Memphis Grizzlies: 5 College Coaches To Interview For Head Coaching Job

John Beilein

John Beilein is another coach who has had a lot of success despite not having the top recruits like many of the top programs do. That’s been a trend in many of these coaches and that’s a big reason why they could succeed at the next level.

He has an overall coaching record of 571-325 which includes his most recent 12 years at Michigan in which he has a 278-150 record. Other spots he has coached include Canisius, Richmond, and West Virginia. He also got his start at lower levels as he spent some time with LeMoyne who is a division two program.

He is a guy who focuses on good team play on both ends of the floor but has been more than willing to adjust when he has a truly special talent such as Trey Burke. While they don’t always get the top recruits he has certainly had a lot of NBA talent on his roster which includes guys such as Tim Hardaway Jr. and Nik Stauskas.

The job Beilein did with the 2017-18 team is absolutely incredible. They didn’t have high expectations coming into the season, but they continued to improve as the season went along and it ended with them advancing all the way to the national title game. They did lose that game against Villanova, but it was still a very impressive season for them.

Beilein continues to get a lot of credit for that run as he has had many good teams in the NCAA Tournament. That 17-18 team had many good players leading the way such as Moritz Wagner and Duncan Robinson, who are both in the NBA.

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Winning in the NCAA Tournament is extremely tough, but he has proven time and time again that he is amongst the best coaches in the country in getting his teams prepared. In 2013 they advanced to the title game as a four seed and then in 2018, they did it as a three seed.

They didn’t win it either time, but his ability to improve his teams as the season goes along is elite. Many coaches are able to do that, but he has done it better than anybody. He’s had his down years for sure, but every coach has them, especially at the college level.

This most recent season they lost in the Sweet Sixteen as a two seed against Texas Tech. They didn’t just lose, they were absolutely embarrassed in that game as they lost 44-63. That should be thought of as more of a sign of how good Texas Tech and Chris Beard are rather than a slight against John Beilein or Michigan.

All five of these coaches are truly special at what they do. If I had to pick one to get the job I would probably lean Jay Wright as my favorite target, but I would guess Bill Self to be the most realistic candidate if one were to make the jump to this Grizzlies job. Again there aren’t any rumors surrounding all these coaches, but it is fun to think about which college coach could be the next to make the jump.