Reports from Jeff Goodman and Jon Rothstein.

Will be interesting to see how quickly the hiring process unfolds. Should give us insight into how long ago the decision was made.

Also, expect to see some quick portal entries. Think a lot of the guys were here because of Pera, and with him gone, won't stick around. Remember, entering the portal does not mean a guy is gone. They can test the waters and then meet with whomever Rice hired and choose to return, if they so choose.

Rice Athletics Family,

As a key supporter of Rice Athletics, I’m writing to share an update on the future of Rice Men’s Basketball.

This morning, I met with Coach Pera and informed him we were relieving him of his duties as the head coach of Rice Men’s Basketball. I want to express my appreciation to Coach Pera for his seven seasons of service as our head men’s basketball coach. He represented our university and men’s basketball program with class and integrity. However, as I evaluated our program and our trajectory, I determined new leadership was necessary to guide us into the future.

It is an exciting era in Rice Athletics. With aligned support from our Board of Trustees and President DesRoches combined with our new membership in the American Athletic Conference, the opportunity to flourish is greater than ever. We are seeking a new men’s basketball coach who can successfully lead our program and student-athletes to maximize this opportunity while simultaneously embodying the values of Rice University.

Together with President DesRoches, I will immediately commence a national search for our new coach. We will move thoughtfully, yet swiftly through the process. With our student-athletes at the forefront, I am committed to selecting a new head coach who is a true leader of men and will ultimately make each of you proud of Rice Men’s Basketball.

A press release will go out shortly notifying the broader community of this change, and we ask you to keep this confidential until then. I am grateful for your support of Rice Athletics, and I look forward to sharing news once we have selected our next men’s basketball coach.

Thomas H. McClelland, II

Vice President and Director of Athletics

Guessing he already has somewhat of a list of candidates.

"A press release will go out shortly notifying the broader community of this change, and we ask you to keep this confidential until then"

Let me post this immediately...

So for those who know the MBB landscape well...who are potential hires here? Who would be good hires? Who would be reaches but folks that we should go after?

Good assistant coach. Good guy. Just not a head coach. At the d1 level

Trilly Donovan, probably the best source on the internet for coaching and recruits and transfers, says: "Heard everyone from Griff Aldrich to Josh Pastner for the Rice job. Should be a fun one to track." Aldrich is a UVA law graduate, former partner at Vinson & Elkins, founder of an oil and gas company in Texas, and former CFO of a private investment firm. Really interesting story and solid coach from what I've heard. Pastner, on the other hand...I'd be less thrilled about. Wouldn't be a bad hire but uninspired.

Good assistant coach. Good guy. Just not a head coach. At the d1 level

Kenny Perry who Louisville fired would be a great coach for Rice

(03-14-2024 10:56 AM)Texasowl Wrote:  Kenny Perry who Louisville fired would be a great coach for Rice

I will never watch a Rice game again if Kenny Payne even sniffs the job at Rice. A bad coach who will blame every person on the planet before himself. Realistically, he should never get a college head coaching gig again. That's how spectacular his failure at Louisville was.

I'm pretty amazed at this and maybe there is an indication of a new sheriff in town. Maybe Bloom's ridiculously slow crawl upwards has kept him alive, but IMHO, football has been way worse under him than MBSKB under Pera.

Whatever new coach we get is going to have to figure how to deal with NIL and transfer portal, both of which create even more of a disadvantage than Rice has historically had to battle.

(03-14-2024 11:00 AM)texowl2 Wrote:  I'm pretty amazed at this and maybe there is an indication of a new sheriff in town. Maybe Bloom's ridiculously slow crawl upwards has kept him alive, but IMHO, football has been way worse under him than MBSKB under Pera.

Whatever new coach we get is going to have to figure how to deal with NIL and transfer portal, both of which create even more of a disadvantage than Rice has historically had to battle.

IMHO the new general manager pulled from the Longhorns is going to be in charge of dealing with those things.

