Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall appears to be the frontrunner for the Tennessee Volunteers job after coach Cuonzo Martin unexpectedly bolted for the same post at California.
More and more, Marshall, 47, is viewed as a hot commodity after leading the Shockers to a 33-1 2014 season and No.1 seed in last month’s NCAA tournament. The Shockers advanced all the way to the Sweet 16 in the tourney, more than justifying Marshall being tabbed as National Coach of the Year.
CBSSports.com reports that Marshall previously interviewed for the Tennessee job in 2001 but lost out to Buzz Peterson. Marshall is said to have “desperately” wanted the job back then and with Martin now out of the picture it could now easily be his for the taking.
The Vols should know he won’t come cheaply. Marshall is set to make at least $1.3 million at Wichita State next season and it will almost certainly take more than $1.8 million Tennessee was offering Martin as part of an extension offer to convince him to now step in and save the day.
In fact, some are speculating that it will take upwards of the $3 million ESPN reports the Vols’ paid new football coach Butch Jones to lure Marshall down south.
In his seven seasons at Wichita State, Marshall has posted a 174-71 record, including a 65-10 mark over the least two seasons and a 30-6 run in the Missouri Valley conference. In this year’s tournament, the Shockers were ousted and suffered their only lost of the season to the runner-up Kentucky Wildcats.
In taking over at Cal, the 42-year-old Martin is expected to net a five-year deal, the terms of which have not been made public and are rumored to still be being finalized. In his three seasons at Tennessee, Martin went 63-41, including a 24-13 finish this season when the Vols advanced all the regional semifinals in the NCAA tournament.
