On March 26, The University of Arkansas said goodbye to their head basketball coach from 2011-2019, Mike Anderson.
After the initial shock of the news, fans immediately started speculating who is next in line to be the head Hog.
Our team has compiled a list of coaches could potentially fill the now-empty position.
This list is purely speculation, but these names have been thrown around on social media as potential replacements.
Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson
Sampson has 60 total wins over the last two seasons and had the Cougars in the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1984. Houston was his first college job since leaving Indiana in 2008. Sampson and Arkansas AD Hunter Yuracheck have history, as Yurachek came to Arkansas from Houston.
Sampson's name has been thrown around pretty heavily, some even reporting that he's expected to be an option.
Former Ohio State coach Thad Matta
From 2004 to 2017, Matta led the Ohio State Buckeyes to five Big Ten Conference regular season championships, four Big Ten Tournament titles, two Final Four appearances and the 2008 NIT Championship. He is the winningest coach in Ohio State history.
VCU head coach Mike Rhoade
Head coach of the Rams since 2017, he’s been All-State, an All-American, a National Champion and a Coach of the Year. He was a college head coach at 25. In three seasons with the Black & Gold, Rhoades has helped guide VCU to the most wins, 84, in any three-year span in school history.
Buffalo Head Coach Nate Oats
During his two-year tenure as an assistant, Buffalo had a 42–20 record, won their first Mid-American Conference Tournament and made their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Following the end of the 2018-19 regular season, Oats led the Bulls to a 28-3 record and was named 2019 MAC Coach of the Year. On March 14, 2019, Oats signed a contract extension with the University at Buffalo to remain head basketball coach through the 2024 season.
UCF’s Johnny Dawkins
In April 2008, he was named head coach at Stanford University, succeeding Trent Johnson. On March 14, 2016, at the conclusion of his eighth season, and after a disappointing one NCAA appearance in eight seasons as head coach, Dawkins was relieved of his duties as head coach. On March 23, 2016, Dawkins was hired as head coach by the University of Central Florida.
Nevada’s Eric Musselman
In March 2018, Nevada was announced as an at-large selection for the NCAA men's basketball tournament as a seventh seed. During the 2017-18 season, Nevada finished 12-3 in true road games. Those 12 victories were a single-season school record and tied for most in the country.
To start the 2018-19 season, Nevada was ranked #7 in the preseason Associated Press poll and #9 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. It is the highest ranking in school history for the Wolf Pack. The previous top ranking was #9 on Feb. 26, 2007. Additionally, the #7 ranking was the highest preseason ranking in Mountain West Conference history. The Nevada Wolf Pack finished the year ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 all 20 weeks of the college basketball season, with the highest ranking in school ranking coming in week 4 with a #5 AP ranking.
Murray State head coach Matt McMahon
In his third year leading the program, McMahon led the Racers to a 26–6 record that included Ohio Valley Conference regular-season and tournament championships and a win in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
Charleston head coach Earl Grant
Grant began his coaching career as an assistant at The Citadel under Pat Dennis from 2002 to 2004. Gregg Marshall hired Grant as an assistant at Winthrop University in 2004, and when Marshall left to take the head coaching gig at Wichita State in 2007, he brought Grant along with him. Grant was hired as an assistant at Clemson in 2010.
On September 2, 2014, Grant was hired as the head coach of the College of Charleston. Win totals of 25, 26 and 24 in the last three seasons with an NCAA appearance in 2018.
Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard
Former Little Rock head basketball coach who left UALR to coach at Texas Tech. Beard is unlikely, although would be a big name hire. The Red Raiders are preparing for a Sweet 16 game against Michigan on Thursday.