Larry Brown Agrees to Become Head Coach at SMU
On Mar. 13, SMU made the decision to fire head coach Matt Doherty. With the school moving to the Big East Conference in 2013, the Mustangs were looking to move forward with a new era.
In six seasons at SMU, Doherty compiled an 80-109 record overall, a number that likely played a pivotal part in the school’s decision to make a change.
After a coaching search that spanned more than a month, SMU has finally found a new head coach.
Larry Brown, the only coach to win both a NBA and NCAA championship will take over the reigns for the Mustangs’ program at the age of 71.
SMU had targeted a number of highly-regarded coaches during their search, including Marquette’s Buzz Williams, Harvard’s Tommy Amaker, and Saint Louis’ Rick Majerus, just to a name a few. All spurned the interest from SMU, leading the athletic department to target Brown.
After a few days of speculation and a reported interview on Sunday, Brown and SMU made things official on Tuesday evening, agreeing to terms to move forward with a program that has not qualified for the Big Dance since 1993.
In fact, the last time the Mustangs even won a game in the NCAA Tournament came back in 1988. Ironically enough, that same year Brown won his only NCAA Championship with Kansas.
Overall, Brown has spent seven seasons at the collegiate level, with stints at both KU and UCLA, while also compiling over 2000 victories at the professional level. Brown’s coaching experience includes stints in both the NBA and ABA.
ESPN.com’s Jason King issued a report on Tuesday evening proclaiming that the pair had reached an agreement.
According to the report, Brown is looking to string together a solid coaching staff, one that can give the Mustangs the greatest potential in succeeding down the line once the school makes the switch to the Big East.
Among those mentioned include Illinois State head coach Tom Jankovich, former Illinois assistant Jerrance Howard, as well as former Kentucky assistant Rod Strickland. No details or formal announcements about Brown’s staff at SMU have been deemed official at this point.
Brown has not coached since the 2010-11 season, when he resigned in his third year as the head man for the Charlotte Bobcats after a 9-19 start.
