here is the list of names and whether they are serious or not serious at this point in time:
Steve Lavin - yes, there has been back and forth communication. I wouldn't consider it serious at this point.
Tad Boyle - Current coach at Colorado. He turned Northern Colorado into a winner and has been to the NCAA Tournament three out of four years as the Buffs' head man. Got to love a guy that went from a six figures brokerage job to a $16K a year assistant job at Oregon. He has also recruited California well.
Rick Pitino - initial reports were immediately denied, but there's a lot more to this one. If the Louisville scandal gets much hotter for Pitino, this one has a real chance. The price tag would be awfully high, but there's a contingent that would step up for a coach of this caliber. But that group may only put their money where their mouth is for Pitino. The best way to keep tabs on this is watch the Louisville situation. If he's out, he's going to want a landing spot and UNLV may be as good as any.
Mike Brown - one of the first names to surface seems to have cooled a bit lately, but it's still prominent, perhaps the most prominent. He is a disciplinarian that demands a lot from his players. The good news is salary demands probably won't be too high since he's still being payed by both the Cavs and Lakers from his time in the NBA.
Archie Miller - there's a mutual interest but tough to gauge how real it is at this point. Archie could start a nice little rivalry with his brother, Sean, at Arizona. He will be on everyone's wish list this offseason.
Chris Mack - high on the wish list but it's thought to be near impossible to uproot from his region.
Jay Wright - too early to tell but, believe it or not, there has been some mutual interest.
Dan Majerle - Thunder Dan has some traction. He has done extremely well at a school no one has ever heard of (Grand Canyon). That, in itself, is reason to give him a long look.
Tim Floyd - has as much to do as a coach getting his name out there as anything.
Wayne Tinkle - head coach at Oregon State, has flown under the radar. Tinkle was the head coach at Montana before moving to OSU two years ago. He has already made a tremendous difference in how the Beavers are viewed around the country. Could UNLV take another former Grizz coach, though?
Doug Gottlieb - openly campaigning for the job, a very long shot considering the other proven candidates on the list. If you would take Gottlieb, who has never been a head coach, wouldn't you look at Greg Anthony, too? Gottlieb has coaching in his blood and is from Southern California, so this be extremely interesting.
Danny Hurley - In his fourth season as head coach at Rhode Island, Hurley hasn't cracked through to the NCAA Tournament yet. Does seem to be a solid coach with just a bit of bad luck. Don't think it would sit well for anyone named Hurley to be roaming the Rebels' sideline.
Dana Altman - Altman's name usually comes up in the background any time the UNLV job opens. Oregon has more money than Fort Knox. If they really want him, there's nothing UNLV can do about it.
Russ Turner - current coach at UC Irvine. Very respected coach. Probably would only gain serious legs if many others fall of the list. It's felt UNLV might need a "splash" hire to appease the fan base. Turner, although would probably be a great hire, might not appeal to the hungry Rebel faithful.
The remainder of the list has been talked about, but, realistically, have no shot unless UNLV shoots and fires at a lot of other contenders for this job.
Steve Henson - not going to happen
Marvin Menzies - not going to happen
Reggie Theus - not going to happen
Justin Hutson - not going to happen
Mike Dunleavy - unknown
Kelvin Sampson - not going to happen
Brad Underwood - as a KSU graduate, his eyes are on that job and it may open up this season.
Joe Pasternak - Associate Head Coach at Arizona. A president Len Jessup favorite.
But in case it's not enough, these are some of the names I've heard tossed around. Some names are on here because their names may have been mentioned, but they have zero traction. Others that may be viewed as pipe dreams might actually have legs.
As you will see underneath, as usual, this is going to go many different ways before something is agreed upon. The good news for the Runnin' Rebel program is that there is a ton of interest in this job, some expected, some unexpected.
Here is the list of names and whether they are serious or not serious at this point in time:
Steve Lavin - yes, there has been back and forth communication. I wouldn't consider it serious at this point.
Tad Boyle - Current coach at Colorado. He turned Northern Colorado into a winner and has been to the NCAA Tournament three out of four years as the Buffs' head man. Got to love a guy that went from a six figures brokerage job to a $16K a year assistant job at Oregon. He has also recruited California well.
Rick Pitino - initial reports were immediately denied, but there's a lot more to this one. If the Louisville scandal gets much hotter for Pitino, this one has a real chance. The price tag would be awfully high, but there's a contingent that would step up for a coach of this caliber. But that group may only put their money where their mouth is for Pitino. The best way to keep tabs on this is watch the Louisville situation. If he's out, he's going to want a landing spot and UNLV may be as good as any.
Mike Brown - one of the first names to surface seems to have cooled a bit lately, but it's still prominent, perhaps the most prominent. He is a disciplinarian that demands a lot from his players. The good news is salary demands probably won't be too high since he's still being payed by both the Cavs and Lakers from his time in the NBA.
Archie Miller - there's a mutual interest but tough to gauge how real it is at this point. Archie could start a nice little rivalry with his brother, Sean, at Arizona. He will be on everyone's wish list this offseason.
Chris Mack - high on the wish list but it's thought to be near impossible to uproot from his region.
Jay Wright - too early to tell but, believe it or not, there has been some mutual interest.
Dan Majerle - Thunder Dan has some traction. He has done extremely well at a school no one has ever heard of (Grand Canyon). That, in itself, is reason to give him a long look.
Tim Floyd - has as much to do as a coach getting his name out there as anything.
Wayne Tinkle - head coach at Oregon State, has flown under the radar. Tinkle was the head coach at Montana before moving to OSU two years ago. He has already made a tremendous difference in how the Beavers are viewed around the country. Could UNLV take another former Grizz coach, though?
Doug Gottlieb - openly campaigning for the job, a very long shot considering the other proven candidates on the list. If you would take Gottlieb, who has never been a head coach, wouldn't you look at Greg Anthony, too? Gottlieb has coaching in his blood and is from Southern California, so this be extremely interesting.
Danny Hurley - In his fourth season as head coach at Rhode Island, Hurley hasn't cracked through to the NCAA Tournament yet. Does seem to be a solid coach with just a bit of bad luck. Don't think it would sit well for anyone named Hurley to be roaming the Rebels' sideline.
Dana Altman - Altman's name usually comes up in the background any time the UNLV job opens. Oregon has more money than Fort Knox. If they really want him, there's nothing UNLV can do about it.
Russ Turner - current coach at UC Irvine. Very respected coach. Probably would only gain serious legs if many others fall of the list. It's felt UNLV might need a "splash" hire to appease the fan base. Turner, although would probably be a great hire, might not appeal to the hungry Rebel faithful.
The remainder of the list has been talked about, but, realistically, have no shot unless UNLV shoots and fires at a lot of other contenders for this job.
Steve Henson - not going to happen
Marvin Menzies - not going to happen
Reggie Theus - not going to happen
Justin Hutson - not going to happen
Mike Dunleavy - unknown
Kelvin Sampson - not going to happen
Brad Underwood - as a KSU graduate, his eyes are on that job and it may open up this season.
Joe Pasternak - Associate Head Coach at Arizona. A president Len Jessup favorite.
