List of Coaching Candidates for Vols Basketball

Mar 6, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Belmont Bruins head coach Rick Byrd yells from the sidelines during the second half against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels at Nashville Municipal Auditorium. The Bruins won 53-52. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Rick Byrd, Belmont Bruins

Record: 711-367 overall in 34 seasons, 619-312 in 29 seasons at Belmont

Conference Titles: 7 total at NCAA-eligible schools

NCAA Tournament Appearances: 8

Salary: $525,000

By far the most experienced head coach on the list, Rick Byrd, 61, also has the biggest Tennessee connection, at least in terms of sentiment for fans. Byrd has been a head coach in the state of Tennessee his whole career, which started in 1978 at Maryville College. He’s also a Knoxville native.

Byrd has been the “safe pick” by Vol fans ever since Bruce Pearl was fired in 2011, and he is being touted as such yet again. Byrd has never had as much as an inkling of NCAA trouble while coaching Belmont since 1986. Not only that, but he’s been extremely successful as well.

When Byrd started coaching at Belmont, they were still an NAIA school. It wasn’t until 1996 that they became an NCAA Independent, and then they joined the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2001. It took Byrd just 2 seasons to win his division in the ASC, and in his 5th season they won the conference and went to their 1st NCAA Tournament.

Since then, Byrd has taken Belmont to 6 other NCAA Tournament appearances in the last 9 seasons. Belmont, now a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, has won at least the regular season or conference tournament title in 7 of the last 10 seasons under Byrd.

While Byrd has certainly had success at a small school, he would not be a long-term solution to Tennessee’s coaching problem. He could serve as a bridge to the Vols’ next long-term coach and get the program healthy again, but the Vols may have passed on Byrd one too many times now. He appears entrenched at Belmont and has enjoyed his success there.