The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is looking for a men’s basketball head coach for the first time in five seasons, after Lamont Paris agreed to a five-year deal to become the new head coach at South Carolina according to multiple reports (first reported by ESPN.com).
Paris leaves UTC with an 87-72 overall record in five seasons, which showed an improvement in record in each season. He guided the Mocs to a 65-29 record over the past three season, highlighted by a 27-8 record in 2021-22, which culminated in the program’s first Southern Conference championship since 2016 and a spot in the NCAA tournament. The Mocs played well against Illinois, leading for over 38 minutes before falling 54-53.
But with Paris gone, who is next? The Times Free Press looks at eight candidates for the open position (not including possible internal candidates):
Matt Brady: Brady won 211 games in 12 years as a head coach at Marist and James Madison with five postseason appearances, highlighted by an NCAA second-round appearance with the Dukes in 2013. He was most recently on staff at Maryland.
Greg Heiar: Heiar looks to become a hot name after leading Northwest Florida State College to the National Junior College Athletic Association national championship in his first season on the job. He was also a successful head coach at Chipola Junior College and has coaching experience at the Division I level after stints at Southern Mississippi, Wichita State, LSU and East Tennessee State.