Alabama Basketball: Is Anthony Grant’s Job On the Line in 2014-15 Season?

When you take a look around the internet for college basketball coaches considered on the “hot seat” for the 2014-15 college basketball season, one of the coaches that always seems to make the list is head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, Anthony Grant.

Grant was expected to help lead the Crimson Tide to the NIT and compete for a 2014 NCAA Tournament berth, but fell far short, with the team finishing with a dismal 13-19 record. Although facing an extremely difficult non-conference schedule, Alabama still was expected to come into SEC play with a better record than a measly 6-7. From there it was all downhill, as the Crimson Tide were blown out five times in conference play.

So after a dreadful 2013-14 season, is Grant’s job on the line if the Crimson Tide once again have a disappointing season? Of course it is. As the SEC continues to get more difficult, the leash that an SEC school has on its coach gets much shorter. It seems like every year three or four good coaches get fired or leave to go to another school where their job is more secure.

However, Grant has a talented incoming recruiting class and is returning several key players, like Rodney Cooper, Nick Jacobs, Levi Randolph and Retin Obasohan, as well as Tulane transfer Ricky Tarrant. The margin for error may be slim, but a trip to the NIT could be all that the University of Alabama’s athletic department needs to keep Grant as the head man in charge of the Crimson Tide basketball program.

Taylor Sturm is a Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.