(03-14-2024 10:22 AM)Houston Owl 2 Wrote:  "A press release will go out shortly notifying the broader community of this change, and we ask you to keep this confidential until then"

Let me post this immediately...

Seriously!

(03-14-2024 11:00 AM)texowl2 Wrote:  I'm pretty amazed at this and maybe there is an indication of a new sheriff in town. Maybe Bloom's ridiculously slow crawl upwards has kept him alive, but IMHO, football has been way worse under him than MBSKB under Pera.

Whatever new coach we get is going to have to figure how to deal with NIL and transfer portal, both of which create even more of a disadvantage than Rice has historically had to battle.

I would disagree about football being worse under Bloom than MBB under Pera mainly because Bloomgren has shown willingness to adapt. He switched away from the PTR offense in 2022 and the difference has been night and day.

Pera has had 7 years and our defense and free throw shooting have been major weaknesses pretty much the whole time. The team was unwatchable in the second half far too many times this season. Pera has had a few winning seasons but never a winning conference record. Even Bloom finished this past season with a neutral 4-4 record. Pera's firing was far more warranted.

(03-14-2024 11:23 AM)TheOwl84 Wrote:  I would disagree about football being worse under Bloom than MBB under Pera mainly because Bloomgren has shown willingness to adapt. He switched away from the PTR offense in 2022 and the difference has been night and day.

Pera has had 7 years and our defense and free throw shooting have been major weaknesses pretty much the whole time. The team was unwatchable in the second half far too many times this season. Pera has had a few winning seasons but never a winning conference record. Even Bloom finished this past season with a neutral 4-4 record. Pera's firing was far more warranted.

This. Plus, the disconnect between talent and performance was greater this year than it has ever been under Pera. He was a good recruiter, a good guy, not a good game coach.

This year's record was 11-21....this year's non-conference victories:

St. Thomas (D-III)
UT-Martin (Record 21-11)
Houston Christian (Record 6-23)
Incarnate Word (Record 8-23)
Northwestern...state (Record 9-23)
Prairie View A&M (Record 10-21)

(03-14-2024 11:23 AM)TheOwl84 Wrote:  

(03-14-2024 11:00 AM)texowl2 Wrote:  I'm pretty amazed at this and maybe there is an indication of a new sheriff in town. Maybe Bloom's ridiculously slow crawl upwards has kept him alive, but IMHO, football has been way worse under him than MBSKB under Pera.

Whatever new coach we get is going to have to figure how to deal with NIL and transfer portal, both of which create even more of a disadvantage than Rice has historically had to battle.

I would disagree about football being worse under Bloom than MBB under Pera mainly because Bloomgren has shown willingness to adapt. He switched away from the PTR offense in 2022 and the difference has been night and day.

Pera has had 7 years and our defense and free throw shooting have been major weaknesses pretty much the whole time. The team was unwatchable in the second half far too many times this season. Pera has had a few winning seasons but never a winning conference record. Even Bloom finished this past season with a neutral 4-4 record. Pera's firing was far more warranted.

Bloom has had neither of those. Bloom has been saved by the fact that he has increased his win totals each of the past three years and that our previous AD was an idiot when it came to hiring/firing non-WBB coaches. Given Pera was fired at the end of his contract after posting a drop from his best season at Rice (2022-2023), I would follow that logic to Bloom's firing in December if he does not continue his trend of improving over the previous season's win total.

(03-14-2024 10:56 AM)Texasowl Wrote:  Kenny Perry who Louisville fired would be a great coach for Rice

Rice is a tough place to win. I think hiring somebody who failed elsewhere (with lower academic standards and/or a bigger budget) is not likely to work.

(03-14-2024 10:25 AM)elw4796 Wrote:  [Griff] Aldrich is a UVA law graduate, former partner at Vinson & Elkins, founder of an oil and gas company in Texas, and former CFO of a private investment firm. Really interesting story and solid coach from what I've heard.

An attorney who left a lucrative law practice to do something more rewarding sounds like an excellent fit for Rice, if I do say so myself . . .