According to Evan Daniels of 247 Sports, Tennessee’s Rick Barnes has emerged as a serious candidate for the UCLA job.
Here is an excerpt:
The Bruins have had a winding coaching search since parting ways with Steve Alford on Dec. 31. Among the names that have been linked to the UCLA coaching search in the last week have been Jamie Dixon and Mick Cronin. Dixon’s $8 million buyout with TCU — a sum the Bruins were unwilling to pay — kept a deal from getting done.
Barnes signed a contract extension with Tennessee last fall, giving him an annual salary of $3.25 million, the second-highest in the SEC, behind Kentucky’s John Calipari. Under that extension, Barnes’ buyout is $5 million.
Barnes, 64, has been at the helm at Tennessee for the past four years, compiling a 88-50 record. This past season was one of the best campaigns in school history; the Volunteers went 31-6, earning a share of the regular season SEC title, and making a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. Barnes was named the 2019 Naismith Coach of the Year.
I have been told that Rick Barnes would definitely accept the UCLA job if formally offered it.
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) April 8, 2019
