Tennessee basketball: If UCLA hires Rick Barnes, Vols should call Rick Byrd
If Tennessee basketball loses Rick Barnes to the UCLA Bruins, the Volunteers should call former Belmont head coach Rick Byrd out or retirement.
When Tennessee basketball hired Rick Barnes four years ago, there was another veteran coach that they could have looked at who is only a year older. That veteran coach just retired with over 800 wins.
We’re talking, of course, about Rick Byrd, who turned the Belmont Bruins into a mid-level Division I program and was a model of consistency for 30-plus years. The 65-year-old just retired after decades in Nashville, saying it’s time. Up until last week, nobody questioned the idea of hiring Barnes over Byrd.
But now, if Barnes leaves the Vols for the UCLA Bruins, Tennessee basketball should do what it twice decided not to do, wrongly I might add, in the past. Hire Byrd back to his alma mater, where he played in the early to mid-1970s.
The guy clearly knows basketball, having moved Belmont up from NAIA to becoming a regular NCAA Tournament contender. Starting with Belmont’s first NCAA Tournament in 2006, they have made eight over the past 13 seasons and won six Atlantic Sun regular season titles. They have won 12 division titles since joining the conference in 2001.
There’s just no denying that, with undermanned talent throughout his career, Byrd has been able to win, even getting the program to 30 victories in the 2010-2011 season. He’d do the same for Tennessee basketball.
It’s also worth noting that even though he’s retired, he would come out of it to coach the Vols. He was quoted in 2014 calling Tennessee basketball his dream job. And it’s well-documented that the UT graduate turned down Belmont for other, bigger offers because he just preferred living in Tennessee. So there’s no reason to believe he’d leave for a better job.
Sure, Byrd would be 66 when he coached his first game. But age is the most overrated factor when looking at a program. Rick Barnes is going to be 65 next year, and fans are thinking about the long-term success of the program under him. Nick Saban is 68 at this moment. What college football program not named Clemson wouldn’t jump at the chance to hire him?
The current president of the United States is 72, and the two frontrunners on the Democratic side to challenge him are 76 and 77. So what is the drawback to hiring a coach just because of his age? It’s always been a stupid reason.
Related Story. Vols 5 best wins of 2018-2019. light
More from Vols Basketball
- Tennessee Volunteers News: Midweek Recap, Food City Center, Students Back & More
- Tennessee Basketball: Which teams have the Volunteers never beaten?
- Former Tennessee Vols’ Star Grant Williams Dominated Game 4 of ECF
- 10 best Tennessee basketball NBA careers ever
- Tennessee Basketball: Phillips in Transfer Portal, New Transfers Join Vols
If Byrd just coaches Tennessee basketball until he’s 72, he will have outlasted any coach since Don DeVoe in the 1980s. Do you realize the amount of success a coach can have in just six or seven years? Urban Meyer led the Florida Gators to two national championships in that time frame. So spare me the age quote. The Vols need stability, and Byrd would bring that despite his age.
Remember, Mike Hamilton passed on Byrd for Cuonzo Martin in 2011. Martin lasted three years. Then Dave Hart passed on Byrd for Donnie Tyndall in 2014. Tyndall lasted a year. Both were considered up and comers in the sport, and Byrd’s age was the only thing working against him. But he coached at Belmont four more years after the Vols lost both coaches.
Other detractors say he’s no proven recruiter. So what? Barnes built the Vols by finding a bunch of undervalued three-star recruits, and although a five-star is committed next year, he has proven you can win with lesser talent.
You don’t think Byrd could at least get a collection of solid three-star guys in the program? And does anybody really believe he wouldn’t be able to coach them up? If he can do what he did at Belmont, he can consistently turn three-star players into NBA prospects.
Next. Vols football's top 30 players since 1998. dark
This is all speculation, of course. And it depends on what Rick Barnes does. But if he does depart for the UCLA Bruins, Rick Byrd is an easy coach for Tennessee basketball to hire. Phillip Fulmer knows the importance of stability and loyalty to the program. Byrd has those things plus the qualifications to lead Rocky Top. There’s no good reason to ignore hiring him.