ESPN.com - NCB - Once again Tulsa looking for coach

TULSA, Okla. – Tulsa athletic director Judy MacLeod doesn't mind tending a cradle of coaches. It's finding the cradle empty so soon that frustrates her.

On Wednesday, as former Tulsa coach Buzz Peterson was welcomed to the job at Tennessee, MacLeod faced Tulsa's second national search for a new coach in nine months.

She wore disappointment on her face Tuesday after Peterson resigned, but gave no hint that the school is through with up-and-comers who move in to Tulsa to move on.

"Do we want to go through this all the time? No, that would not be our choice," MacLeod said. "But if it's because we're having lots of success, I'd rather have this than the opposite."

During the past 16 years, Nolan Richardson, Tubby Smith, Steve Robinson and Bill Self all have left the private university of 4,100 students for better jobs. Richardson and Smith went on to win national titles, at Arkansas and Kentucky, respectively.

Peterson's one-season stay -- nine months from hiring to departure -- was by far the shortest in the string of coaches who used their success at Tulsa as a springboard.

Under four coaches in the past eight years, Tulsa has been in six NCAA Tournaments, making the regional semifinals twice and one regional final. Last week, the Golden Hurricane won the National Invitation Tournament.

Peterson returned to his hotel room after that victory to find the telephone ringing with calls from athletic directors.

For him, the temptation of coaching close to his home state and at his father's alma mater overcame pangs about leaving so soon. But Peterson said Tulsa probably will have a hard time keeping any coach with big ambitions.

The Western Athletic Conference doesn't rank upon the nation's six powerhouses and lacks the television exposure needed to garner attention.

"I talked to people on the East Coast and a lot of times they just never saw the games," he said.

MacLeod, who has been involved in the hiring of coaches from Robinson on, said she expected players to handle Peterson's departure well. She said it was most difficult for the team's two new recruits.

After Self's departure last year, 6-foot-11 265-pound signee Ermal Kuqo sought a release, just when Tulsa needed size at center.

MacLeod said her telephone was busy with calls from prospective candidates.

Sources told ESPN.com Wednesday that Tulsa's top three candidates to replace Peterson are former Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins, present assistant John Phillips and Rice coach Willis Wilson.

Don Tomkalski, Tulsa's sports information director, said Wednesday a committee of administrators and university board members would assist in a search. Interviews could begin this weekend and a candidate be picked as soon as next week, but MacLeod wouldn't rush just to meet a deadline, he said. Signing day for new players is Wednesday.

Peterson suggested stability, endorsing associate head coach John Phillips for the job. Phillips, 53, coached at Tulsa the past four seasons and is popular with the players.

MacLeod said Tulsa would never have hired Peterson if it had known he would only stay nine months. But she said longevity will never be the university's sole consideration for a new coach.

"It will go into our thinking, but we want to find the best person we possibly can for the job," she said.

That thinking also will include buyout clauses that cost more in the short term, she said. She wouldn't disclose how much it cost Tennessee to buy out Peterson's contract, but said "we basically had a free coach this year and will make money."

MacLeod pointed to sleepless nights and frustration of having to begin another search.

"But I guess on the other side, we as a university are doing some things right if other people are continuing to look at us."

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories