KANSAS CITY, Mon. — Rodney Terrywho led Texas to a Big 12 tournament title and the Elite Eight after taking over as the sacked head coach Chris Bartthe Longhorns will be offered the permanent head coaching position, a senior university source told Horns247 Sunday night.
If an agreement can be reached quickly, an announcement that Terry will be named Texas head coach could be made as early as Tuesday, the source told Horns247.
“Rodney Terry performed and did an amazing, world class job leading this program and totally deserves this opportunity,” the source told Horns247.
The Longhorns’ NCAA tournament run and season ended Sunday with an 88-81 Elite Eight loss to the Miami Hurricanes at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
Terry said after the game, “The (Texas) administration was great. They have really supported us throughout the process.”
When asked if he thought his job status would be settled anytime soon, Terry said: “Yes, I think at some point there will be an opportunity here to talk to us and see where everything is, but they only have us supports .”
During the performance before Sunday’s game against Miami at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Texas fans shouted “RT!, RT!, RT!” – to show their appreciation for Terry.
Texas finished the season 29-9 – the third-highest number of wins in program history – 22-8 for the Longhorns under Terry after he took over as acting head coach for Beard on December 12. Then Beard was paid without a ban after being charged with assault for allegedly choking and biting his fiancée. Terry became interim head coach on January 5 when Beard was fired for cause. (The charges were later dropped and Beard became the head coach at Ole Miss.)
Terry credited his role as assistant head coach under Beard while overseeing the Longhorns’ defense so he could develop an established relationship with the players when he took over as acting head coach from UT on December 12.
“I was more of an assistant coach with Beard,” Terry said this week. “It allowed me to be in front of the guys, work with them on defense and build those relationships with individual players. So by the time I had to play a bigger role, they were already used to me standing in front of them.”
Texas Senior Dylan DisuStill weighing his decision on whether to return for a final year of eligibility, said Terry deserves to be “100 percent” Texas head coach.
freshman forward Dillon Mitchell and Freshman Guard Arterios Morris also said that Terry should get the job.
“I would vouch for RT (Terry) any day,” Mitchell said. “It’s not just because of the coach that he’s on the pitch, but because of the man he has off the pitch. He shows you how much he loves you and cares about you. You could see it in his face after the game. You could see the emotion on his face, how proud he was of us.”
Texas fifth year Timmy Allen Terry said he was ready to be in the head coaching role when he addressed the players for the first time as acting head coach on December 12. That day, the team woke up to learn that Beard was in jail and the Longhorns had a game to play Rice that night.
“He confirmed our plan for us,” Allen said of the first time Terry addressed the team after Beard’s suspension. “He gave us a clear vision. He gave us a voice. He gave us a calm voice. And I don’t think you can overlook that.
“I think a lot of guys on this team were looking for leadership after that, looking for someone to follow, looking for someone to lead by example and he did that flawlessly. He was someone who gave me and the guys around me a lot of confidence.”
Under as an assistant at Texas for nine seasons Rick Barnes From 2002 to 2011, Terry was part of a program that went to the Final Four (2003), three Elite Eights (2003, 2006, 2008) and five Sweet 16s (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2008).
Terry was the head coach for 10 seasons — seven seasons at Fresno State from 2012-18 and three seasons at UTEP from 2019-21, where he had an overall record of 163-156 (.511).
Steve Fisher led Michigan to the national title as interim coach in 1989 and has developed a relationship with Terry, having competed while Fisher was at San Diego State and Terry was at Fresno State in the Mountain West.
Fisher retired in 2017 as the highest-achieving coach in the history of San Diego State and Mountain West before handing the SDSU program over to his assistant Brian Hollanderwho earned a trip to the Final Four on Sunday.
Fisher said Terry is ready to take over the Longhorns’ program.
“Some people have said, ‘Look at his track record as a head coach,'” Fisher told Horns247 on Sunday. “But I don’t think those are people who know situations and difficulties that he inherited. I saw what he did at Fresno as he took on a four-losing program and won 20-plus games four times in seven years. Fresno needed a steady hand, and he gave it to them. I hope Texas will look at all of this.
“Texas has historically looked for the biggest name to coach rather than looking for the best person,” Fisher continued. “And regardless of Texas winning it all, I think Rodney (Terry) showed in a three-month interview that he’s the best person for the job. Hopefully Texas sees it that way too.”