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10 factors determining if Vols head coach Rick Barnes leaves for UCLA

By Caleb Calhoun

COLUMBIA, MISSOURI - JANUARY 08: Head coach Rick Barnes of the Tennessee Volunteers directs his team against the Missouri Tigers in the second half at Mizzou Arena on January 08, 2019 in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, MISSOURI - JANUARY 08: Head coach Rick Barnes of the Tennessee Volunteers directs his team against the Missouri Tigers in the second half at Mizzou Arena on January 08, 2019 in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /
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10. Respect from fans

This one depends on how Rick Barnes takes it, but I have it last on the list because it’s hard to envision this being any issue. However, there was some criticism from Vol Nation of his coaching in big games, something that followed him from the Texas Longhorns.

When he lost to the Auburn Tigers to capture a share of the SEC regular season title, Auburn again in the SEC Tournament championship and then the Purdue Boilermakers in the Sweet 16, those voices got a bit louder. Tennessee basketball under Barnes spent four weeks at No. 1 and finished with 31 wins would hang no banners.

They lost the preseason NIT title, the SEC regular season title and the SEC Tournament title all on the last day before suffering a Sweet 16 elimination. That could make some fans overreact and forget where the program was, and maybe, just maybe, it could be enough to drive Barnes away. It was certainly enough to drive Cuonzo Martin away.

However, the reason it’s so low on the list is I find the evidence to be a bit anecdotal. Yes, there was some criticism from him in articles, and Vol Twitter had some guys go off about it. But by and large, fans have been extremely supportive of Barnes.

And does he think people will be any nicer to him about this at UCLA? The combination of those two things means that fan respect could actually be enough to keep him in Knoxville. We don’t know where this lies, so it is probably the least important factor.

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