Published Apr 3, 2019
Cronin Linked To Coaching Openings
BearcatReport.com
Staff

The coaching carousel is in full swing, as the 2018-19 season winds down. And as has been the case after previous seasons, Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin's name is thrown around to fill vacancies. Notably, that's been UCLA and Virginia Tech.

Cronin, a Cincinnati native, has been rumored for multiple coaching positions. Chief among them has been UCLA, where Cronin allegedly interviewed. The Bruins fired coach Steve Alford in December.

As of Wednesday afternoon, multiple reports, including from ESPN, have surfaced that TCU coach Jamie Dixon is the leading candidate and could be a done deal. If so, that leaves one school that the Bearcats would have to fend off: Virginia Tech.

Coach Buzz Williams has reportedly left the Hokies for the opening at Texas A&M. Along with a slew of other coaches, including Marquette's Steve Wojciechowski, Seton Hall's Kevin Willard and Wichita State's Gregg Marshall, Cronin has emerged as a candidate.

The pairing with Virginia Tech becomes more interesting because of his ties with the Hokies' athletics director. Whit Babcock was athletics director at Cincinnati from October, 2011 to January, 2014.

Still, Yahoo's Pete Thamel had choice words of what Cronin could bring to another club. He wrote this about the previous opening at UCLA:

""Cincinnati’s Mick Cronin has established himself as one of the country’s most consistent coaches, but his style makes Ben Howland’s look like the Showtime Lakers. Cronin is one of the country’s most consistent coaches, as he’s reached nine consecutive NCAA tournaments at Cincinnati. He’s low ego and easy to work with, which would be a huge upgrade. But his teams have all fit a pattern of consistently exiting the NCAA tournament early. He’s got a 6-11 overall NCAA tournament record – including two dances at Murray State – and just one Round of 16. To project Cronin as a bad hire would be foolish — he’s won 67 percent of his games at Cincinnati (296-147). But there’s a reason why he’s a backup candidate: The flaws are real.""
Pete Thamel

Check back with BearcatReport.com for more coverage on Cronin and what's next.